Pickups on my new "baby"??

[Acoustic Beatle]

Hi guys, just about to spring for a Gibson J45, my first "decent" guitar_
I play in a small band with two buddies , just 3 friends playing together in a local rehearsal studio- now the Gibson hasn,t a pickup fitted , my question is how much(GBP) would I be looking at in costs,what pickup would you recommend, and, silly question here,but would there be a need for volume/tone controls to be fitted on the guitar spoiling the aesthetics ?? I could always mic the guitar up but thought I,d ask the community here on their take !! Thanks guys Should be collecting my Gibson this week ,can,t wait Yay !!

[warfrat73]

A lot of us use the K&K Pure Western mini, which is not too expensive. Lots of folks more experienced with pickups than me will chime in.

To answer your other question, though, no, there is no need to add controls to your guitar. You'd want to buy an off board preamp that you would wear on your belt or your strap when you play plugged in. Lots of options available on that.

[Rmz76]

Originally Posted by Acoustic Beatle

Hi guys, just about to spring for a Gibson J45, my first "decent" guitar_
I play in a small band with two buddies , just 3 friends playing together in a local rehearsal studio- now the Gibson hasn,t a pickup fitted , my question is how much(GBP) would I be looking at in costs,what pickup would you recommend, and, silly question here,but would there be a need for volume/tone controls to be fitted on the guitar spoiling the aesthetics ?? I could always mic the guitar up but thought I,d ask the community here on their take !! Thanks guys Should be collecting my Gibson this week ,can,t wait Yay !!

I can't help with the cost in GBP, but will provide some feedback on pickup choices for the J-45. There are a lot of choices, my favorite pickup in the J-45 would be the LR Baggs Anthem ($299 + $75 install). A few famous J-45 players using this pickup: Jackie Greene, Josh Ritter, Michael David Rosenberg (aka Passenger). Although I'm not much of a fan of under saddle systems, the LR Baggs Element pickup is not a bad choice ($129 + $75 install). The LR Baggs Active Element is the stock pickup Gibson has been installing in the J-45 for the past 10 years. If you're playing with a full band it cuts through a mix nicely.

Although it's a bit of a hassle, using an external pre-amp, EQ DI like the LR Baggs Venue ($299) or K&K Sound Pure Pre-amp/DI ($100) combined with a low cost passive pickup like the LR Baggs M1 ($150) or K&K Pure Mini ($100) will also give you a great tone.

[Rudy4]

K&K Pure mini pickup running straight to an end pin jack is my much-preferred internal pickup. Run to output to a some sort of preamp using no more than a 10' high quality low capacitance cable for best sound (necessary for impediance matching any piezo-based transducter such as the K&K Mini) and you'll be golden.

Why this?

I want nothing visible, no mounted controls, no electronics to fail or go obsolete, no battery to go dead or worse, leak in my expensive baby, and it's quite reasonably priced. There's nothing that I can't be totally oblivious to when I'm playing my guitar acoustically, but the option to plug in is there when I need it. You can stick in a sound hole cover like the D'Addario / Planet Waves "Screeching Halt" and play almost as loud as you would with a electric guitar without feedback issues, too.

I've mounted the K&K Mini system in 5 instruments and have been very happy with the tone in each case. Could it be marginally better? Perhaps, but you really have to weigh the other negative factors to determine if it's really worth it.

[rokdog49]

I just had an LR Baggs I Beam installed in my OO.
It sounds very natural, kind of surprised me in that regard.
It does involve a small volume wheel installed for access right at the soundhole but you really can't see it unless you are up close. It is fairly small and black. The I Beam costs around $140-150 plus installation.

My other guitars have the Baggs Anthem SL which is a great microphone/UST combo.
The controls on that are more visible, but still unobtrusive.
The K & K system with external preamp gets a lot of praise here so it must be pretty good. Not having an accessible volume control on the guitar is a deal-breaker for me, but that may not matter to you.

Here's a link to the I beam
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...s10aAoiU8P8HAQ

[kydave]

I'm another K&K user on all my acoustics.

No battery, no controls on or in the guitar is my mantra.

I do run to a Morley Volume Plus pedal directly out of the guitar, from there to a K&K Pure XLR preamp, then to the PA board.

On an acoustic guitar you should not be messing with tone once you have set the PA/Amp up originally for the gig.

The Morley is electric eye rather than volume pot, so very clean. And I don't use it as a volume control so much as for a boost for leads. No finesse to worry about - I set it so fully back is rhythm volume and fully forward is lead volume.

[Vancebo]

I owned a lot of different systems over the years.
The K&K crowd has its merits for sure. I have a similar handmade pickup that is more microphonic called the Dazzo. More expensive at $215 a pop. The JJB is a K&K copy at $50. Either way, you will need an off board EQ DI pedal. There are many to choose from with varying features. You may also choose to plug straight into an acoustic amp. If your willing to spend more an put a preamp and battery in your guitar, the Trance Amulet has merit.

[Mandobart]

I agree with the advice to go with passive soundboard pickups (JJB is my personal choice) and an external preamp. A belt clip option like K&K Pure or L.R. Baggs GigPro give you the ability to adjust volume and EQ on the fly just as easily as knobs on the guitar. I don't know about cost in or shipping to the UK.

[SpruceTop]

Trance Audio Amulet M Dual Mono (M Dual Mono $279USD = 229.35GBP to M Dual Mono M-VT $319USD = 262.23GBP, which includes onboard audiophile-grade preamp).