I have a 59' J45 custom shop with adjustable bridge that I'm looking to amplify (it has the sound of *all* the angels!) I think the options I have are K&K Pure Mini, Baggs M1A, and possibly the Baggs Lyric. I mainly play and sing acoustically by myself, but do go to a few different open mics every couple months. I strum, pick, and do some finger style, just not any of the percusive tapping stuff.
I had a K&K Pure Mini in a 000-15 and it took a lot to make it sound right - a red eye preamp and a 6 band eq through an AER 60/3 (since sold, I might get an L1C or S1 Pro...) The K&K needed a bunch of shaping in the lows and mids. My J45 has twice as much bass as the 000-15 which makes me think that the pure mini might be even more problematic. I don't know if the K&K pure amp might have been a better fit than the red eye and eq I had before (I suspect not.)
I very much like the way the M1A sounds from what I can find on Youtube - moreso than the M80. I don't know if I will like how it probably alters the acoustic tone and adds weight to the guitar, less I remove it when not needed. I'm guessing it'd be hard to put in and take out without removing the strings? I do like that I could maybe get away with not having to ream the end pin for a jack, but that is not a huge concern.
The Lyric is my least favorite sound - but I'm wondering if it would sound decent like the M1A out of the box. In general at the open mics they really prefer to just hand you a cable. Maybe it would be compromise between the other options (doesn't affect acoustic tone, doesn't require outboard eq for decent sound, don't have to removed.)
Maybe there is some other contender? (those old school Bill Lawrence sound hole pickups have caught my eye.) The guitar sounds wonderful mic'd through my KSM137 and through a SM57, but the guys running the open mics aren't going to spend any time tweaking it for me and there is always the decent chance of that dreaded feedback growl or squeal.
