Mandolin Pickups - McIntyre or K&K?

[urlkonig]

Does anyone have experience with the McIntyre Feather or the K&K Mandolin pickups? Any preference for one over the other?

[posternutbag]

I have used a K&K and I have played a Schertler on an Eastman. IMO, neither really sounded that good. I love K&K Pure mini guitar pickups. I have had them on a Goodall TBRD and a vintage Guild. Both sounded great. But mandolin sound amplification is a very touchy thing. It is exceptionally hard to get the tone of a mandolin amplified properly. I prefer to mic my mandolin with a nice clip on, but if you are playing in noisy environments (bars, clubs outdoor festivals) mics may not work well. I am interested to see what people say about the McIntyre, since I have never used one.

One of the things that really helps mandolin amplification is a very good preamp in your chain.

[urlkonig]

I'm mainly interested in the McIntyre as well. I have a good clip on mic and a Schertler DYN+Preamp, but I'm always hoping that I can find something tolerable that is more "plug & play".

[pops]

I have a K&K in my mandolin, very nice mandolin, and it sounds quite well. I used the mandolin pickup as it is bigger, thicker and made for mandolin. The install tho is not quite what most do. I don't trust the tape, but I think it sounds better. I glued tape to the pickup, glued tape to the mandolin, glued the tapes together. I think it's a little warmer than just gluing to the top. A good preamp is also important and I have tried several. I am using the fireye at present.

[Mandobart]

Well they both use piezoelectric elements, just packaged differently. I've never used the McIntyre so I have no direct experience. This subject has been discussed at length on mandolincafe, you may want to check out this thread. Also one from the AGF.

If this link works it should show just AGF results from a Google search.

[urlkonig]

Thanks, Mandobart!

[midwinter]

I run a JJB (like a K&K) in my Weber. It needs some pretty precise EQing, but I'm generally happy with it. I like the sound much more than I did the Baggs Radius, which I could never get dialed in.

[urlkonig]

If there was a magic setting for the Radius, I never found it. I tried every placement, every EQ curve, no luck. The DYN gets close when preamped, but the putty and placement is still annoying.

[815C]

I'm using the K&K Internal Twin on my Breedlove mando. I absolutely love this pickup. Going thru a PA the mando sounds acoustic. I'm using an LR Baggs Para-acoustic DI between the mando and the PA. I had mine installed by a tech (my tech skills inside a mando are basically limited to retrieving a pick that fell inside). After a couple years the tape gave way on one of the transducers and I had them glued on.

[midwinter]

Originally Posted by urlkonig

If there was a magic setting for the Radius, I never found it. I tried every placement, every EQ curve, no luck.

It's maddening, isn't it? I have a friend who runs one that sounds amazing and it's smushed on there on top of an absolute PILE of the putty.

[djeffcoat]

I have an external McIntyre pickup (not the Feather but the round one about the size of a quarter) behind the bridge going to a Carpenter jack. Attached with putty. Works well with a Baggs Venue DI box.

[pops]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

Well they both use piezoelectric elements, just packaged differently. I've never used the McIntyre so I have no direct experience. This subject has been discussed at length on mandolincafe, you may want to check out this thread. Also one from the AGF.

If this link works it should show just AGF results from a Google search.

Yes they are both piezoelectric pickups, but they are not the same. I need minimal or no EQ with the K&K. The K&K is not the same, it is larger, and made thicker to work better on a mandolin. Unfortunately it does cost more, but you could buy the regular smaller pickups from K&K for less if you want. I prefer the sound of the mandolin pickups over the smaller and I have tried both.

[dwh]

I run a Mcintyre feather p/u in both my bouzouki and mandolin. They sound good especially if you can eq them well and use a good preamp. I've not used a k&k in my mandos, but they sound great in my guitar.

[Mandobart]

Originally Posted by pops

Unfortunately it does cost more, but you could buy the regular smaller pickups from K&K for less if you want. I prefer the sound of the mandolin pickups over the smaller and I have tried both.

I installed the K&K mandolin twin in my first mandolin. It works just fine. Then I heard about JJB pickups. I've since installed the PPS-200 in another mandolin, 2 octave mandos, a mandola, 2 mandocellos, 3 fiddles, a banjo, 3 guitars and an upright bass. The PPS-200 can be ordered in 15 or 20 mm size.

The JJB build quality and sound are just as good as the K&K. Customer support from K&K is fine. Customer support from JJB has been stellar. Nothing wrong with K&K, although the element size can interfere with optimum internal placement. They do not fit well in a violin where the 15 mm JJB does. I find the 20 mm JJB is a better fit inside an A5 or F5 mando as well due to tone bar placement. JJB are a little thicker then K&K. The K&K runs about $100 USD (used to be more). The PPS-200 costs about $23 (used to be a few bucks less). So if cost is an issue at all I'm not aware of any less expensive, high quality two-head piezo pickups out there.

None of these pickups have been installed more than eight years in my instruments so I can't really compare long-term performance other than I've never had a failure with either brand.

[pops]

Well, maybe I will have to try them for comparison, thanks Madobart.