Which Preamp Sounds Better

[calvanesebob]

Originally Posted by redwards

Cheers for the reply. The Fishman and K&K sounds great through my Fishman amp. I'm just aware that I haven't tested it, and won't be able to test it for a while, in a live situation straight into a PA. I've heard that's where the impedance is most likely to be apparent. But then I've heard that the impedance mismatch is a myth too!

I honestly think we worry about these things far too much and 99% of people hear an acoustic sounding guitar whatever gear we use, but it's good to sound good isn't it.

Are you running the K&K through a fishman preamp and then into the instrument in on a fishman amp?

If so, I don't think you even need the preamp as the amp input would be the same match as preamp input. I think they are both 10M.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[redwards]

Originally Posted by calvanesebob

Are you running the K&K through a fishman preamp and then into the instrument in on a fishman amp?

If so, I don't think you even need the preamp as the amp input would be the same match as preamp input. I think they are both 10M.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah, K&K into Fishman preamp and then Fishman amp. And you're right the K&K sounds pretty good going direct into the amp but I wanted to see if I was able to use the compression on the Fishman preamp.

[calvanesebob]

Originally Posted by James May

It's an urban myth that is not based on any science, but yes your test shows that it does work. The reason people say that (I suspect) is that K&K's tend to be woofy and bass heavy. A lower impedance like 100K will roll off some of that. The difference between 1M and 10M is measurable but virtually indistinguishable by ear.

Both your clips are noisy and show significant signal distortion. Not sure how you recorded them, but I wouldn't be happy with either if that is truly representative. I hear some (MP3?) compression artifacts as well. How were these recorded?

I haven't tried the K&K preamp. I know from lab testing that the Venue measures a lot of harmonic distortion which I can hear quite easily. That said, it can be fine as it is a sort of built in harmonic enhancer which adds some high end sparkle. What I don't like is what it does to the low end, especially with K&Ks.

I had the D-28 going to the preamp, then to my EV 30M, then the uax out from the 30M going to my Focusrite 18i8. Nothing was clipping so not sure what you mean by distortion. I did notice a crackling sound when recording though and not sure what that is. Also everything was set flat with no effects. Once I recorded the tracks I exported them to mp3 to upload to sound cloud.

[GuildF20Guy]

Originally Posted by calvanesebob

I had the D-28 going to the preamp, then to my EV 30M, then the uax out from the 30M going to my Focusrite 18i8. Nothing was clipping so not sure what you mean by distortion. I did notice a crackling sound when recording though and not sure what that is. Also everything was set flat with no effects. Once I recorded the tracks I exported them to mp3 to upload to sound cloud.

I wonder how much of the tone is from the EV? Would love to hear the preamps direct to the focusrite.

[calvanesebob]

Originally Posted by GuildF20Guy

I wonder how much of the tone is from the EV? Would love to hear the preamps direct to the focusrite.

Good idea. I'm going to do this today and post the results.

Thanks

[calvanesebob]

I just added another test to the OP with the preamps going directly to my recording interface.

[GuildF20Guy]

Now I prefer the KK. The Baggs sounds very good, but as if it has a bit of processing behind it.

[MrErikJ]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

Those posts you read incorrectly attribute something their authors don't like to plugging a K&K mini pickup into a preamp with a 10 megaohm input impedance.



It is certainly evidence which supports a different conclusion.

Yep. People assume bc they don't like the sound of a K&K into, say a Baggs PADI, that it's due to impedance. But there's a lot more to a preamp/DI that colors tone than just input impedance. That said, members of the forum are obsessed with the subject and will insist on the K&K being "incompatible" with anything above 1mohm.

The only time I hear much of a difference between 1mohm and 10mohm is when using a passive UST. I experimented by running my Baggs LB6 into the 1mohm and 1mohm setting of my Radial PZ-DI. The overall character remained mostly the same but there was an increase in bass on the 10mohm setting. That said, the 10mohm setting was designed w/USTs in mind, from a different era, when everyone was either using a Fishman/Martin Gold, Baggs LB6, or Sunrise.

[James May]

Originally Posted by calvanesebob

I just added another test to the OP with the preamps going directly to my recording interface.

These sound much better! The hiss must have been gain staging issues, and the extra distortion presumably was not from the preamps.

I still hear some THD on the Venue, as I would expect. (In the old days, I used to use one.) The K&K sounds pretty clean and to me, significantly better.

[southbeck]

The K&K sounds better. The Venue sounds fine as well but here it´s obvious that the Venue has more low end. The k&k sounds much more balanced without the extra low end. But the venue has a very, very good eq so that would be easy to adjust though. A low-cut up to something like 100 or almost 150hz would make them hard to tell apart.

But most important, your k&k sounds really good! I have used Baggs Anthem, Baggs m1, Baggs m80, Taylor Es2, Fishman Aura and now the new Yamaha atmosfeel on my fgx5. Haven´t tried a k&k yet but that clip makes me want to try it. Sounds really, really good. And that´s from a passive, simple system.

[calvanesebob]

I'm not that good at all the terminology but to me the K&K sounds like it has a little more clarity, but seems like it is missing just a little something (maybe overtones? fullness?), which makes it a little harsher on the ears. The venue DI has slightly less clarity but sounds a little fuller (warmer? softer?) to me, and seems less harsh to the ears.

To me anyway.

I think in a loud full band situation the k&K would cut through better, and in a mellow acoustic setting the venue would sound more pleasing.

Either way both of them sound very good to my ears, and that is just flat with no effects. I could probably roll off the lows a little on the venue and get it to sound like the K&K, and the venue has a lot more features than the K&K too, so I'm gonna have to give the edge to the venue DI.

I may keep the K&K too, but not 100% sure yet.

And thank you all for your input.