Quote:
Originally Posted by aschroeder
I have a love/hate relationship with the K&K. When you get it dialed in the sounds is incredible. But it is nearly unusable without major EQing. It has a hot enough signal to run without a preamp, but I always use an external preamp with EQ to deal with the excessively boomy low end and lacking high end.
I finally found the secret weapon when I started using IRs (impulse response). I recorded my own IRs with the EQ flat on the K&K and then the IR gets rendered to cut the low end. With the IR turned on I can finally run my EQ in a more traditional mid sweep and it sounds amazing. I use a Boss GE-7 pedal as a preamp and EQ adjustment that works well with the K&K (with a preamp boost/cut of up to +/- 15dB). The nice thing is the Boss GE-7 runs on a 9V battery or a 9v plugin adapter which makes it versatile when you can't plug it in.
If you're willing to put in the work the K&K is a great pickup. With that said, there are other soundboard transducer pickups that are easier to work with and sound great without major EQ. |
I had the k&K mini installed today on my Martin 000-18MD. I am not up to speed on all the electronic variables. I don't understand your comments on the IR for instance. At the tech's I played it through an acoustic amp (without any external pre-amp) and it sounded OK but not what I was looking for. My tech recommended the Boss GE-7. I mainly play out with a Deluxe Reverb. I'm after an amplified tone that replicates as closely as possible the sound of the guitar. I am very willing to put in the work to get that and your comment makes me more optimistic. Right now I am getting an interesting sound, but it's more like a Gibson L-5 then a Martin Acoustic.
Boldly revealing my ignorance yet again, I really don't know much about pre-amps. That they clean up signal distortion before transmission to the amp is about it. Is that what the Boss GE-7 will help accomplish? Is Getting the Boss EQ all the gear I will need to dial in the K&K? I have heard a lot of great things about the K&K system and want to get the most out of it. Is it possible to get a clean acoustic guitar sound with it at low to room filling volume? Now it is amplifying everything, the squeak of my fingers moving on strings, and the tone is loud, but is not getting subtleties. It's my knowledge curve and not having the gear I need I guess. I also think it might be good to get the Schatten BB-03 black box for a volume control on the cord. Any advise appreciated.