K&K Pure Mini + Magnetic Sound Hole pickup

rschultz · #1 09-22-2013, 06:52 PM

Hi,

I'm interested in other's experiences in blending the K&K Pure Mini with a magnetic sound hold pickup. Anyone?

I recently wired in a Fishman Blackstack in my Taylor along with the K&K. Both are passive (bonus, no batteries!). I am impressed. The Blackstack has such a full and round bass - really nice. And the trebles are really clear & cut through the mix... but it isn't harsh and thin like a UST. EQ-wise, I ran the Blackstack close to flat, only taking out a touch of mids. I know some people like to roll of everything but the bass in their mag, but for me, I like the full range of frequencies - it really sounds good by itself.

The K&K fills in the mid-range nicely, something that the mag is weak in. On my guitar, I find that it has a fairly pronounced mid range hump about 300-400 Hz, I take a good amount out there. The K&K sounds nice by itself, even passive. But I think it lacks aggressiveness when in a band situation, not sure if a preamp would help that or not. I've used both the Pure Preamp and the Tri-star preamps before and wasn't necessarily impressed with either one. The mid-control is especially perplexing to me, being set at 1500 Hz... it didn't help me shape the sound like it needed. IMO, a preamp with a sweepable mid is a must with the K&K. Regardless, I'm running it passive now.

Logistically, the K&K is on the tip and the mag is on the ring of a stereo jack. So I can take the Blackstack out by disconnecting the connector and put it in multiple guitars. Or just grab one without it and play the K&K by itself on a mono cable. I velcro'd the connector so it can adhere within the inside of the guitar when the Blackstack isn't installed.

Give me your K&K + mag experiences

Tejay71093 · #2 09-23-2013, 08:41 AM

Have you tried this combo for solo acoustic gigs? I've been thinking of adding a soundhole pickup to my k&k

rschultz · #3 09-23-2013, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tejay71093

Have you tried this combo for solo acoustic gigs? I've been thinking of adding a soundhole pickup to my k&k

Kind of. Yesterday I lead the worship team band so most of the time everyone was playing with me. But there were a few times when it was just me doing some fingerstyle, setting up the song, etc. So essentially I was playing by myself. I love how it sounds when it's just me playing, the 2 mix together nicely.

My other guitar has a Lyric + mag. On the one hand it sounds like a mic (good) and on the other hand, it sounds like a mic (finger squeaks, body noise, etc). The K&K + mag doesn't have either of those mic characteristics, but it still sounds very good. I was surprised how good the trebles on the Blackstack sounded... they didn't sound electric like I thought they would.

Last week, I used just the Blackstack into a Boss LS-2 - took the 1 signal to 2 different amps (acoustic and electric). So on some songs I'd play acoustic, and others through my electric pedal board into an electric amp. So it sounded like an electric guitar coming from an acoustic guitar. Pretty cool.

ericcsong · #4 09-23-2013, 08:56 AM

I've run k&k with sunrise before in a few of my guitars. My favorite set up now is in my Ryan. I run a k&k with a duncan magmic.

I've been back and forth with "k&k and mag" and "k&k and mic". The mag was great, but was missing that airiness with the mic. The mic was great but was missing the clarity of the mag. The Magmic is a great combo since you get that great mag sound with a touch of air!

Tejay71093 · #5 09-23-2013, 08:56 AM

Nice, I'm looking for something to fatten up the tone of my guitar during solo shows. I might give that a try!

J Patrick · #6 09-23-2013, 09:00 AM

...i had great results combining the K&K wiyh a Baggs M-1 A....i used a Raven Labs PMB-1 sometimes but got even better results with a stereo y cord and two separate channels on the mixer....

rschultz · #7 09-23-2013, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericcsong

I've been back and forth with "k&k and mag" and "k&k and mic". The mag was great, but was missing that airiness with the mic. The mic was great but was missing the clarity of the mag. The Magmic is a great combo since you get that great mag sound with a touch of air!

Yes, YES, YES... a thousand times YES. I'm gonna have to try one of those.

So the magmic is active on the tip... how easy is it to wire in the k&k (passive I assume on the ring?).

ericcsong · #8 09-23-2013, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rschultz

Yes, YES, YES... a thousand times YES. I'm gonna have to try one of those.

