Good Open Mic Guitars

[6L6]

Originally Posted by warfrat73

Whatever guitar you like, and then add a K&K mini to it.

THIS ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

With your budget constraints I would look for a used Taylor 114 or 214 and put in a K&K Pure Mini pickup. The K&K sounds superior to any of the Taylor systems IMO, and since so many O/M players use them, the PA will probably set up for them with no adjustment needed.

Also, if you can find a used Taylor 214 made before 2007, they are made of all solid wood (no laminates) and to my ears sound a little better than post 2007 examples.

I have a 2010 114 and 2006 214, both equipped with K&K's, and they are perfect for playing Open Mics or gigs where you're concerned about damage to your guitar.

FWIW, all of my acoustics are equipped with K&K pups and I play all of them at Open Mics and (prepandemic) gigs. That includes several Martin and Collings guitars. If you keep your eye on things, there is no reason to expect damage to your instrument. I've been doing solo gigs and Open Mics since the mid 90's and have never had one bit of damage done to any of my guitars. I do recommend you use a hardshell case rather than a gig bag and mark it with something so it stands out from others.

[SongwriterFan]

Something else to consider: the Yamaha Silent Guitar.

I've been doing open mics for 10 months now, and have been using this guitar for about the last 3 months.

I never have to worry about feedback issues or how my guitar will sound.

This guitar, along with my Shure KSM8 mic, have given me a lot of extra confidence when I perform now.

Here's a 30-minute opening set (not an open mic) that I did a couple of months ago), using that guitar. I always get compliments on how it sounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWAgOMEuz7Q

[Headless Axeman]

OP here. Thanks so much for all of the input. To summarize a bit, there seem to be two main camps: A) put a K&K mini in any guitar you like, and B) check out Takamines, Cole Clarks and Matins (and/or many others) in that price range.

I’m happy to go with plan A, as it seems to simplify the hunt a bit. Matons and Cole Clarks seem great, but they are in short supply around here and I would want to play anything I’m buying beforehand. And Takamines are more common, but I’ve really never gotten into any that I’ve tried previously.

Some questions for going the K&K route:

1. As willymartin says (and I neglected to say in the post), I’ll want to have a setup that is easiest to quickly dial in. I don’t want to be standing there for minutes fiddling with the sound. Both he and Methos1979 seem to be saying that the K&K may not be best for that? There were multiple mentions of the Baggs Element instead. Thoughts?

2. People seem to be saying that the K&K would be a good choice regardless of what guitar it goes into. Correct? Would there be particular body shapes or tone woods that would be better or worse?

3. This feels like a very dumb question, but I’ll ask anyway. It seems like a lot of the popular choices in this price range (like the low end Taylors or the Martin Road Series) will have built in electronics. It almost seems … wasteful(??) to put a new pickup into one of those. I suppose that isn’t really a question. Well, the question is: do people do that? Also, is there any model to avoid—like if they have a pickup installed kn such a way as to make the K&K installation difficult or impossible?

4. There seems to be disagreement as to whether getting the preamp is worth it. Thoughts?

FrankHudson, the OP is singing, poorly (but working on it), and certainly dedicating much more time to practicing for the open mics than to this question. I agree with the spirit of your post, I just need to make some gear changes and am trying to figure out the best approach.

And SongwriterFan, I certainly had not considered a silent guitar. That’s a great video and congrats on doing a nice 30 minute set after less than a year of public performing!

[tbtxaz21]

I’d go Taylor es2 or the low end Martin. They’ll sound fine at an open mic.

That’s said, I’ve never been to an open mic that sounds great. So don’t let that throw you. Just use it for what it is, practice to get rid of the jitters.

[Headless Axeman]

Originally Posted by tbtxaz21

I’d go Taylor es2 or the low end Martin. They’ll sound fine at an open mic.

Multiple mentions of the ES2 electronics. Is anyone aware of how to determine which Taylor’s have ES2 rather than ES1?

[SongwriterFan]

If you decide to go the K&K route (as I originally did), here's my thoughts:

1) If the places you play always have a good sound guy with a good DI, you should be fine

2) Some places just don't have the PA (or sound guy) to handle the K&K very well. So I'd at the very least want my own DI that works with it (think high impedance).

3) Even with a high impedance DI (passive), I found that some places didn't like the low signal level of the K&K . . . so I would opt for some sort of pre-amp. Doesn't have to be the K&K pre-amp . . could be an integrated DI/preamp that requires power.

4) But if you have your own preamp/DI . . . that's more work to have to get the sound guy to set up for you. I've always found them willing to do that . . but then if something isn't working . . . well, is it the guitar . . the DI . . the pre-amp . . the PA . . . there just isn't time to mess around with trouble-checking all that. I found it frustrating several times.

5) The feedback can be a BIG issue if the sound guy doesn't know what he's doing. There are solutions (ToneDexter / etc) that can help, but I still found that occasionally the feedback was just too much to deal with.


In the end, I was getting frustrated often enough that in desperation I tried the Yamaha Silent Guitar . . . and I've been far happier than I ever thought I'd be. I really thought I'd be trading off ease of use for sound quality . . but the sound quality through a PA is AMAZING. I just set it 100% to the mic emulation mode and plug in.

It also gives me a great joke to tell as I start: There's a story behind this guitar . . I bought it on the installment plan, and they told me they'd send me the rest of it when I paid it off . . in the meantime, they just said to ask the sound guy to add a little body to it, and it'll be fine.

[SongwriterFan]

Originally Posted by Headless Axeman

Multiple mentions of the ES2 electronics. Is anyone aware of how to determine which Taylor’s have ES2 rather than ES1?

That's pretty easy . . . if you see little set screws behind the saddle, you know it's ES2.

