Pre-amp for K&K pure mini

[ljguitar]

Because an acoustic guitar amp already has a pre amp in it. I have the Ultrasound CP100 and K&K in my Gibson and Martin and I don't need one with the amp.

Glad you like the tone with your amp.

Then you should not need one for the PA system either, because you are entering the 'board' via the input preamp.

I've yet to find a guitar with a passive pickup which sounds as good without an external preamp when playing through an amp as it does with an external preamp.


P.S. many people play K&K pure mini without an external preamp. They sound fine. My recommendation to people is to start without a preamp and only get one when you want more adjustability in the sound.

[Monsum]

I don't want to start a new thread because my question fits this one perfectly.

I'm thinking about getting something like Fishman Platinum Stage for my KK mini equipped guitar. Now, some people say there is an impedance mismatch between KK mini and a preamp with 10M input impedance, other people say they couldn't hear any difference in sound regardless of impedance.

My questions is, even if KK mini would produce more bass through Fishman Platinum Stage, can that not be simply removed by high pass filter set at 160Hz on the preamp.

Second question, which would rather get for KK mini, Fishman Platinum Stage, Headway EDM-1 or Red Eye preamp.

[Steely Glen]

A K&K Pure Mini into a Fire-Eye Redeye preamp is a thing of beauty. I like to add an EQ pedal in the FX loop and do a subtle mid-scoop.

[varmonter]

Originally Posted by Monsum

I don't want to start a new thread because my question fits this one perfectly.

I'm thinking about getting something like Fishman Platinum Stage for my KK mini equipped guitar. Now, some people say there is an impedance mismatch between KK mini and a preamp with 10M input impedance, other people say they couldn't hear any difference in sound regardless of impedance.

My questions is, even if KK mini would produce more bass through Fishman Platinum Stage, can that not be simply removed by high pass filter set at 160Hz on the preamp.

Second question, which would rather get for KK mini, Fishman Platinum Stage, Headway EDM-1 or Red Eye preamp.

I for one noticed the mismatch. But that's just me. Whenever I look for
a preamp now for my KK guitars I make sure it has a 1 mEgaohm input impedance. Ymmv. I also found a pretty sturdy half rack eq made
For recording. It's called a speck asc. You can get them
Used for around 300. This has been the best addition to my live sound rig
yet.. I have not used any of the above preamps.
I use either the Felix by grace design or a Kk pure xlr. But I have heard
Many praises for the red eye and the Edm-1..

[J Patrick]

...i've used K&K's for close to 15 years in a dozen guitars or so and have run them through most everything mentioned here...my top picks are

Headway EDM

Raven Labs PMB

Red Eye

Analog Man modded GE-7 in combination with Radial DI (or a simple Behringer)

...no doubt there are other suitable preamps but these setups all produced excellent results...

[Monsum]

Thanks vermonter and J Patrick for the replies. I've decided to go for the Red Eye, which I've already ordered.
I hope it will live up to the hype. I'll definitely do some comparison with cheaper preamps I'm currently using.

[SalFromChatham]

I use the Red a Eye. It’s great and the boost is useful.

Another thought... I have. Boss TU3-W tuner. K&k into the tuner, then into the amp, is a big improvement. Because of the impedance match. So a tuner pedal can do the trick.

[sublro]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Neither of these recommendation fit with my more than 12 years with K&K Pure mini pickups in all my guitars.

I own the K&K designed preamp for use with the K&K, and it's my least used preamp. My Raven, DTAR, ParaDI, Fishman Platinum Stage and even my $30 Behringer acoustic preamps all sound better than the K&K and give me immediate access and control over more aspects of my tone adjustment, and my output capabilities for interfacing with other systems or amps.

I use preamps through PA systems and acoustic amps because it sounds better using an external preamp and gives me more adjustment.

Hey Larry - so I have a headway edm-1 but really want a preamp that includes phase and notch to make it a more "one-stop" for use with the K&K PWM - the fishman platinum pro looks to fit the bill but does have the "dreaded" 10kohm impedance issue. I've experienced this issue (very tubby in the bass and mid bass) years ago using a para DI and moved away from it to the EDM-1 for that reason -

I've also seen and appreciated your posts regarding your extensive experience that shows this impedance mis-match bass-heavy-ness can be easily dialed out with a variety of preamps, so I'm likely to give the platinum pro a try - my question is - i also have in my signal chain an MXR 10-band graphic eq - it says it has an input of <1megohm, and output of 5megohms - does it make sense to put it first in the chain BEFORE the fishman?

thoughts?

