My brain works in bullet points, so here we go
Brief history:
- After struggling with EQ-ing a K&K pure mini + pre-phase control in a Recording King ROS-06, I eventually found a sound I was happy with
- Bought a used OM-35 MFG online (NGD post) and sold the Recording King
- On to a journey to finding the right pickup for the Martin
What I want:
- Something non-invasive
- Something that doesn't alter the integrity of the guitar, for example inserting a UST
- Something that isn't too expensive
- Minimal need of outboard gear
What I play:
- Pretty much from fingerstyle to heavy strumming and everything in between, playing church music, pop and blues
- Playing unplugged at home
- Playing plugged in at church - always with in-ears monitoring system
- Gear wise I have a Fishman Pro-EQ Platinum (the old grey one)
So with that in mind, I came down to these:
- K&K Pure Mini passive installed with tape instead of power glue. The one in the Recording King was boomy with very hot mids, I like the neutral highs though.
- LR Baggs iBeam active
- DTar/Duncan Wavelength Duo - a bit on the expensive side
- Baggs Anthem - a lot on the expensive side
and has a UST. This is also used by the elites in my circle of musicians
- K&K Trinity (the one with an SBT and a mic) - expensive and has a big PCB inside a guitar
So...despite and due to the inconsistent praises and curses of the iBeam active, I got curious and I bought one.
My findings so far:
- Bloody hard to get the right position, lol
- A little boomy but nothing overwhelming
- But has a zingy, stringy, steely sound - I have to cut treble and brilliance a little to tame the zing
- And hot mids, way too forward compared to the unplugged sound - I have to cut mids by around 10dB midway in the mids frequency band
- And after all that still not 'my acoustic but louder' sound
I'm not happy with the iBeam but I'm glad I took the plunge and found out what all the fuss was about. I'm already considering getting a passive Pure Mini and be done with it. A part of me also wants to do the other extreme and shell out and get the Anthem and join the elites. I haven't decided yet.