k&k
 

Hi ; thinking of purchasing an acoustic with a K&K mini in it.If we ever get to play music out in public again; will it help to have preamp? plugged in to my fishman soloamp. What is recommended ,as a basic preamp? Thanks.

You'll find lots of info on this if you do a search in this forum. I've tried a lot of preamps including some expensive ones like the Grace Alix but I keep coming back to my Red Eye. Very simple, just a boost button and a treble control (useful if a room gets loud and you don't want to get into a volume war with your audience - boosting the treble lets the signal cut through without additional volume). Hand made in the U.S., great customer support, small and easy to carry, built like a tank. I ALWAYS use it with my K&K-equipped Martins when performing.

Some people like the K&K preamp but it sounded too harsh to me, the RedEye is much more pleasing, to my ear anyway. But you'll get a lot of info....some of it contradictory....so try before you buy, if possible.

Gene

I have a K&K in my Martin HD-28V. A preamp will help, but the biggest issue is impedance matching. Using a high impedance (Hi-Z) input, typically 1Mohm, significantly reduces piezo "quack." Most mixers do not have Hi-Z inputs, so you need something between the guitar and the mixer to match impedance. A good preamp designed for guitars will do this, as well as give you some EQ control.

K&K makes their own preamp, and I have found that even the inexpensive Behringer ADI21 ($33 at Sweetwater) works reasonably well.

Personally, after trying several preamps, I bit the bullet and bought a ToneDexter, which gives me a sound much closer to that of a "mic'd" guitar than anything else I've tried. Of course, the cost is significantly more.

The first thing I would recommend is:

Plug it in to the instrument line input on your Soloamp... you just may find that you like the tone that way!

If you don't, then you're off to "Preamp Land"! I have the K&K Pure XLR preamp and it works well with the K&K - that's what it was designed for?!

Many people have used many different preamps and had success... you get to pick and choose!

The easiest option, of course, would be to use the K&K straight into your PA... especially if you aren't playing "out" very often... which, of course, none of us are doing at the moment!

Agreed. The solo amp has a preamp built right in. You likely won’t need anything else. However, if you plug into a conventional mixer in the future, a preamp, like those mentioned above, is a near necessity.

Yay! don't need a preamp with my soloamp? I guess I'll try it ;when i buy this guitar ...and when I play out in wineries again . stay safe friends!!

many great options - from BOSS GE7, Redeye, Fishman Platinum, Tonedexter ...
if you scroll down to "Best Preamp for K&K Pure Mini passive?" here on AGF, you read some more.

For $33 a Behringer ADI21 is hard to beat. For $400 a ToneDexter has something nothing less expensive has got (you might find it for $360 if you make some offers). I like those two extremes.

Far and away the most important thing for any piezo pickups is a proper 1Meg input impedance. Virtually all amps made for acoustic instruments will have at least one channel like this. But I do think a devise like a RedEye will improve the sound some, and are really handy to have in your case if someone wants you to plug into a PA.

One additional cost of the ToneDexter, however, is that you need a mic to train it, and you may find yourself buying, borrowing or stealing multiple mics in your attempt to get the "perfect" wavemap! Still, I have absolutely no regrets about buying it.

Many of us think ToneDexter sounds best with an SM57. :-)

Molly Tuttle seems to agree (at about 4:20).

Funny! I assume it’s because it’s the mic we all used before the myriad of pickup options came flooding in. The sound we’re used to?