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  #1  
Old 07-16-2020, 08:04 PM
Faron Faron is offline
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Default Sound hole pu advice

I’m about to pull the trigger and get an L.R. Baggs M1 for my Eastman OM. I know I want a sound hole system bc I’ll play at high volumes and don’t want feedback. However, I just heard of the Seymour Duncan mag mic. I’ve never personally used it or heard it. Anyone have some advice? I’m already familiar with the M1 and M1A and I know I like them.
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  #2  
Old 07-16-2020, 08:25 PM
YamahaGuy YamahaGuy is offline
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I use the Magmic on my Eastman E1OM with great results. It sounds good to my ears, and blending in some mic, you can get some percussive tones. I can usually blend in up to 80% of the mic before getting feedback. Battery life is great, and I've yet to have the battery fall out of the battery bag, which hides away up on the neck block. I didn't even have to drill a hole to install it, just ream the end pin hole a smidge.
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Old 07-17-2020, 07:35 AM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Faron View Post
I’m about to pull the trigger and get an L.R. Baggs M1 for my Eastman OM. I know I want a sound hole system bc I’ll play at high volumes and don’t want feedback. However, I just heard of the Seymour Duncan mag mic. I’ve never personally used it or heard it. Anyone have some advice? I’m already familiar with the M1 and M1A and I know I like them.
You'd think a magnetic sound hole pickup would do that well, but it has the disadvantage of still leaving the sound hole open. I've used the often-cited K&K Pure Mini in combination with a D'Addario Screeching Halt sound hole cover. It allowed me to play at high volume with my acoustic without the natural resonance of a body with an open sound hole.
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Old 07-17-2020, 07:54 AM
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Methos1979 Methos1979 is offline
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No experience with the Seymour Duncan Mag Mic but I would caution any pickup system with an internal condenser mic for 'high volume' playing as you'll never get to use the mic portion. Most internal condenser mic systems (sound hole or otherwise) allow you dial in or blend from no mic so a lot of mic and it's extremely prone to feedback from about 10% onwards.

So unless you're wanting the mic for quieter playing situations and better tone then it's useless. When it comes to soundhole pickup systems, the ones I've tried which include the LR Baggs M80 and the Schertler AG6 plus S-MIC-M have really not added any useable tone improvement in live situations. You're better off going with your M1 or M1A if you don't mind active/battery.

I recently went on a tear looking for a good soundhole pickup from my Martin D-1 and tried four before I found one I liked. I tried the M80 and AG6 mentioned above and they were okay but were active (with batteries, which I'm not a fan of) and then I tried the Dimarzio Black Angel (passive, no battery) and they all sounded okay but all had that slightly electric sound and had the difficult-to-tame B and high E string plinkiness.

Then I tried the relatively new K&K Double Helix Solo which is a passive/no battery system and it sounded great. Warm and very un-soundhole pickup like and it has an excellent tone boost switch that allows me to switch between strumming and fingerstyle with excellent tone for both without the need to adjust outboard EQ which is unheard of most pickup systems, especially soundhole pickups. I've been very pleased.
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Old 07-17-2020, 08:08 AM
Goat Mick Goat Mick is offline
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I'm a big fan of the Baggs M1 picups. I've also owned three M1A pickups in the past but ended up selling them all because I just think the standard M1 sounds better. I always got a touch or harshness with the active pickup that I never got from the passive version.
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Old 07-17-2020, 08:17 AM
Faron Faron is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YamahaGuy View Post
I use the Magmic on my Eastman E1OM with great results. It sounds good to my ears, and blending in some mic, you can get some percussive tones. I can usually blend in up to 80% of the mic before getting feedback. Battery life is great, and I've yet to have the battery fall out of the battery bag, which hides away up on the neck block. I didn't even have to drill a hole to install it, just ream the end pin hole a smidge.
Thanks! An Eastman E1OM is exactly the guitar I’m using! So this is what I hoped to hear. But I’m still a little unsure though if I want to deal with a battery box.....

