Soundhole pick-ups?

[vindibona1]

While the OP has decided on the Baggs M80 (and I'm late to the party) I just wanted to throw in another pickup that wasn't mentioned (unless I missed it) if anyone else is interested down the road. It's the Seymour Duncan Woody XL. http://www.seymourduncan.com/acoustic/woody-xl

While not the fanciest and I'm sure not the best soundhole pickup out there it is surprisingly good for the price. It's priced at $70 now (I bought it for $50 two years ago).

I bought this pickup because I have a few "vintage" acoustics with no electronics and didn't want to modify any of them nor spend money for dedicated pickups for each guitar. I chose the Woody system because there are no tools involved with mounting. You just slide it in and go. I am glad that I got the XL version because of the adjustable pole pieces. With the pole pieces level the pickup is out of balance, but adjusting was easy to get each string to match the output of the other strings.

The pickup comes with a 14' hardwired cable. I found myself tripping all over it, so I "bob-tailed" it with a female jack at the end. This allows me to use standard 1/4" guitar cables of any length. The other disadvantage of this type of passive pickup is that it has no volume control. I initially made a home-made volume control out of an Altoids box but later switched to a L.R. Baggs Gig Pro preamp that I can hang on my guitar strap.

While I'm sure it's not the best pickup for rendering true acoustic sound, a lot depends on what you're plugged into. So at this time for me it's plenty good enough.

[gt35]

Originally Posted by drplayer

Thanks for all the input folks! After reading your responses, reviewing the specs, reading other reviews, and listening to video, I decided on the L.R. Baggs M80. It was the priciest, but I liked the whole package best (sound, technology, features, & looks)...

Congrats on your choice. I run mine active through an LR Baggs Venue DI and I love it - and get compliments all the time on the sound of my guitar!

Let us know what you think after spending some time with it.

[RidgeRat]

Anyone here have experience with Skysonic A-710 or -810 passive pickups? Looking for something along the lines of a Seymour Duncan Woody, preferably with an end strap jack.
Thanks in advance.

[dcopper]

IMHO Sunrise is the king, hands down. That being said, they are expensive and somewhat hard to find. A very good substitute is the M80, which it seems you have settled upon. I have both and they are different animals but both do a great job acoustically.

[pirassic]

LR Baggs M1 and followers can be used without installing end pins and they sound OK to me.

[windfall]

I worked with an M1 for some time with the lead dangling from The soundhole. Had a scare at a gig when I stepped on the chord and pulled the apparatus loose. I thought about what would have happened if I had had the screws too tight and damaged the guitar and before the next show I got it wired in. But if you are careful, playing sedate gigs and don't mind it looking very messy, it can work.