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  #16  
Old 09-26-2018, 08:59 AM
redir redir is offline
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If you plug into an amp then you are plugging into a preamp too. Ideally having a preamp closer to the pickup will help push the signal down the long cord but you don't by any means need to have a preamp.

I have both but I also have a volume pedal on my acoustic pedal board. That way since I do not have volume on the guitar when I need to be quiet I can just rock the pedal back. It is nice to be able to turn the guitar off especially if you bounce back between electric and acoustic like I do during a performance.
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  #17  
Old 09-26-2018, 09:05 AM
JackB1 JackB1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1Charlie View Post
I host an open mic, and people come in with all manner of guitars. equipped with all manner of pickups.

All of them work just fine. I just have to adjust the gain and volume on the mixer accordingly.

I am a big K&K fan. Simple, fairly inexpensive, and sounds great.
If K&K's passive pickups like what's in the Yamaha, do most folks bring a preamp with them or just plug straight into your mixer? Do you have to add a lot more gain to
the guitars with passive pickups? Which typically sound better?
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Last edited by JackB1; 09-26-2018 at 09:19 AM.
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  #18  
Old 09-26-2018, 09:24 AM
Brent Hahn Brent Hahn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PorkPieGuy View Post
Advantage to passive pickups?

No batteries.
Disadvantage: you're much more at the mercy of the sound system's DI. Could be great, could be awful. But any kind of active preamp, including an external one you bring with you, will provide electronic buffering that makes the quality of the venue's DI matter a whole lot less.
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  #19  
Old 09-26-2018, 09:25 AM
JackB1 JackB1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vindibona1 View Post
Don't sweat the passive pickup. Almost every electric guitar out there today has passive pickups. Having a passive pickup with no volume or tone controls is no big deal in itself. For my vintage guitars I run with a Seymour Duncan Woody XL pickup that I can just pop into any of my guitars when needed. No V/T. It does have adjustable pole pieces which is a nice feature for string balance. For the Woody I bought a L.R. Baggs GigPro preamp. It cost $100 but for someone who has no internal controls it is indispensable.

Now I also have two Taylors, one with ES1 and one with ES2 system. Even with the onboard controls, I find that when I get plugged into a "house system" (95% of the time) I need the extra control the GigPro provides. So while I bought it for the Woody I don't go out without it on my Taylors either. There are many preamps that are better (and more expensive), but bigger too. This one just clips on my guitar strap on on my music stand. It's got volume, gain, phase inversion (I think that's what the red button is) and 2 band EQ.

But before I bought the GigPro I went super cheap and actually built myself a volume control box with and Altoids box, a 500k pot and a resistor. It actually worked quite well but lacked tone control and volume boost. If you're handy you can buy a cheap Chinese preamp kit for around $10 and build your own control box (I rewired a bass guitar with one of these with 3 band EQ). So you have so many different inexpensive (and expensive) options.
Interesting. So when you use the GigPro along with your Taylor/ES2, isn't it amplifying the signal twice? That doesn't cause any issues? Do you keep the ES2 turned down and use the GigPro more or vice versa? How do you blend the two together for a nice sound?
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  #20  
Old 09-26-2018, 09:31 AM
6L6 6L6 is offline
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All of my acoustics use the K&K Pure Mini passive pickup.

For best sound reproduction, however, forget a pickup and
Mic your guitar with a quality mic.
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  #21  
Old 09-26-2018, 09:40 AM
Kerry Brown Kerry Brown is offline
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I have a Yamaha LL16M with he same pickup system. It will work without a DI but the sound is not optimal. You really need an active DI with this type of pickup. I use a LR Baggs Venue DI. A bonus is all my other guitars sound way better with the LR Baggs as well. I mostly play open mics and since I bought the LR Baggs I've never had bad sound. Before I had it was hit and miss no matter what guitar I used but the Yamaha system always sounded bad. Wit the LR Baggs it is my best sounding guitar. Without it the worst.
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  #22  
Old 09-26-2018, 10:26 AM
Nick84 Nick84 is offline
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I always go into a Preamp regardless of whether my pickup is active or passive. As a result I prefer passsive pickups as there are less wires and no battery inside the guitar.