So the magmic is active on the tip... how easy is it to wire in the k&k (passive I assume on the ring?).

very easy to do, just like any dual source. one source to tip and one to ring!

And yes, magmic is active so you have to run power (battery).

Doubleneck · #9 09-23-2013, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericcsong

I've run k&k with sunrise before in a few of my guitars. My favorite set up now is in my Ryan. I run a k&k with a duncan magmic.

I've been back and forth with "k&k and mag" and "k&k and mic". The mag was great, but was missing that airiness with the mic. The mic was great but was missing the clarity of the mag. The Magmic is a great combo since you get that great mag sound with a touch of air!

your last combo is really what you have with the Lyric and the Mag, which is what I am using now.
Steve

royd · #10 09-23-2013, 11:25 AM

Just be aware that different mags can and do sound very different. Just because you like one does not mean you will like another. My favorite is the Sunrise and I really like the Dimarzio Angel, maybe as much as the Sunrise. My impressions of the Blackstack are that it is a clone of the Sunrise and sounds very similar. I've only heard recordings of the Duncan MagMic and didn't care for the mag part in those recordings very much. I don't like the voicing of the Baggs pickups at all. I wanted to... and have owned 2 M1's but they just didn't work for me. I've also had a couple Fishman Rare Earths... and they are OK to my ears but not great.

I've never had a K&K in any of my guitars but I think SBT's do sound pretty similar from one to the next. The placement seems to me to be a larger variable than the company. I've had 3 JJB's, and a number of different McIntyres, along with mostly Sunrise mags and am very happy with that sound. My #2 guitar now has a Dimarzio Angel to which I'll be adding a JJB pretty soon.

SimplyLuo · #11 09-23-2013, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rschultz

Yes, YES, YES... a thousand times YES. I'm gonna have to try one of those.

So the magmic is active on the tip... how easy is it to wire in the k&k (passive I assume on the ring?).

If you like the Blackstack, another pickup you could try is the Mimesis Kudos http://www.vanden.co.uk/kudos.htm
Mike Vanden is the guy who created what became the Fishman Rare Earth pickups, and also designed the Blackstack (you can see the similarity with the Kudos). Also, the mag and mic come out in stereo (mag on tip, mic on ring) so you'd have to add a second jack for the SBT. It's a fair bit pricier, too... It sounds fantastic, though!
This video by Thomas Leeb was recorded using the Dazzo SBT, Mimesis Kudos, and I think the H4n mics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhsPYRUqphk

rschultz · #12 09-23-2013, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SimplyLuo

If you like the Blackstack, another pickup you could try is the Mimesis Kudos http://www.vanden.co.uk/kudos.htm
It's a fair bit pricier, too... It sounds fantastic, though!

Wow, £398.00 = $638.

rschultz · #13 09-23-2013, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doubleneck

your last combo is really what you have with the Lyric and the Mag, which is what I am using now.

I just finished this install (Lyric + Blackstack) last night in my Jaffrey. Tell me your setup, blend, eq, etc. Impressions?

Doubleneck · #14 09-23-2013, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rschultz

I just finished this install (Lyric + Blackstack) last night in my Jaffrey. Tell me your setup, blend, eq, etc. Impressions?

In my guitar I had no soundhole so my mag is a ultra thin Lace humbucker. I am dual sourcing with a Dtar Solstice. For me I EQed down the treble and mids of the mag. Continued my mid cut on the Lyric. I start with the Lyric and bring up the mag till I like the bass. Right now it is about 60% Lyric and 40% mag. Maybe even lighter on the mag. Your mag could be better than mine so your mileage may vary. My impressions are that it seems to open it up a little with a larger than life bass, which most people expect. I think its a improment worth doing. Gives you a lot of flexibility. Does it sound more like my guitar the simple answer is no, to me the Lyric is the sound and feel of my guitar. That's why I start with the Lyric and add only enough mag to enhance. Steve

Tejay71093 · #15 09-23-2013, 03:42 PM

I have a bose T1 mixer and only use 2 inputs and also an extra samson vocal mic lying around. Would it be overboard to use my k&k mini w preamp, a fishman blackstack and also mic the guitar and try blending all the sounds in? (Using 3 diff channels). I play sitting down but I've never tried using a guitar mic live.