K & K mini with either of these preamps??

[texasguitar]

I am having a K & K pure mini installed in my Martin D28. I already have a LR Baggs Gigpro preamp and the Fishman Aura Spectrum pedal. Does anyone have any experience using either or both of these preamps with a K & K mini? I can get the K & K preamp if I need .... Any thoughts would be appreciated. I know many say you can use the K & K without but .....(I currently play my Martin GPCPA1 which has the Fishman Aura system built in so it is plug and play under any circumstances..but i want to be able to use this new D28 MD in the same kind of settings without worry)

[RogerPease]

If you always plug into the same PA system and you like the sound you get then you probably don’t need a preamp at all. If you plug into various random PA systems them you need to buffer the K&K from the input of the system in order to get predictable results. A preamp or at least a buffer pedal will take care of that.

The K&K preamps don’t seem to be thought of as the best value here on the forum. I like my Red Eye preamp a lot. Sunn Audio and Grace preamps seem to get the highest marks but they cost more $$$.

Hope this helps. Cheers, _RP

PS: Try they pedals you have and see if you like the sound. After all, they’re paid for! :-)

[shufflebeat]

I suspect everything you really need is in the Gigpro. It’s also in a Boss GE-7, if you’ve ever felt the need to buy one, now’s the time.

Mind you, the Spectrum has a balanced XLR out so that’s also a consideration. Either way you have a selection of high impedance inputs that should be fine.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by texasguitar

I am having a K & K pure mini installed in my Martin D28. I already have a LR Baggs Gigpro preamp and the Fishman Aura Spectrum pedal. Does anyone have any experience using either or both of these preamps with a K & K mini? I can get the K & K preamp if I need .... Any thoughts would be appreciated. I know many say you can use the K & K without but .....(I currently play my Martin GPCPA1 which has the Fishman Aura system built in so it is plug and play under any circumstances..but i want to be able to use this new D28 MD in the same kind of settings without worry)

Hi t-g
I've heard K&K Pure Mini through both and they sounded very acoustic-guitar-like.

[capefisherman]

FWIW, I've been using professionally installed (because I'm a klutz) K&K's in over two dozen guitars going back 8 - 10 years. Those guitars ranged from a Martin D-42 to a couple Gibson J-45's to various Taylors and others, both small bodied and bigger, in rosewood, mahogany, blackwood, maple and walnut. At various times and depending upon the size of the gig I've used a single Bose S1 Pro, the late lamented Carvin AG-400 (why oh why did I sell that?!?), a Rivera that I'd still have if I could live with the weight, a Schertler Jam, a couple of ACUS amps and few other amps and small PA's.

In each and every case, the use of a pre amp was all but required to get close to the sound I want with a K&K-equipped instrument. Yes, you can get away with going direct and you may end up with a passably decent sound but if you want truly high-fidelity results from all parts of the tonal spectrum a pre amp is a must, IMHO.

I've tried a few pre amps too but it's come down to this. If I'm playing somewhere that does not have power available, like the ever-popular beach weddings here on Cape Cod, I will use my battery-powered K&K pre amp between my guitar and one or two Bose S1 Pro's. But in truth, I don't really like the results all that much because the natural sound with a K&K-equipped guitar becomes almost raspy and certainly unnatural. Better than no pre amp at all but not by much. I was a RedEye fan for a while but for one reason or another I stopped using mine.

The solution for me is the Grace ALiX. I love love love the thing for so many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I can find a great, natural sound regardless of which K&K-equipped guitar I use, from Martin 00-18 to my Bourgeois OM-150 to my recent D-18 to my D-35 Seth Avett.

Yes, the ALiX must be plugged in so there are times when I'd love to use it but just can't. Considering the rapid advancement of lithium rechargeable batteries I expect it won't be long before there is one out there that will power the ALiX for 4 - 6 hours and is reasonably portable and doesn't cost too much. Maybe it's already out there? Info appreciated if it is!

So, this long-winded post gets down to this: Yes, the Grace ALiX is pricey. But considering its versatility and the astounding improvement in fidelity I get, I consider it the single best add-on devise I've ever owned.

Gene

[ljguitar]

Hi tg
There are a lot of opinions about K&K Pure Mini pickups and what we play them through, but most of us admit they are a reasonable solution which helps a guitar sound more guitar-like when preamplified. And we think the guitars sound better with them through systems than without them.

We care more than audiences…

Some players like more advanced tone controls, and others like myself prefer aids like the ToneDexter (a more elaborate preamp & processor) or the Grace Felix or Alix (very high end solutions).

Before the ToneDexter I would have said that dual-source rigs are most guitar-like, and all my acoustics have K&K dual source rigs internal, and I still own 4 two channel preamps. But the ToneDexter moved my K&K rigs from 'very acoustic like' to 'sounds like my guitar' when playing through decent systems.

My suggestion is play your K&K Pure mini through a number of preamps and PA/Amp options. It's free to use it with your Gigpro & Spectrum.

Take your time - what's the rush. Making informed choices (based on your experience) save hundreds/thousands of dollars, and net better results.

[redwards]

I've used the K&K with the Fishman Aura Spectrum and it sounded pretty great. I didn't use the modelling images but used the rest of the preamp functions - the mute, low, mid, high and there is a feedback function too.

[gfirob]

+1 on the Tonedexter with K&K's. I have K&K's in all my guitars and the Tonedexter allows you to have a wavemap (IR) specifically for each guitar. I even use this on a National resonator.