Acoustic-electric or acoustic with add on pickup

[Medford Guitar]

So, I'm going to upgrade from my Guild D-260ce deluxe. Obviously, there are so many options. Currently my guitar has an UST which has the "quack" which always takes so long to eq it out and not always completely.
I will gig with this guitar where I am the only accompaniment for 3 female singers.
I'm trying to decide whether to look at an acoustic-electric or just an acoustic and add a K&K or something similar. I see so many acoustic-electric come with an UST and not really interested in that. I don't want to just use a microphone as it's too finicky depending on the room you're playing, etc.

I'm looking to spend some $$ on a higher end professional model, solid wood well built etc.

I could use dinner opinions. Unfortunately, I live in the sticks and not really able to run to menu mucus sites to sample.

Thanks

[warfrat73]

Buy a guitar you like and add a K&K.

If you're looking for recommendations on guitar models too, you'll really need to narrow it down a bit more. Budget, body style, type of playing, etc.

[jseth]

I know that I'm in the minority on this one, but I never got anything close to a "great" sound from the K&K I had in my Goodall Grand Concert... "acceptable" was the closest I came... I was running it through (variously) a Bose T1 mixer out to either a Bose L1 Model II or an AER Compact 60, as well as using the K&K XLR PURE preamp, either straight into the Compact 60, or through the T1 mixer to the Bose rig.

So far as amplified sound goes, I was much happier with the Baggs Anthem SL systems I used for nearly a decade... I wasn't all happy that the Anthem affected the unplugged volume and tone on my 6 string, but it sounded very nice amplified.

I now have Dazzo 70's in both my 6 and 12 string guitars, and they sound really good, with little or no "treatment" or EQ. They are around $225 or so; passive high-impedance units that produce a nice, strong signal.

If you like the sound of the Taylor ES system, going with that (in any model) would be the simplest, I would think... personally, I would buy the guitar I want and then put Dazzos in it - ESPECIALLY if it was a higher-end model.

You are talking about investing quite a chunk of change on this thing - I think it would serve you well to make the trip to somewhere you can play and hear a number of different options.

[YamahaGuy]

Yamaha FGX5 or FSX5.

[Mandobart]

I've used SBT's (JJB and K&K) in dozens of acoustic stringed instruments from violin and tenor ukulele all the way to double bass.

There are other SBT options like Dazzo that work great as well.

Buying an AE guitar means having a built in preamp and battery inside the guitar. There are a few reasons I like passive SBT's with an external preamp instead:

1. Quality - a purpose-built preamp is usually superior to whatever the guitar companies pick to hit their price target.

2. Versatility - the same external preamp can be used with several instruments - it doesn't live inside just one.

3. Separability/Reliability - if your external preamp acts up you don't have to take the entire guitar out of commission to fix/replace it. Just use a spare preamp.

4. No battery inside the guitar to leak or fail, which is a PITA to cleanup or replace.

5. Less stuff inside the guitar to get loose and rattle around.

6. Get the preamp you want to get the sound you like with your pickup at a price that works for you; not whatever compromise the guitar mfr chose for you.

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by Medford Guitar

So, I'm going to upgrade from my Guild D-260ce deluxe. Obviously, there are so many options. Currently my guitar has an UST which has the "quack" which always takes so long to eq it out and not always completely.
I will gig with this guitar where I am the only accompaniment for 3 female singers.
I'm trying to decide whether to look at an acoustic-electric or just an acoustic and add a K&K or something similar. I see so many acoustic-electric come with an UST and not really interested in that. I don't want to just use a microphone as it's too finicky depending on the room you're playing, etc.

I'm looking to spend some $$ on a higher end professional model, solid wood well built etc.

I could use dinner opinions. Unfortunately, I live in the sticks and not really able to run to menu mucus sites to sample.

Thanks

I'd recommend what I use with my Gibson Jumbos:

-LR Baggs HiFi
-Tech 21 Acoustic Fly Rig.

[Charlie Bernstein]

I put K&Ks in all my folk guitars and dobros. Acoustic-electrics are the mullet of the guitar world.

[Mobilemike]

Buy the guitar that speaks to you and don’t worry about whether it has a pickup or not. It’s so inexpensive and easy to add a pickup to a guitar that IMO its not worth making that a part of your decision process.