Best Acoustic Amplification Solution for Percussive Fingerstyle

[lppier]

Hi,

Interested in the opinions of the guys here.
What is the best acoustic amplification solution currently in your opinion (best tone, low feedback) for performing in small areas, taking the external microphone out of the equation? For playing percussive fingerstyle..

I see people combining magnetic and piezo, etc... what's your take on this?

[Pida]

Hi,

try Maton or Cole Clark guitars. The Taylor expression system might also be an alternative.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure there is any pickup sold separately that can keep up with these systems. You might try K&K and BBand AST. There are many high end pickups and preamps, of course - the question is whether they pick up enough sound for the percussive element you want.

[EucalyptusMint]

I'm also curious about this... I've heard suggestions for the K&K. I'm not sure if the M1 percussive replication is accurate.
You could try a magnetic pickup with a mic, like the MagMic or Rare Earth Blend, so you can adjust the mic level. You can also combine a mag with an SBT.
A lot of Japanese players follow Kotaro Oshio's method of using the Sunrise mag with what they call a "contact pickup." I still haven't found out what it is..

[alohachris]

Aloha,

Check out Doug Young's great pickup comparison site:

http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptests/

Check out the samples of the Sunrise/Trance Dual system. That's some nice sounding tapping and percussion there.

Also check out #86, where he combines a K&K with a DTAR Magmic and a DPA mic. That's great sounding all around.

What do you think!

alohachris

[Fambroski]

I use an AER domino amp. It's a great little amp with 4 channels. I have three outputs on my guitar so the amp was perfect. (now I only use two of the outputs) It's also a great vocal amp. I play a nylon string and percussion is big part of my playing style. I'm having a tough time with my sound mainly because certain aspects of my style would be more suited for a steel string (greater frequency range and more depth), but I love the nylon string, so I tolerate sounding a bit high end-y. (that's the short story)
I think a steel string through this setup would be real nice. AER has double and single channel amp as well. These are great amps. Down side? They're pretty expensive.

Miche

[hann]

i think in general, a mic and sbt are best at picking up percussive action...

I know Don Ross .. one of the most impressive percussive people out there uses K&K, as does andy mckee..

[royd]

I think you're on target with a mag and a second source... either an internal mic or an SBT, not a UTS as you won't get the body taps as strongly then. A lot of modern fingerstyle players use this kind of system or even a three source system with a mag, an SBT, and a mic.

For mags, I prefer the Sunrise to the Baggs M1... the M1 seems to emphasize the higher pitches of the slap while the Sunrise is pretty much immune to the slap and just gives you a huge bottom end from the strings. I also prefer a passive pickup to an active one since I'm buffering/blending at the rack. The SBT gets the body hits and other artifacts. I use a McIntyre in my Lowden and a JJB in my back-up guitar. Both have Sunrises... that comes out to a rack with a Sunrise buffer and a Raven blender. Works well for me.

[Dr. Overtones]

Erik Mongrain, who is a true innovator and master of percussive fingerstyle, uses a Sunrise magnetic pickup with a Fishman gooseneck mic/preamp attached to it.

Here's how that sounds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHjuExoxvxI