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Old 01-04-2018, 03:04 PM
auggie242 auggie242 is offline
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Default Favorite Preamp for a K&K ?

I have K&K's in three of my Martins. I've been running them thru a Pure XLR preamp (from K&K) into a Fender Acoustic Pro and just can't seem to capture the sound of my guitar(s) despite fiddling with every dial combination possible.

Any suggestions for a different preamp?
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Old 01-04-2018, 03:23 PM
AeroUSA AeroUSA is offline
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Tone Dexter
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Old 01-04-2018, 03:25 PM
kaos kaos is offline
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The K&K preamps are great. I think the Redeye is a bit better. Also remember the amp is also part of the equation.
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Old 01-04-2018, 03:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kaos View Post
The K&K preamps are great. I think the Redeye is a bit better. Also remember the amp is also part of the equation.
I agree. The Red Eye is pure magic. The K& K Preamp is fine, but there is a sweeter presence with the Red Eye in my experience.
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Old 01-04-2018, 04:42 PM
buzzardwhiskey buzzardwhiskey is offline
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ToneDexter

http://audiosprockets.com/
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Old 01-04-2018, 05:23 PM
Woodstock School Of Music Woodstock School Of Music is offline
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I love the sound through my Redeye though I've never tried the K&K preamps. I would love to try Tone Dexter some day.
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Old 01-05-2018, 08:11 AM
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Methos1979 Methos1979 is offline
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I was going to recommend the little K&K but see you have already tried it and don't get the tone you want. I have tried many and I keep coming back to the little belt-clip K&K. It works great and gives me 'onboard' volume and tone control that I find invaluable at places like open mics.

I have used the Red Eye as well and that is a wonderful little device. It gives you a great tone and allows you to add some high end if needed but that's about it for tone control. There is also boost but I never use/need boost so it's a feature I don't need. I would have preferred it to be a mute button, personally.

I tried the Baggs Venue and Para but didn't find either worked well for my needs.
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Old 01-05-2018, 08:57 AM
guitaniac guitaniac is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by auggie242 View Post
I have K&K's in three of my Martins. I've been running them thru a Pure XLR preamp (from K&K) into a Fender Acoustic Pro and just can't seem to capture the sound of my guitar(s) despite fiddling with every dial combination possible.

Any suggestions for a different preamp?
ToneDexter thru a good PA system with a flat frequency response is the optimum answer, but it DOES require some effort and possibly some extra expense (WaveMap training and experimentation with a good mic) on the user's part.

For a cheap & easy experiment, buy or borrow a Boss GE-7 graphic equalizer and experiment with cutting various frequency bands. Guitar amps sometimes have their own tonal "personality", as opposed to the more typically flat frequency response of a PA system. If your amp happens to emphasize the low mids, you may get some benefit from cutting the 200Hz and 400Hz frequency bands. Many K&K rigs tend to be too bassy, so you might also want to cut at 100Hz.

Some K&K users have reported that a mid cut around 1.5KHz helps, so you might also experiment with cutting the 1.6KHz frequency band. Just play around with the frequency band sliders and note what manipulations seem to get you closer to the tone which you're seeking.

In any event, the GE-7 has an available gain of 15db (if needed) and a listed input impedance of 1 Mohm (ideal for the Mini Pure). It certainly can't do what ToneDexter can do, but its inexpensive and its great for EQ experimentation.
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Old 01-05-2018, 09:25 AM
curbucci curbucci is offline
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Ultrasound DI Plus. Great preamp and the notch and phase switch are very handy for a variety of different venue/sound systems.
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Old 01-05-2018, 09:40 AM
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You got many recommendations for the Red-Eye preamp to match with K&K pickup here. From my experience I can confirm that the Red Eye is a very good, clean preamp, to my ears better than others I tried.

That said, it's not like this preamp will solve all your problems to get more natural sound from your K&K pickup equipped guitar.

In my case I noticed that putting new strings is an important factor (I know, it's obvious but I'm sharing my experience) to improve the sound.

What made a massive difference for me is not the Red-Eye but Zoom MS50G multi-effect pedal. It has 1MOhm input and 172 effects you can choose from.
So what I do is engage on the MS50G a few effects and the most important is a graphic EQ and a parametric EQ. The first, lets me shape the overall sound and the second address problems like 'quakiness'. And as others mentioned it needs a cut or two in the middle range - where exactly, it depends on the guitar, strings and PA/amp you run it through.
I also add some compression and a bit of ambience (the air effect). Sometimes a like to use an exciter modelled after the BBE effects.

The bottom line is it's not as much as a preamp helped me to achieve a better sound but a right amount of EQ.
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Old 01-05-2018, 09:52 PM
auggie242 auggie242 is offline
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Thanks for all the info! It definitely helps!
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Old 01-06-2018, 08:21 AM
varmonter varmonter is offline
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i have the kk pure xlr and it works well.
i have tried para di and the apparent king of
pres the pendulum. and found them lacking
and quacking.i have and use more often
a felix by grace design. this works very well.
but i still occasionally use the pure xlr.
just bought a tonedexter and the jury is still
out .. i still have to play with this more as i think
it has potential. so many pres so little time and money.
eq is the key with the pure xlr. for me the mid control
is generally off ( fully counter clockwise or just a wee bit ) the bass is about 10:30.
and the treble is about 1:30. ymmv
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Old 01-06-2018, 10:56 AM
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JayBee1404 JayBee1404 is offline
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Orchid Acoustic Pre-amp.

http://www.orchid-electronics.co.uk/acoustic.htm
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