Deal Killer?
 

I have read on here that for many electronics is a "deal killer" on a guitar?

Is the electronics just an issue of looks?
Or tradition?

I can see why most people that play acoustic don't need one.

But if you use one isn't a built in active pick-up just a "better" option?

My only deal killers are bullet holes or bloodstains.

Although both my 'L' series Yamahas have pickups fitted they are discrete passive systems with no onboard knobs, pre-amps or visible signs, other than the endpin jack, that the guitar is anything other than a pure acoustic. For my taste it's the aesthetics (or lack of), of active systems which I find off-putting, and a definite deal-breaker. Sensible practicality aside they just look wrong, but I absolutely get why they are useful.

All electronics are bound to die no matter how well you take care of it. Replacement 10 or 20 years later? Good luck. One can argue the value of a free sound port heh..

Just go to the custom section of AGF. How many comes with those ugly sliders or knobs or buttons? Literally 0.

Yamaha L series did a wonderful job with their zero impact pickup. You cant even see it.

There's no such thing as a "better option" that is "better" for everyone. People have individual needs and preferences whether it be guitars, pickups, picks, cases, etc.

For me, a "scabbed on" active pickup control panel on the upper bout of an acoustic guitar is a real distraction, detracts totally from any sense of beauty or elegance, hence I don't like them. But if I was buying a guitar as a tool for amplified performance, my view would change and I would buy a Takamine rather than a luthier built pure acoustic masterpiece. So if you use a pickup in an acoustic guitar, choose the very best one you can find and embrace the effectiveness of your choice. If you don't use a pickup and find them obtrusive, then by all means choose a guitar that doesn't have one and embrace that choice.

Before I bought my first Taylor (114ce) I thought that electronics inside would affect the sound (I'm sure it does just not sure to what extent) and I never intended plugging in. Then I bought my current Taylor and even though my goal was to record with a mic, I plugged it in expecting to be disappointed (saw a few videos on youtube before), but was surprised when it sounded rather good (Expression System 2), so now I no longer think electronics is a drawback.

PUs
 

A pickup isn't a deal killer for me. I have no need for one, even when I play out (no loud bars), so I don't feel they add much value either. For me, in my situation.

But barn doors, knobs and the such-like; that's a different story. They permanently affect the looks, and I don't like to see them. That would probably be enough for me to walk away from a deal. I'd have to really want and need that guitar to put up with it.

But these are things you mostly see on the mid and lower end guitars, as someone kind of pointed out. The players most likely to buy these may see electronics as a plus, not a negative. Manufacturers have this figured out.

DEAL KILLER for me. Dont use them dont have a need for them and they have to effect sound. Im all acoustic and dont play out.

It's not a deal killer for me. Most of my guitars have passive bridge plate pickups like K&K or JJB or McIntyre Feather. I definitely prefer a minimalist approach however.

Almost any system besides a passive AST (like K&K) is not to my liking. Cables, battery harnesses, preamps inside the body of a guitar add to the weight, reduce the volume and tone and just are not necessary. If I need a pickup, a passive pickup with a single lead to the endpin and external preamps etc are the only way I want to go.

Not a deal breaker for me.

I prefer a pickup for playing live, but I definitely want them to be non intrusive. No extra holes in the body, and non visible.

I have a Taylor 114e that I really like. It is a great gigging guitar. I do not like the volume and tone knobs protruding out of the upper bout. I'm not crazy about the battery port right next to my end pin either, though it is convenient.

Typically a deal-killer for me. I don't amplify and have no need or desire for a pickup.

I bought one mandolin, years go, that only came with a pickup (Rigel G-110). I think I plugged it in once out of curiosity. The pickup dded no value as fr s I was concerned. On that particular instrument the installation was discrete and the instrument's appearance was unconventional enough that an end pin with an integrated jack hardly was noticeable.

But in general, on a guitar, a pickup would lessen its desirability for sure and might be a deal breaker for me.

It really depends on the pickup and install. All of my guitars have pickups and are working guitars (some more than others), but I'd really have to like everything else about the guitar to go for a big barn door on the upper bout. More and more guitars now with factory pickups are using the soundhole access controls and I don't mind those at all as they can be removed without leaving holes in the guitar. Usually though a factory installed pickup is some sort of UST and I don't like the sound of those so I pull them out and install a K&K or JJB.

Does drilling a large end pin hole bother you? I can’t bring myself to it.