I’m in the process of adding a passive UST to my Martin LXM as I know they sound good with the Fishman UST. I’m pretty confident I can add a passive UST and it will sound just as good running through my Baggs Venue and Session and if it doesn’t the cost of the parts were stupidly cheap so I wouldn’t have any issue ripping it out and throwing in a JJB 330.
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  #23  
Old 09-26-2018, 11:23 AM
Brent Hahn Brent Hahn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 6L6 View Post
For best sound reproduction, however, forget a pickup and
Mic your guitar with a quality mic.
Well, yeah. Even better, I stay home and send Tony Rice instead. :-)
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  #24  
Old 09-26-2018, 12:56 PM
Br1ck Br1ck is offline
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Since we've been running almost everything through a SunnAudio blender at our open mic, even the cheapest undersaddle pickup sounds decent. K&Ks and Dazzos sound great.

If you go direct to the board at an open mic with K&K and the like, you are seriously degrading what you could sound like with even the simplest DI. Yes you make sound, and people can hear you, but you have a much harsher high end than you should have.

Now some boards have a hi Z switch, but I've watched while they were totally ignored. And in my experience, many don't even know what is in their guitars. I've had people with big old barn doors, with three band EQ and volume knobs tell me their guitars are passive. If you are running the board at an open mic, it keeps one on their toes.
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  #25  
Old 09-26-2018, 01:04 PM
L20A L20A is offline
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If a battery dies does the pick up become passive or does it totally quit working?

If it still works as a passive pick up, then do away with the battery and just play with the passive pick up.
Is this a possibility?
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  #26  
Old 09-26-2018, 01:08 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Br1ck View Post
.

If you go direct to the board at an open mic with K&K and the like, you are seriously degrading what you could sound like with even the simplest DI. Yes you make sound, and people can hear you, but you have a much harsher high end than you should have.

.
True story - I gave up on the expensive, elaborate preamps in lieu of this DI because I run about 60% or more of my signal through and external condenser.

This little, well built and inexpensive box does wonders for a K&K!

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...oaApcYEALw_wcB
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  #27  
Old 09-26-2018, 02:48 PM
vindibona1 vindibona1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JackB1 View Post
Interesting. So when you use the GigPro along with your Taylor/ES2, isn't it amplifying the signal twice? That doesn't cause any issues? Do you keep the ES2 turned down and use the GigPro more or vice versa? How do you blend the two together for a nice sound?
I suppose you're "amplifying" the signal twice. But think about it, if you plug an ES2 into a regular amp you're also going through a preamp section within the amp.

Having said that, I've had zero issues. In fact I find the preamp incredibly helpful in many instances. The level of experience that MOST sound guys have mixing music is limited and often poorly understood. The ES2 has very limited tone/volume control abilities. The preamp has abilities that the onboard preamp just doesn't have.

As far as "blending together for a nice sound", generally I'll leave all three knobs at their detent (middle) setting, then during sound check dial in the preamp. I can then treat the guitar's dials as fine tuning should any be needed.

In other words... No issues whatsoever.
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  #28  
Old 09-26-2018, 07:03 PM
Woolbury Woolbury is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Perchman View Post
One extra mic cable and a Red Eye Fire Eye is not prohibitively cumbersome or complicated. I have JJB Prestige 330 on my D55 and that’s how I make it work.
I've used the Red Eye also with my K&K at the couple open mics Ive done. It allows you to roll off treble if needed, and has a volume boost switch if you're in a group situation and want to stand out with a lead. The overall sound was much improved with the pre amp in my opinion. Really balanced, right at the volume you want, great acoustic sound. In a big group setting I could see wanting even more control, but for open mic scene, it was perfect.
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  #29  
Old 09-27-2018, 01:46 AM
CycleBob CycleBob is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fitness1 View Post
In my world, that's a good thing - I don't want any excessive cables, harnesses, batteries etc inside my instrument. That's why I use K&K exclusively (well, that and because they sound great!)

Yes. This with the added benefit of not worrying about 9 volt batteries all the time.

That said my passive pick up is a K&K Pure mini and I have not properly tried the Yamaha SRT system (though I recently bought a Yamaha with on installed so will soon)
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