Last edited by Faron; 07-17-2020 at 08:24 AM.
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Old 07-17-2020, 08:21 AM
Faron Faron is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Goat Mick View Post
I'm a big fan of the Baggs M1 picups. I've also owned three M1A pickups in the past but ended up selling them all because I just think the standard M1 sounds better. I always got a touch or harshness with the active pickup that I never got from the passive version.
I’ve used M1As in the past, but a local guitar shop owner whose opinion I value says the same thing you do. He thinks the M1 sounds better. So if I go that route I am going passive this time. I don’t really want to use a preamp though, so will the passive M1 perform well straight into a Fishman Loudbox Mini?
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Old 07-17-2020, 08:23 AM
varmonter varmonter is offline
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Like Methos said if your playing
At high volumes a mic can be problematic.
You may just end up dialing it out
Completely. If what your looking for
Is percussion than look at the LR Baggs m80.
It has a cool feature that picks up
Body sounds and still allows you
To play loud. I use it and have been
Happy with it for 5 years now.
Which is a real testament because I
Usually change out these things way
too frequently looking for a holy grail.
I run the m80 in passive mode but there
Is an active mode switch and two 2032 batts
In the pickup itself it gives the signal a boost.
I have outboard gear that preamps my signal
And prefer not to rely on batteries so I run it passive.
With mine I removed the poles from the high e an b strings.
The g string is cranked way down and I get a good string balance
Across my taylor custom dred. But ymmv and with pole peices
you get that ability to "pre-eq" if you will ,the balance of any guitar
You put it in.

Last edited by varmonter; 07-17-2020 at 08:33 AM.
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Old 07-17-2020, 08:44 AM
Goat Mick Goat Mick is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Faron View Post
I’ve used M1As in the past, but a local guitar shop owner whose opinion I value says the same thing you do. He thinks the M1 sounds better. So if I go that route I am going passive this time. I don’t really want to use a preamp though, so will the passive M1 perform well straight into a Fishman Loudbox Mini?
I plug mine straight into my Loudbox Mini, my Loudbox Performer and my Bose L1c and it sounds great with all of them. The only time I use my Para DI preamp is when I'm plugging directly into a house PA. But most of the time if there is a house PA, I'll still go into my Loudbox Mini with both guitar and vocals and line out from there into the PA. I like having control over the sound onstage.
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  #10  
Old 07-17-2020, 08:47 AM
Goat Mick Goat Mick is offline
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Another thing that can really help the M1 and the M1A is to completely remove the pole pieces for the high B and E strings. It really helps to remove any harshness.
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  #11  
Old 07-17-2020, 09:03 AM
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Methos1979 Methos1979 is offline
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I agree with a lot of this. The M80 was a great pickup for getting body sounds, one limitation to the Double Helix Solo I'm not using. I rarely need body sounds and of our long set list only have one song we really even need it on. For most gigs I use Cole Clark guitars anyway so that covers that need nicely.

I like the fact that the M80 can be used in passive mode. Great if your battery dies mid show! I found I needed to completely remove the B and high E pole pieces on both the M80 and Black Angel and even then I needed to EQ out some of the highs.

Sounds like the OP is strictly looking for confirmation from someone about the Mag Mic and he's found that so it's pretty much a moot point. But it's nice to have options and opinions for other people that find these threads down the line with searches.

Quote:
Originally Posted by varmonter View Post
Like Methos said if your playing
At high volumes a mic can be problematic.
You may just end up dialing it out
Completely. If what your looking for
Is percussion than look at the LR Baggs m80.
It has a cool feature that picks up
Body sounds and still allows you
To play loud. I use it and have been
Happy with it for 5 years now.
Which is a real testament because I
Usually change out these things way
too frequently looking for a holy grail.
I run the m80 in passive mode but there
Is an active mode switch and two 2032 batts
In the pickup itself it gives the signal a boost.
I have outboard gear that preamps my signal
And prefer not to rely on batteries so I run it passive.
With mine I removed the poles from the high e an b strings.
The g string is cranked way down and I get a good string balance
Across my taylor custom dred. But ymmv and with pole peices
you get that ability to "pre-eq" if you will ,the balance of any guitar
You put it in.
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  #12  
Old 07-17-2020, 09:51 AM
YamahaGuy YamahaGuy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Faron View Post
Thanks! An Eastman E1OM is exactly the guitar I’m using! So this is what I hoped to hear. But I’m still a little unsure though if I want to deal with a battery box.....
You can use an "N" battery, I believe, if you hard solder some tabs in the back of the Seymour Duncan Magmic, but the run time is much shorter, and the batteries are not common and not very cheap (then again, neither are 9v). Honestly, the battery "box" is a set it and forget it. I used alcohol wipes to clean the neck block when I installed mine, and last battery change, the velcro (supplied) held the box so tight, the battery came out of the box, while the box remained in place (out of sight) on the neck block.
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l.r. baggs, pickup, seymour duncan magmic, sound hole

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