Would you buy a high-end instrument with a barn door pickup system?

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by stephenT

Stating the obvious. Is not part of a high end guitar guitar's appeal the aesthetics?

Guitars are way more than tools, a screwdriver is a tool. A good guitar is a magical thing.

Obvious to whom ?

First : Did you forget to read the second sentence in my post you quoted ?
This one

Originally Posted by KevWind

For me aesthetics , which we all can appreciate, is not only (totally subjective) , but great aesthetics are simply a bonus feature , and not really a predefined list of exclusionary requirements.

Personally I think "the magic" comes from the player, not the guitar of course ..... YMMV

But even if it is a :magical thing" in and of itself ,,,,,,, That has nothing to do with the OP, or whether or not a barn door inherently diminishes those aesthetics or magic . That observation is subjective, not objective.

[stephenT]

Since we're just talking here.

Maybe, No and ok fine.

Originally Posted by KevWind

Obvious to whom ?

First : Did you forget to read the second sentence in my post you quoted ?
This one

Personally I think "the magic" comes from the player, not the guitar of course ..... YMMV

But even if it is a :magical thing" in and of itself ,,,,,,, That has nothing to do with the OP, or whether or not a barn door inherently diminishes those aesthetics or magic . That observation is subjective, not objective.

[rockabilly69]

I bought an Martin OM15 gloss a few years back on a whim, and I just never being gigged with it, because I hated the K&K pickups in it. So one day, I removed the K&Ks, cut a hole in the side of it, and installed a B-Band barn-door 2 pickup XOM system in it. Now it's a great little gigger. The only aesthetic change is, now I look down at it, and see some EQ, notch filter, battery strength indicator, tuner, and a pickup blend slider, all things that make gigging much easier. I know it's not a real high end guitar, but traditionalists would still blow a fuse of what I did to it Oh yeah I also put a pick-guard on it!

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by Roccorobb

A local sale for a bourgeois OMC at a really great price has me asking myself this question. The system in question is a fishman aura. A buddy of mine has the exact same configuration in his Gibson songwriter and it sounds fantastic, but it is a big old fat barn door cut into the side of the guitar that can never be undone. Any guidance?

If it sounds good, it sounds good. Barn door or not.

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by Roccorobb

A local sale for a bourgeois OMC at a really great price has me asking myself this question. The system in question is a fishman aura. A buddy of mine has the exact same configuration in his Gibson songwriter and it sounds fantastic, but it is a big old fat barn door cut into the side of the guitar that can never be undone. Any guidance?

Historically I have HATED the barn door pickup, they look awful.

Last year I had a luthier make me a high end acoustic and guess what? I fitted a fishman barn door. Why?

I had been using the k&k mini pickup with the k&k pre-amp that hangs off my belt. Great sound but on stage when the extra nerves and time pressure of an open mic performance it just didn't work for me. The eq knobs are small and fiddly, have no detent to know where middle of range is, for me, anyway, a less than optimal experience.

Also tried the fishman eq / pre-amp / di that sits on the floor (can't remember name but it's like a large pedal), again the knobs are too far away to easily adjust mid performance.

So I went for the barn door to best enhance my experience when on stage and I'm very happy with it. Easy to see the volume and eq settings, easy to adjust same. Still think they are ugly as can be, but mostly from the audience perspective it's not that visible.

[Roccorobb]

Originally Posted by tonyo

Historically I have HATED the barn door pickup, they look awful.



Last year I had a luthier make me a high end acoustic and guess what? I fitted a fishman barn door. Why?



I had been using the k&k mini pickup with the k&k pre-amp that hangs off my belt. Great sound but on stage when the extra nerves and time pressure of an open mic performance it just didn't work for me. The eq knobs are small and fiddly, have no detent to know where middle of range is, for me, anyway, a less than optimal experience.



Also tried the fishman eq / pre-amp / di that sits on the floor (can't remember name but it's like a large pedal), again the knobs are too far away to easily adjust mid performance.



So I went for the barn door to best enhance my experience when on stage and I'm very happy with it. Easy to see the volume and eq settings, easy to adjust same. Still think they are ugly as can be, but mostly from the audience perspective it's not that visible.

Yeah, don't get me wrong, I totally get the utility of the barn door. I have a fishman barn door system in one guitar and it is my go to instrument if I will be in a place where extra gear would be difficult to bring along (an open mic is a perfect example). But it is my cheapest guitar, an old Ibanez art wood from the '90s.

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by tonyo

Historically I have HATED the barn door pickup, they look awful.

Last year I had a luthier make me a high end acoustic and guess what? I fitted a fishman barn door. Why?

I had been using the k&k mini pickup with the k&k pre-amp that hangs off my belt. Great sound but on stage when the extra nerves and time pressure of an open mic performance it just didn't work for me. The eq knobs are small and fiddly, have no detent to know where middle of range is, for me, anyway, a less than optimal experience.

Also tried the fishman eq / pre-amp / di that sits on the floor (can't remember name but it's like a large pedal), again the knobs are too far away to easily adjust mid performance.

So I went for the barn door to best enhance my experience when on stage and I'm very happy with it. Easy to see the volume and eq settings, easy to adjust same. Still think they are ugly as can be, but mostly from the audience perspective it's not that visible.

Are you running the K&K through The barn door pre, or is it another package all together