Opinions needed for sound hole acoustic pickup

[Trev's Dad]

Hi folks,

I just acquired a 1975 Ovation Baladeer that's really cool, but the original under saddle piezo is NOT. I was hoping to put an LR Baggs HiFi in it, but because the way the bracing runs up under and through the bridge area (underside of the top), there's no way I can do that. I was really surprised at how good this guitar sounds unplugged...full, rich, articulate and well balanced across the tonal spectrum. Would like to capture as much of that natural sound as possible (aren't we all???).

I am now shopping for plan B...a sound hole pickup.

I've done some initial searches and listened to as many quality youtube vids that I can find, and have narrowed the search down a bit to these finalists:

* Duncan Mag Mic
* K&K Double Helix
* Fishman Rare Earth Blend
* Mojotone Quiet Coil NC-2
* DiMarzio Black Angel

Would love any "real world" experiences/testimones about any of these, and you can post links to good vids as well, or you may have a sleeper that I need to consider. Thanks for your input!

[calvanesebob]

I have an LR Baggs M80 that sounds good.

[Trev's Dad]

Originally Posted by calvanesebob

I have an LR Baggs M80 that sounds good.

That almost made my list, maybe I need to find some additional quality videos of that model...

[guitaniac]

If your playing style/styles can avoid striking the pickup directly, I’d opt for the NC-2.

The M80 is similar (doesn’t like being struck directly), except that it has a larger footprint and doesn’t have an onboard mic to add a little “air”. On the plus side for the M80, you can flip a switch and run it passively if need be or actually preferred.

The Rare Earth Blend can sound very good and has a small footprint. One advantage of the Rare Earth Blend is that you can opt to access the mag and mic separately (via stereo cable or stereo-to-Y cable) so that the signals can be processed separately before blending. That would be a more complicated and expensive option for getting the best possible blended signal.

[YamahaGuy]

Seymour Duncan Magmic in an Eastman E1OM sounded really good. Easy to "install" and good battery life. I like the mic blend feature.

[Jinder]

I’ve had an SD MagMic for close to a decade. It’s very good indeed-have used it in various guitars and it’s been superb in each one. It currently lives in my ‘95 Dove, as it has done for the last five years or so. I’d highly recommend the MagMic to anyone!

[IraDuncan]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

Seymour Duncan Magmic in an Eastman E1OM sounded really good. Easy to "install" and good battery life. I like the mic blend feature.

This pickup has had my attention for a little while, but I have not taken the plunge yet to order one.

The last year has found my guitar arsenal increasing every few months, after taking 10 years off from buying anything.

Since September of 2022, I have probably purchased 6 Fishman Rare Earth mic-blend pickups, whether from ebay, here, or GC.

I did briefly have a mojotone nc-2, and that pickup was tricky, IME, to get a proper sound in my GS Mini mahogany.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by IraDuncan

This pickup has had my attention for a little while, but I have not taken the plunge yet to order one.

The last year has found my guitar arsenal increasing every few months, after taking 10 years off from buying anything.

Since September of 2022, I have probably purchased 6 Fishman Rare Earth mic-blend pickups, whether from ebay, here, or GC.

I did briefly have a mojotone nc-2, and that pickup was tricky, IME, to get a proper sound in my GS Mini mahogany.

Hi Ira,

Have you experimented any with using a stereo or stereo-to-Y cable to access the Rare Earth Blend’s mic and mag signals separately (so that they can be processed individually before blending)? I’m wondering how Fishman has chosen to “toneshape” the mic signal to optimize onboard blending for the great majority of users who will be using the Rare Earth Blend with a mono cable.

PS Checking the user’s manual, I see that the Rare Earth Blend includes a bass roll-off switch so the user can choose an extended bass or rolled off bass. Very commendable that it has both a bass roll-off feature AND a stereo option.

[Methos1979]

Of those on your list, I have direct experience with two - the Dimarzio Black Angel and the K&K Double Helix Solo. I initially went through a phase looking for the best sound hole pickup for me and tried several including the Baggs M80, the Schertler AG6 with S-Mic and the Black Angel. Of those three the Black Angel was the best for me. Then I tried the K&K Double Helix Solo and that one was far better than anything I'd tried before. I have two detailed posts about that process.

Here's one comparing the Black Angel to the AG6:

Dimarizo Black Angel vs. Schertler AG6 with S-MIC-M

Here's the one talking about the K&K Double Helix Solo:

K&K Double Helix Solo review - long and detailed

I currently have an IRIS DF that I put a K&K Pure Mini and Double Helix Solo combo pickup system in.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by IraDuncan

I did briefly have a mojotone nc-2, and that pickup was tricky, IME, to get a proper sound in my GS Mini mahogany.

Likely guitar-dependent, and I find the mic to be better as a spice rather than major contributor to the sound. I've used it in an OM-21, OM1-SS and now OM1-JL. With the Martin it benefited from a bit of a low notch. In the Collings, it works with no eq needed.

As noted above, I find mag pickups are technique dependent. If you strum, you need to pay attention to where/how you strum. What was interesting to me was that with a 24-7/8" scale OM, I was ticking the pickup a fair amount. On a 25.5" OM, I rarely hit it.

[kingdaddy]

I second the votes for the L.R. Baggs M-80...played if for years in my vintage Martin and thought it sounded very good through our church PA with a very high end mixing board and pro sound guy handling it. Just plugged it into a DI box and let him do the rest...along with the old D-28 of course!

[meb]

I would suggest you take a look at the Fishman Blackstack. I find it to be
a warmer, richer more dynamic version of the Black Angel & Double Helix, but
both of them are fine, also. The Blackstack is a little heavier, though.

I liked the sound of the MojoTone NC Passive and NC-1, but cannot deal with
the clicking.

I wanted to love the RE Blend, but I preferred the Blackstack.

I do have a Blackstack posted in the AGF For sale section.

I use the Sunrise in my main gigging guitars.

Good luck...btw my first real guitar was an Ovation Artist bought in 1973.

[noledog]

DeArmond Tone Boss:

* light weight
* passive, so no battery
* volume wheel
* three different colors to match guitar
* tone is excellent, warm and dials in easily without the need for any out board eq when using an acoustic amplifier or pa.

I prefer it over my previous M1A, M80 and others over the years.

[David Garner]

Add me to the chorus of those who suggest an M80 for this application.

However, I'd consider getting something like a Fishman Aura and seeing if you can make the undersaddle work. It's more money by more than double, but the tones I've heard live are incredible. We opened for Mike Cooley once and he had an old Harmony guitar that Mike Baxendale had refurbished, run through an Aura pedal, and it sounded unreal. I would suggest an Anthem SL or something similar, but with the Ovation you'll probably get better results with an actual modeler over either a dual source system or a soundhole pickup.

[Degenerates]

I'm using the Schertler AG6 with an S-Mic which is a small condenser you can plug in to blend. Usually as I play mostly at home with IEM's I just use 100% mic and it sounds great. Quite easy to install and use.

The other one I've got is the iRig Acoustic stage, which sounds alright too, mainly as a back up.