# Acoustic Pickup Recommendations?



## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

I'm sure this thread has been made a few dozen times but i like active discussions

I have the opportunity (this is me being optimistic, my less than a year old pickup crapped out) to get a new pickup for my guitar

I previously had a B-Band under-saddle pickup and was less than thrilled with it to begin with, the fact that it died within a year with very little use and absolutely no abuse has put me off the brand entirely.
I'd like to get a more natural sound...i found the under saddle pickup sounded too...digital? is that the right word? I'd like to capture the sound that comes out of the guitar, if that makes sense.

Also polls are worth points so i added one for S&G


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

Get a K&K Pure Mini. You're problem is solved and you get the bonus of a real acoustic sound that is amplified.


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## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

I had the K&K Pure Mini on my last acoustic and really liked it. On my Taylor, I ended up installing the L.R. Baggs Anthem system and it's above and beyond the best acoustic pickup system I have ever used. There is an undersaddle portion that goes in, but I find that it really captures the highs of the guitar. Then there's an internal mic that gets placed under the top that evens everything out. It's a really warm sounding pickup with a lot of tonal options.


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

the K&K pure mini looks remarkably similar to the b-band i bought last year, although nearly double the price so maybe there's something to be said about getting what you pay for

i was blown away by the sound clips on the LR baggs website....it sounded phenomenal. but then again it's triple the price of the K&K so i'd hope so!


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

I've been very pleased with the Schatten pickups (made in Kitchener), both the HFN and UST depending on the application.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

I had a factory-installed undersaddle B-band pick-up that crapped out prematurely too, though it was well over a year old. It was an easy and relatively inexpensive fix, and so far the replacement has been fine for a few years now.


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## -ST- (Feb 2, 2008)

Hi mike_oxbig,

Have you contacted B-Band? 

http://www.b-band.com/index.php?page=contact-form

I've seen reports (mainly on the Larrivée forum) where people have received good customer service directly from B-Band. 



mike_oxbig said:


> I'm sure this thread has been made a few dozen times but i like active discussions
> 
> I have the opportunity (this is me being optimistic, my less than a year old pickup crapped out) to get a new pickup for my guitar
> 
> ...


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

A good soundhole pickup may surprise you.

I had an old Bill Lawrence for sale here on the forum but decided to keep it due to its great sound.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

What do you use the pickup for? i.e. in what sort of circumstances?

In my experience, nothing compares to a microphone for sound quality, flexibility, etc.

But using a mic presumes a controlled soundscape, like a studio, or a limited volume live scenario.

I use an external mic on a boom, but some of the onboard systems that allow you to blend in a mic that's stuck inside the guitar body sound pretty amazing.


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

-ST- said:


> Hi mike_oxbig,
> 
> Have you contacted B-Band?
> 
> ...


interesting! i will shoot them an email, whats the worst that can happen right?

I use a mic when i'm at home but on the once in a blue moon that i play with a few buddies it'd be nice to be heard at least somewhere within the mix


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## -ST- (Feb 2, 2008)

Hi mike_oxbig,



mike_oxbig said:


> *interesting! i will shoot them an email, whats the worst that can happen right?*


I'd be interested to know how that turns out.



> I use a mic when i'm at home but on the once in a blue moon that i play with a few buddies it'd be nice to be heard at least somewhere within the mix


I've come to the conclusion that when you amplify an acoustic guitar - it becomes a different instrument. The _just the same as unamplified only louder_ thing doesn't track for me. When you make something louder the human perception of it changes. At low volume it may sound mid-range heavy and at higher volumes it may sound more even from bass to treble. If it sounds even at low volume then it may sound bottom and top heavy at louder volume. 


So I just treat it like different instrument and go for a sound that works in the mix. And _that's_ going to be different than I'd prefer for solo shows.


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

I'll add my 2 cents to that in your thread, but i have an update from b-band

one of their customer service reps emailed me apologizing and offered to send me a brand new pickup free of charge

there must be some kind of recall on these things because he didn't care to see a receipt, serial number, or even proof that i owned one to begin with. I'm happy with that because i don't have the original receipt, but if it's that easy to get a free pickup i'd assume that amateur scam artists are raking in the dough off of these guys.


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