Who doesn't like the K&K PW Solo?
 

.......AND WHY? Dont get mad at me for asking THIS if you are a K&K fan. I do have some experience with these pickups, and in more than one guitar. If you're happy with the Solo.......:up:. No harm meant. I am asking HERE about the Pure Western Mini or Full-size stand-alone pickups.....NOT the blender systems. Thankyou.........

I do no like the standard K&K. It has way too much bottom end. I really like the K&K mini, especially for solo work. In a band setting, I have had trouble with feedback, so I tend to go with the DTAR wavelength.

What is a "K&K PW Solo? "

SORRY......We use so many abbreviations on the forum it becomes commonplace. I'm talking about the K&K PURE WESTERN acoustic pick-up (mini and full-size versions). By mentioning SOLO I am talking about using the pickup in a guitar by itself (not in combination w/ a microphone etc.....).

Caveat: We all have different auditory thresholds. Alright, I'm not a specs type of player, although I don't discount 'em entirely. At the end of the day, however, when all is said, played, heard, and done, I trust my auditory sense. It's not that I dislike the K&K PW Mini or Standard. It's just that the simple B-Band UST (undersaddle transducer) + A1.2 (endpin preamp) setup sounds better, especially at LOUDER volumes. (Translation: no feedback.)

I still remember visiting my luthier of choice as I had finally decided to amplify my Martin D-18 and HD-28. Now, this man has the good sense not to change a customer's mind about amplification if the customer walks in on a mission with a certain system in mind. Serendipity was about to make its appearance in that small shop as I entered it with an open mind. He had installed a K&K PW Mini in a HD-28 and a K&K PW Standard in a D-35. Played both of 'em unplugged. Cool. Then we amp'd 'em up. Not so cool. With the addition of a K&K Pure Preamp or Pure XLR Preamp, the situation turned noticeably better. But I have no desire to start adding that stuff to the chain. Keep it simple, I kept thinking to myself. He had a D-28 with a B-Band UST/A1.2 setup installed in it. Eeeeks! That was it for me, folks. Tiger with a lead going into the final round. MJ with a shot at the buzzer. Michael Phelps.......well, you catch my drift. B-Band preserved the integrity of that unplugged sound in an amplified mode. Cool. We increased the EQ settings and adjusted the volume/master volume knobs more clockwise. Very cool. We adjusted the knobs again in you know what direction. Way cool. No feedback, period. Warmth? Earthiness? Whatever you want to call it, that factor was retained. Say it isn't so! Sorry, I'm afraid that WAS a serendipitous moment. Epiphany! An ah-ha! He and I achieved efficacy that day. Without being hyperbolic, that was transformational for me.

So the bottom line for me is B-Band's UST + A1.2. If you are considering a K&K PW Mini or Standard by itself, might I suggest you try out B-Band. You just might dig the result so you can keep on groovin'. They simply got it right with the affordable UST/A1.2 system. Less can be more.

Play on, pick often, and prosper.....
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o.../Hairrific.jpg

^^ Have you tried putting your K and K into a pre amp though or even a DI?

I've not played with the K&K full size but from what I understand there is a world of difference between the full size and the mini. I use the mini's and I've never had so many compliments on the tone of my amplified guitar in various venues as I have with the K&K mini's and more than 3/4 of those compliments have been while plugged directly into the soundboard (no preamp). If I ever need to worry about feedback I have a baggs M1A but I've yet to need it. In my view its the best sounding acoustic pickup out there and the fact that it's got a great price just puts the icing on the cake.

About 5 years ago I had the K&K full sized PW in my Yamaha folk jumbo for about 6 months. FInally pulled it out and but my FIshman Matrix back in. Beside the boomy, overly bassy, feedback problems everyone else described, what I really didn't like was the excessive handling noise. Besides the buttons of your shirt, sleeve etc. I have the playing style of resting the heel of my hand on the bridge pins when I flat or fingerpick... which is right over the pickup. Not a pleasant sound. After installing a "Quackbuster" in that guitar a few months ago (which is basically a PUTW #27) I came to the conclusion I just don't like the sound of SOunboard transducers as the only or even main pickup source. They're fine for adding a little wood and air (like maybe 15%) to a UST or mag, but as a stand alone pickup I much prefer the Baggs Element and even the Fishman Matrix. To each their own I guess.

I've had mixed results with the K&K mini-Pure in my mahogany/spruce OM. Its worked pretty well for recording, but I've had some problems with live sound where the guitar top is interacting with speaker sound. I've had problems with boominess at higher volumes, and even at moderate volumes the high end tends to sound overly ambient and fuzzy with picking (as compared to the high end from a good UST or mag pickup).

FWIW, I found that the Acoustimax preamp's sonic maximizer gave the mini-Pure high end more crispyness and "cut thru" factor, while the Acoustimax's depth-adjustable notch helped with the boominess.

The mini-Pure in the mahogany/spruce OM is currently disconnected as I'm much preferring the results I'm getting from blending a Shadow SH-145 mag pickup with a PUTW "I/O" UST. For the full-blown "serious gig" setup, I'm running the UST/mag blend thru a Mama Bear for optimum results. For fast setup situations, either pickup thru a Fishman Platinum Pro EQ preamp is easy to "dial in" in a strange room - much less dicey than the mini-Pure.

Gary

I installed a K&K in a Martin OMC-28LJ a couple years ago after hearing all the kudos the pickup was receiving. To be honest, it sounded horrible to me. Way too boomy. Made the guitar sound like a cardboard box. Out it went to be replaced with a Fishman Ellipse Blender. Wasn't too pleased with that either...

I like the sonic characteristics of the Baggs iBeam, but they are way too sensitive to feedback issues. I want to like the Fishman Blender, but the mic is horrible and I don't care for the sound of a piezo UST. I'm thinking the B-Band solution may be worth a try.

The K & K Mini is my PU of choice. I tried the standard once and did not like it as much. But I also prefer smaller guitars in which I find the Mini works really well. Good tone and sound with no additional harware or problems. No problems with feedback.

In a large body guitar like your dreads, I dont' think I would go for the K & K as quickly. Just from past experience that is. The I beams etc are way too prone to feedback in a large body for my taste, and the final installation point makes such a huge difference in tone and sound. So I stay away from them.
In a big box like that I would probably be tempted to just go with the old tried and true Fishman UST. I've had them in a couple of large body guitars and they worked just fine for solo playing.

K&K now recommends the Mini for all applications.

I have K&K Pure Western Mini's as the only source in four guitars and they sound great. No other pickup I've ever used works as well, inlcuding B-band. Now when I say "works as well" what I mean is accuratey reproduce the acoustic tone of my guitars.

That may not be what everyone needs. It seems that most of the folks that don't care for K&K have come to that conclusion based on the need to cut through a mix and/or control feedback on stage with montiors. I don't have those problems.

For those that did not like the tone of K&K, I respectfully submit thati it might be, or have been, fixable with proper EQ. And it doesn't take much. I'm using four radically different guitars, and the differnece in EQ shaping for each guitar is very minimal. The one common denominaotr is: Turn down the mids. If you plug a K&K straight into a PA or amp, without turning downt the mids, it will sound boxy. Very esay to fix. Turm down the mids. Either at the preamp or the amp/pa, or both.

Cheers,
David

not a fan...