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by sublro

Hey Larry - so I have a headway edm-1 but really want a preamp that includes phase and notch to make it a more "one-stop" for use with the K&K PWM - the fishman platinum pro looks to fit the bill but does have the "dreaded" 10kohm impedance issue. I've experienced this issue (very tubby in the bass and mid bass) years ago using a para DI and moved away from it to the EDM-1 for that reason -

I've also seen and appreciated your posts regarding your extensive experience that shows this impedance mis-match bass-heavy-ness can be easily dialed out with a variety of preamps, so I'm likely to give the platinum pro a try - my question is - i also have in my signal chain an MXR 10-band graphic eq - it says it has an input of <1megohm, and output of 5megohms - does it make sense to put it first in the chain BEFORE the fishman?

thoughts?

HI sub-etc

I'm guessing either Doug Young or Fran Guidry (both members here) could give you better answers about order of plugging in equipment. I have thoughts, but no complex answers (based on anything other than trial and experiment).

It's a simple experiment once you have the equipment in the room. Set your gear up plugged in one way and play/listen for a while. If you have a looper, loop several minutes and several styles of music. Go listen to it out front when you are not holding the guitar.

Take an ear break, switch out the parts and hook it the 'other' way. Loop again and listen. When I do this and can't tell any significant difference I assume it's because there isn't one.


If impedance is truly your hangup the EDB-2 has adjustable impedance (so did the EDB-1). I flipped the switches on my EDB-1 and could hear zero difference through headphones, amps, and/or PA board.

I had already concluded impedance was not an issue as long as I had a great preamp with selectable mid (or bass roll-off) built in. The EDB just confirmed it for me.

I get great sound out of K&K using ParaDI, Fishman Pro Stage (and platinum), Pendulum, Raven, DTAR, K&K, UltraSound, Baggs Venue, etc. Rarely are other people's guitars acoustically the same as mine, so the settings I use are as varied as the instruments. It's easy to nail a really nice sound quickly with external preamps.

If a guitar has a overly bassy sound, that's what I use the mid-bass freq or cutoff filters to adjust it to sound more normal. None of them sound perfect, nor do the guitars sound perfect. If it's too smooth in the trebles, I can add both at the pre-amp and amp.

If the strings are dead, so is the sound, and I conclude that's part of the player's mojo and leave it alone.

If you do some experimenting let us know about your gear and results, please.

[Monsum]

Originally Posted by Monsum

I've decided to go for the Red Eye, which I've already ordered.I hope it will live up to the hype.

That was a while ago. Eventually I had sold it, in the meantime I tried some other solutions and recently I purchased a Fishman Platinum Stage preamp for my K&K equipped Gibson.
I was afraid that the Fishman input impedance might not be ideal for the pickup or that it will colour the sound in an unpleasant way.
But I actually like it a lot. Favourite features are sweepable mids and running on phantom power along with batteries and a power supply.

Here is an unedited audio clip - a Gibson with K&K pure mini into the Fishman and directly into an audio interface.
Sounds even better through a PA with some reverb.

[varmonter]

my big thing with impedance is where you start
with your eq process. Ideally ( i mean ideally)
your guitar should sound pretty good with the eq
set flat. This gives you all that room to play.
if you have to max out your bass let's say in either
direction to start with then you probably have
a mismatch .

[MartyGraw]

Another Red Eye believer here. I have a K and K pre, a Fishman Platinum Stage and Red Eye. The Red Eye is simple and simply sounds the best.

[guitarwebguy]

Although it sounds like you’ve decided the direction you want to go, something to think about down the road is a Grace Design Bix or Alix, I use the bigger brother (Felix) with a variety of instruments and a variety of pickups (K&K Power Mix, K&K Trinity, Baggs Anthem, Trance Amulet, and Barcus Berry). Previously I used a Baggs Venue and a Fishman Aura.

[stevecuss]

Originally Posted by curbucci

If your afortable is $100 & under check out the Ultrasound DI Plus.

I'm selling one on Reverb if you want one for a steal. I like it so much, I bought the Ultrasound Amp which is basically this pre plus power amp and speaker.

https://reverb.com/item/16570644-ult...-di-plus-black

[lt20dbl]

Originally Posted by MrErikJ

There's been some debate whether input impedance of 1mohm or 10mohm makes a perceivable difference with the K&K. I think any good preamp, like the Para DI, Fishman Platinum, or Fire Eye, will work nicely with it. As long as you have a powerful EQ on it, you can fine tune the K&K pretty well.

This. Have used the same Fishman Pro Eq II for many years and it sounds great if you scoop the mid.