I think I'll duck under everyone else. Y'all know I love Gibson Acoustic, and have played primarily Gibsons throughout the past 40+ years (as I do now) - but the best practical gigging instrument, as far as electronics and quality of sound output, that I've used in jams and on stage is -- ready? -- a $299 Ibanez AEL Jumbo that I played for about 5 years (2008 to 2013). OP if you are looking for something you described, why pay 1k to 2k when there are a lot of less expensive but very, very capable cheapies out there? :) Just a thought . . .

I've also been toying around with the idea of getting a mainly plugged in guitar. Honestly, I never really thought about Takamines but i think I might give them a chance.

I use to shout down Ovation proponents. After becoming an owner, I am a fan. They shine when plugged in. Hard to resist at the price and rock solid where rough handling is possible.

Interesting comparison.
 

Takamine pickup technology vs LR Baggs M1


Just putting this out there for comparison. To my ears the M1 sounds better and this is an very easy pickup to install. In terms reproducing the natural sound of a guitar the M1 is superseded by the other pickup options like the LR Baggs Anthem and Lyric and the M1A, M80, etc.. I may be missing something with the latest from Takamine, but I believe a lot of the love for Takamine just comes from the traditional thinking "these are great stage guitars" handed down from the last decade from a lot of players who aren't gear heads who haven't been paying much attention to some of the really incredible new pickup options. From their supporters you'll find the love for Takamine isn't just the pickup technology, though. I see a lot of people talking up how they are well built, great road instruments.

Here's another interesting comparison of the Fishman Rare Earth magnet (humbucking) sound hole pickup vs the LR Baggs M1A sound hole pickup. Sound hole pickups have come a long way over the years. Once again I find myself a bigger fan of what the M1 is delivering

I was very reluctant to have a K&K Pure Mini installed in my Martin SWDGT, but took the plunge a few months ago, and it turned out to sound fantastic. Extremely close to playing with an external mic. It was the first time I had dealt with any kind of amplification, and until then never paid any attention to amplified guitar sound. Since the install, I've made it a habit to listen very closely whenever I hear an amplified acoustic guitar on a stage, and I have to say that my setup sounds way better than many setups I've seen since then, many involving much more expensive guitar/amplification systems. It baffles me how many professional and well-known artists seem to be content with horrendous amplified sound. I can only recommend the K&K Pure Mini, based on my experience. For what it's worth, I either plug directly into a Fender Acoustasonic amp (sounds fantastic!), or into a Red Eye Fire Eye preamp and then into a PA.

Yes--I believe the correct answer is "any guitar with a K&K and a good outboard preamp."

Something like a Bedell MB-17 (all solid, great guitars, $500) + K&K Onboard Trinity ($500) = great playing, great sounding, plugged in or not, for $1k.

I tried the Aura and various LR Baggs solutions and they sounded terrible to me. It wasn't an installation problem--I tried them on showcase guitars set up by the pickup manufacturers.

You are missing something RMZ, that is a G series Tak ust pickup being compared, not the Pro/MIJ systems which are the CT4BII, Cooltube, CT4DX combined with the palathetic pickup which are vastly different upgrades that only work in MIJ models. The Nashville scene seem to use MIJ systems from my experiences and Nashville connections.

I have two M80's and have also used the M1A and I agree with your point on how far they have come and I prefer the M80 in my D18 overall, but it can't keep up with the palathetic pickup combined with any of the 3 MIJ preamps I mentioned for versatility and dynamics and I've owned all three.

MIJ Taks are very well built with comparable craftsmanship to my Martin with HHG, dovetail joint, scalloped bracing, super clean inside and meticulous finishing. The non-MIJ Taks are not in the same league. As a full-time musician with tons of experience with the aformentioned products I speak with great confidence, not "traditional thinking", in the proven abilities of both MIJ Takamine gear and Baggs pickups. I provided a few videos in my earlier posts.

eric

Good post, and agreed about MIJ Takamines. I have a Maton dreadnought ("dreaded Maton" in AGF parlance? ;)) and the pickup technology is similar.

I think there's a lot of appeal to having an unfussy, purpose-built acoustic-electric, and for the OP's intent (the occasional jam/gig with friends) it makes sense. I can't believe anyone here is discouraging his GAS. :eek:

At the $1000-$2000 range there are tons of nice options. I'll echo the recommendations of MIJ Takamines and 300-400 series Taylors.

I couldn't play any guitar "made" as an electric. It took me years to find the right design (12 fret dread, wider board) and I can't play skinny rhythm necks.

Recently, something convinced me to have some electrickery put into one of my Collings, and my Martin D12-20.

K&K Minis through ancient but good British made Award-Session GG10 floor pre-amps.

Still prefer to use just one good large condenser mic. though.

I sold my Peavey rig ..too heavy for an old man, got a Bose L1 and Yamaha mixer - haven't used it much yet.

Hi Toby, good point well made. Quite understand your recommendation of AER.

I recently chose a used Bose L-1 over a new Acus (Schertlers aren't easily available here).

Did you ever compare a Bose with the Schertler?

Lots of great suggestions.

My one thought would be to budget $100 toward adding the TC Electronic BodyRez to your chain (link is to a review by AGF member Doug Young). In my opinion, the combination of midrange filtering and compression that this wonderful little box provides really enhances the plugged-in tone of pretty much all factory on-board electronics. Of course, YMMV.

I recently heard a busker playing a Cole Clark and it sounded great. I've also been reading about Godin Multiac and Taylor T-5. Definitely off the beaten path but I'm curious about anybody's opinion or experience.

It's hard to argue against Takamine, Maton and Cole Clark. Maton and Cole Clark basically use the system that Takamine developed but add SBT's and miss for more versatility. It's the best tone I have heard live. What's great about them is how easy it is to eq these pickups and how huge they sound plugged in. The ES2 would probably be my next choice but I think Taylor needs to add one more component to it to add in some high end. Relying solely on the saddle system makes for a warmer tone that picks up a lot of string noise.

Honestly I've had the Taylor ES1 and ES2. The ES1 was really tinny to me. The ES2 was better but on my particular guitar it needed tons of eq for it to sound like I wanted it to. Midrange was very overpowering and didn't sound good at all. I had heard good things about Takamine and found a guy on craigslist with one for sale. It is the ef340sbg and has a line driver pickup in it so it just has an on board 9v and no other controls kinda like the k&k with a battery. I had a taylor 324 with a k&k in it and it was good for picking but strumming was a different story. I tried the red eye and other recommended pre amps etc but never really got the natural sound I was looking for. The takamine on the other hand sounded really good. I made a few minor adjustments on my amp and that is all that was needed. I ran it through a red eye pre amp before going into the amp. This was a quick clip I did yesterday after getting it. It isn't a perfect recording but it serves its purpose. I'm very pleased with the purchase and since it was used got it for a pretty decent price I think. The thing was pretty much brand new and rarely played. If you can find one that sounds good live and through the pickup it's a win win. The first part is recording the sound from my schertler jam 400 and the second part is straight acoustic. It wasn't the best mic placement for the second part. I've recorded it since and it sounds a lot better.

Fishman Neo-D and be done with it. No feedback and no turning your guitar into a duck (quacky Piezo-based sources).