Absolute 'best' acoustic pickup

[stephenT]

Not a fan of either the Lyric or the K&K having tried them both, woofy and uninspiring.

I'm a sound hole pickup guy but If I had to go another way it would be the,...



http://www.tranceaudio.com/amulet.html

[MaurysMusic]

Originally Posted by talkgtr

http://www.tranceaudio.com/amulet.html

Another Trance Audio fan here!

[Marshall]

I'm a Schatten HFN fan. The latest one, the Artist VT, with endpin preamp and soundhole Vol & Tone Control works great for me.

http://www.schattendesign.com/HFN-Artist.htm

It's a soundboard transducer. Looks like and i-beam. But sounds much better. Very similar to K&K. And the install is easy and reversible.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by tysam

They're both right....you can couple the K&K with the Lyric and you get a fantastic system. Since the K&K is a passive system you can attach it straight to the lyric end jack.The Lyric isn't an UST, mounts just behind your bridge plate and the K&K makes up for the lack of bottom end the lyric is sometimes thought to have.

Have you actually tried this?

[6L6]

K&K Pure mini.

[Petty1818]

Threads like this IMO serve no real purpose and become fairly humorous after a while. There is no "best" pickup out there. If there was then everyone would be using it! A thread like this ends up being a random number of AGF members citing their favourite systems that work for them. This is fine for a large variety but in the end it doesn't really get us anywhere.

Also, the OP really needs to give us some kind of idea of what he wants. The original description is so vague that it doesn't really help with providing recommendations.

[Marshall]

Quit being so petty and let us have some fun

[kmgiants]

As many have said, there's no "best". That's almost like asking what the "absolute best" guitar is. Different strokes and all that. I would say that playing style makes a big impact on what tends to sound good. If you like to strum very hard/agressively, or if you are exclusively a fingerstylist - you're probably going to find very different pickups working/not working well. If feedback is a big concern because you'll be playing in loud environments and/or with a rock band is another important consideration.

One other thought - some folks really "play the pickup" more than the guitar. Meaning that they do whatever they need to get that pickup sounding stellar. EQ'ing, possibly compression, possibly some chorusing effect Does it sound like a natural "acoustic guitar but louder"? Nope. But that approach can sound great. This is a very different thing than just trying to get a PA-level-loud natural acoustic guitar sound. This is what mics are for - though now you go back to the environment/volume consideration.....

So yeah - put together your own "flow chart" of your needs and desires and go play some pickups. Have fun!

[Yamaha Man]

Ya mics are great but try running them thru effects pedals. This is why I need a pickup in my guitar. I love the sound I get thru my mics, but can't run them thru the delay unit, or the compressor, or looper...

[lukybob2]

I have now put JJB pickups in my guitars that I want to amplify. They are basically the same as the K&K pickups but cost less.

[buzzardwhiskey]

Originally Posted by djwayne

Ya mics are great but try running them thru effects pedals. This is why I need a pickup in my guitar. I love the sound I get thru my mics, but can't run them thru the delay unit, or the compressor, or looper...

I used to loop both my vocals and mic'd guitar by first going into a small mixer.

[chitz]

There is no Best. It's all relative and trade off's.

Such is life.

[jseth]

Notice that the original poster has not had anything to say, since he clarified the "absolute" best pickup possible...

Don't they call this "trolling"? Ask a nonsensical/unanswerable question and then sit back and have fun with the ensuing melee...

[Doug Michaels]

What akaFloyd said. That is what I use for about 60 gigs per year. I constantly get remarks about the sound of the guitar. People love it and I am not known for being a guitarist, but I do enjoy playing. Played with some great guitarists on a cruise ship not long ago and even they remarked often about the sound and tone of the guitar. Yes, the guitar is nice but its the system that akaFloyd has that makes all the difference. Those DKA mics are magic, IMHO.

[pipe dreamer]

My current favourite and one I would reccomend is the new fishman matrix infinity paired with the aura spectrum di. Nothing is perfect and I gave up on mics due to the feedback issue but I find the fishman combo very satisfactory and hassle free.