soundhole vs K&K MINI

[eyesore]

Do you think That a sound hole pup will amplify louder than my K&k mini ?

[fazool]

I love K&K pickups but have recently switched over to soundhole pickups, so I will opine.

It depends on the soundhole pickup whether it will be "louder" or not.

I found the K&K soundboard transducer to be EXTREMELY loud (a very "hot" pickup) so you might not get a lot louder with a magnetic pickup.

I switched over because the K&K is very susceptible to feedback. Since it is an extremely sensitive pickup and it is directly coupled to the soundboard which is the thing that resonates during feedback - no fault of the pickup - that's just the nature of SBT's. I went to magnetic pickups which pick up string vibration and are very immune to feedback.

Usually people switch over to magnetic soundhole pickups for that reason. And, if they can tolerate the feedback, they switch the other way to get a more authentic acoustic tone.

Usually volume is not a consideration factor. The volume should mostly be adjusted at the board or amp. You might consider a preamp or a boost pedal.

If you get a pickup with a built-in preamp that can help also (I personally prefer passives though, and find them plenty loud enough).

You might also look to add a endpin jack preamp to your K&K if you need to boost the signal but, again, those pickups are *SO* loud they don't even ever need a preamp except for tone shaping.

What is your signal chain? I suspect there's a better way to fix your volume issue. BTW, I recently had a volume issue where my acoustics weren't as loud as my electric so I had to go through a big rebalancing project , including new pickups.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Good answer from someone who knows!

Some people with K&K Minis or other piezo pickups use a solid or perforated soundhole cover to beat feedback.

[Charlie Bernstein]

PS - My K&Ks have never had trouble asserting themselves. Far from it.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by eyesore

Do you think That a sound hole pup will amplify louder than my K&k mini ?

Hi eyesore…
There are plenty of pickups which will get louder (without feedback) than a K&K. Whether they will sound better is the actual issue.

A mag pickup will give you armor-plated-resistance to feedback, and can imitate the sound of a buzz saw quite well. It can deliver decent (not distinct) bass if your amp/PA can be adjusted for it.

This is a great setup if you play in a rock band.

If you buy a preamp for your K&K and use common sense when setting up your K&K can get louder than is comfortable in a PA.

[LAPlayer]

Increased volume, in an amplified acoustic guitar, can be achieved many ways without changing pickups. What I am most concerned about is the way a pickup makes a particular guitar sound. I have numerous pickups in my guitars as they are all performance instruments, from the Baggs LB6 to K&K, Fishman and several other Baggs units. They all sound great and get plenty loud on stage. A couple of guitars even have 2 different pickup systems. Go for the sound and take care of the volume afterwards.

[eyesore]

I am really trying to get the high E and B strings louder. For fingerpicking.Thanks.

[keith.rogers]

String-to-string balance can be challenging on sound hole pickups because of their design, especially if they have individual poles which are not adjustable or don't align with your strings. But, that same reason, i.e., they're amplifying the strings and not the guitar top, itself, might help your situation. I'd look for something with individual poles that can be adjusted, or perhaps a "blade" design, and one that comes with a long cable and plug so you can try it out and return it if it doesn't work. Note that "single-coil" designs can be prone to hum/EFI in some situations.

Some sound more acoustic than others, but mostly you're relying on the harmonic structure created by the strings, and not your guitar's sound. That may or may not be what you want. Good luck.

[fazool]

the responses raised a more specific detail:

Are you simply looking for more volume or do you want more volume before feedback. In other words are you trying to get the volume just louder or are you at high volume and trying to reduce feedback?


One thing you might do (and I have done this so I know it works):

You can buy a single replacement disc from K&K for about $30 and add it between the E & B positions or even more toward the E - this is documented on their website as a fix to get more E and B volume in some guitars.

Its a very simple process and not expensive at all.

[Nymuso]

For gigs that are sonic nightmares in terms of crowd noise, I use my Godin A6 Ultra. I found my K&K equipped Martin useless in getting enough volume to compete with a noisy crowd without feeding back.

However, I'd like to use my Martin again for some quieter venues, and have equipped it with a DiMarzio Black Angel soundhole pickup (the K&Ks having long since been removed). I have found I need to use electric strings or GHS White Bronze to get the string to string volume balanced.

I'm thinking of adding a mic to get a better tone and am exploring options.

[Brent Hahn]

For most things, I've swapped out my Baggs M80 mag for a Baggs HiFi (same basic thing as the K&K). For loud scenarios I go back to the M80. It takes a few minutes but it's pretty DIY doable as long as you have a stiff solid-wire "fisher" for the output jack. You want to do it at home before you leave, not onsite at the gig.

[eyesore]

Yeah ;I am really curious as to what my guitar would like with a soundhole pup in it, just have the wire outside the guitar for now. I feel like I can't hear the E and B , they are the main strings you use when taking a "Pride and Joy "type of lead.

[Dundarave]

When I installed my K&K mini in my D-12e, I found that by reversing the phase, (i.e. swapping the two output wires) I was able to reduce any feedback dramatically.

Has anyone else who has feedback issues with the K&K tried this?

A simple, tiny double-pole/double-throw switch connected inside should allow a person to switch the phase and reduce the feedback potential.

I’ve never seen this mentioned anywhere where the feedback issue has been mentioned, but it sure worked for me.

[Nymuso]

Originally Posted by Dundarave

When I installed my K&K mini in my D-12e, I found that by reversing the phase, (i.e. swapping the two output wires) I was able to reduce any feedback dramatically.

Has anyone else who has feedback issues with the K&K tried this?

A simple, tiny double-pole/double-throw switch connected inside should allow a person to switch the phase and reduce the feedback potential.

I tried this with my K&K equipped Martin years back by hitting the phase reversal button on my Baggs PADI, which I also used to try to notch out the offending frequency. Nothing worked completely, at least not for me in my particular situation.

[Wardo]

One of my guitars has a K&K as well as a magnetic sound hole pickup. Each pickup has a separate jack and if there’s a problem with one I can switch to the other. Also, plugging each pickup into a separate amplifier creates a pretty good wall of acoustic guitar sound.