K&K Pure Mini in a Rosewood Dread?
 

Back when I was playing mostly in an acoustic ensemble, my main guitar was a 2009 HD-28. I originally had a K&K in it, but it was quite boomy when amplified, and very difficult to EQ through a PA. I ended-up putting a Sunrise pickup in the 28, and when it was run through the right preamp, it sounded quite nice.

However, once I started doing more solo singer/songwriter stuff, I found it very difficult to sing with the HD-28. It always seemed to be competing with and often dominating my vocals. So, I moved the guitar on, and unofficially swore off rosewood dreads...Until now.

I recently acquired a LoPrinzi AR-38, and so far, I am quite impressed by the guitar, and really like how it accompanies my vocals. The LoPrinzi is built around the D-28 platform, and I find it much more balanced, rich, and vocal-friendly than my old HD-28.

I want to drop a pickup in the LoPrinzi, and am considering the K&K, but I'm worried about throwing things out of balance, and ending up with a boomy sounding amplified tone. I'd be running the guitar through a Fire-Eye Red-Eye preamp, and into either my Carvin AG-200 or a PA.

What has been your experience with a K&K in a rosewood dreadnought?

I put a K&K Trinity Pro system in my Madagascar Rosewood slope Dred from McKnight. I've been very happy with it because it seems very versatile. I like the combo of the mic and pickup through my acoustic amp. But at church my soundguy likes just the pickup. The little preamp EQs the pickup and mixes. I would think that there is enough combinations that it would serve you well in any circumstance. Come up to Wooster and you can give it a spin.

http://kksound.com/products/trinitypro.php

Thanks Steve. I have an Audio-Technica PRO 37 that's mounted on my mic stand that I can use as a "second source" for the guitar when desired, so I am looking at the Pure Mini only. I am heartened to hear that your soundman likes the Pure Mini alone for your live church performances.

The sound guy likes it cause it a very pure source for him to work with at the board. But his goal is really to make it fit into the space the band needs.

Hey Ed, my experience with the K&K tells me that with good front end tone settings on the pre (I use a PURE) going through a decent PA, not much good happens past about 2/3rds K/K volume control. The sweet spot for a good clean sound for me is keeping it right at or just slightly above the half-way mark and then letting the PA guy do his magic.

K&K Pure Mini in a Rosewood Dread?
 

While I think a K&K in your new guitar is a fine idea, I don't think you have realistic expectations for a plug and play solution. The benefits of the K&K are two fold, in my estimation. First, they produce a very clean and hot signal. Secondly, they do not ruin the acoustic tone of your guitar. That said, they can be difficult to EQ and somewhat inconsistent depending on what you're plugging them into. A good active impedance matching preamp system usually solves the problem. Most of those are designed for higher output impedance pickups, however. I use K&Ks in dreadnought guitars when I am concerned about acoustic degradation. However, I know it's a compromise and I need to be prepared to EQ and tweak the pickup during sound check for each performance.

I know there are plenty of folks who claim to just plug their passive K&K into anything and get magic sound. But, this does not match my experience and the experiences of several people I've discussed this topic with.

In my experience it's hard to tame the rosewood dread beast, but the Pure Mini in combination with the RedEye is very nice indeed. Without that preamp however, all bets are off.

I think is a preamp problem, after some preamp test, I decide to use a Zoom a3 preamp with k&k. For me, the best combination.

Similar to yours. Sounded wonderful in my HD-35 but at any appreciable volume the PA would reach out to the guitar, lock on to the frequency du jour and off we'd go, flipping dials and reversing phases until I'd get it under control. I finally got tired of repeatedly fighting that battle and went to an M80.