[SongwriterFan]

If I had it to do over again, I would've started using one of my Taylors (or Road Series Martin, if I had one) with a built-in pickup system (and external batteries).

Most people I've seen with these guitars seem to have few issues. But I swear my Yamaha Silent Guitar sounds better!

The only thing I dislike about that guitar is the 1-11/16" nut. I'd prefer a 1-3/4". But it's OK.

Another benefit (no, Yamaha isn't paying me to say this LOL) . . . it's a LOT lighter than an acoustic guitar. The few times I take an acoustic guitar (some places we don't have a PA), I really notice the difference.

[phcorrigan]

I have a K&K in my HD-28V, and I plan to add James May's Ultra Tonic upgrade one of these days. I play through a ToneDexter.

Have you considered a sound hole pickup? No guitar modification required, and I've seen them used at open mics and they work quite well.

[Crowder]

I think if your primary purpose is Open Mic environments it's wise to find a system that is 100% built into the guitar so you can just plug in the house cable and be ready.

One key to being a good open mic performer is being able to get up and running quickly and not lose the crowd during your transition onto the mic. You need to be in tune, warmed up and ready to perform your best without any unnecessary (and largely unnoticed) equipment hassles. Plug in and go is the best mode of operation.

For what it's worth, another vibe killer at open mics is performers who do a lot of nervous talking into the mic before, between or after songs. If your rig is complex enough to require a chat with the sound guy it only adds to that distraction. Better to have your volume knob etc right there where you can make your own adjustments. The sooner you launch into your first song the better IMO.

[Headless Axeman]

Originally Posted by Crowder

I think if your primary purpose is Open Mic environments it's wise to find a system that is 100% built into the guitar so you can just plug in the house cable and be ready.

One key to being a good open mic performer is being able to get up and running quickly and not lose the crowd during your transition onto the mic. You need to be in tune, warmed up and ready to perform your best without any unnecessary (and largely unnoticed) equipment hassles. Plug in and go is the best mode of operation.

For what it's worth, another vibe killer at open mics is performers who do a lot of nervous talking into the mic before, between or after songs. If your rig is complex enough to require a chat with the sound guy it only adds to that distraction. Better to have your volume knob etc right there where you can make your own adjustments. The sooner you launch into your first song the better IMO.

I agree with all of this. I don’t even like people tuning between songs!!

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Headless Axeman

OP here.

Some questions for going the K&K route:

1. As willymartin says (and I neglected to say in the post), I’ll want to have a setup that is easiest to quickly dial in. I don’t want to be standing there for minutes fiddling with the sound. Both he and Methos1979 seem to be saying that the K&K may not be best for that? There were multiple mentions of the Baggs Element instead. Thoughts?

I had nothing but K&K's in my guitars for several years. It's a great pickup system for its bulletproof simplicity and relative low cost. Installation is not too hard if you take your time and make the little jig using golf tees. The problem I ran into was mostly with my no-nails fingerstyle playing. The tone would be way too muddy and low output. Most Open Mic hosts didn't know how to or couldn't be bothered with fixing this.

If you strum with a pick then generally speaking the tone was fine as it was louder and brighter as strumming with a pick always it. The fix for fingerstyle is simple - boost the gain, bump the trebles a significant amount, dial back the mids a lot and the bass a little. For this I bought the K&K preamp that runs off a battery and clips to your belt or guitar strap. I would use a magnet and just clip it to the mic stand. Then I'd have the simple EQ/gain knobs right at my fingertips.

The only other problem the K&K has is with feedback which happens mostly with larger body guitars and on loud stages or small rooms with monitors pointing at you. Another simple and inexpensive fix for this is a sound hole plug. So if you're leaning towards the K&K, just make sure you grab the little preamp and sound hole plug and you'll be good to go for most anything.

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by Headless Axeman

OP here. Thanks so much for all of the input. To summarize a bit, there seem to be two main camps: A) put a K&K mini in any guitar you like, and B) check out Takamines, Cole Clarks and Matins (and/or many others) in that price range.

I’m happy to go with plan A, as it seems to simplify the hunt a bit. Matons and Cole Clarks seem great, but they are in short supply around here and I would want to play anything I’m buying beforehand. And Takamines are more common, but I’ve really never gotten into any that I’ve tried previously.


3. This feels like a very dumb question, but I’ll ask anyway. It seems like a lot of the popular choices in this price range (like the low end Taylors or the Martin Road Series) will have built in electronics. It almost seems … wasteful(??) to put a new pickup into one of those. I suppose that isn’t really a question. Well, the question is: do people do that? Also, is there any model to avoid—like if they have a pickup installed kn such a way as to make the K&K installation difficult or impossible?


FrankHudson, the OP is singing, poorly (but working on it), and certainly dedicating much more time to practicing for the open mics than to this question. I agree with the spirit of your post, I just need to make some gear changes and am trying to figure out the best approach.

The most common kind of internal acoustic pickup remains the under-saddle type. K&K pickups are also common for those that install pickups on an existing guitar and they work by fastening pickup elements on the bridge plate inside the guitar, not under the saddle. So yes, one can disregard and installed factory pickup on many guitars and replace what's connected to a jack with a K&K. But no, I wouldn't advise doing it. As per my original message, get a guitar you are comfortable with any working pickup a proceed to the real task which is getting your performance chops down by experience.

Some here have advised that built in pickups (almost always with their own preamps) adhere to the K.I.S.S practices. That sounds valid to me too.

[JakeStone]

Originally Posted by Headless Axeman

I’m finally getting out and starting to play open mics. While I have a lot to work on (like the feeling that my fingers are nearly paralyzed when I start playing), I do have a gear issue that should be relatively easy to resolve. I don’t have a guitar with electronics, and I’d like to be able to plug in when I play out.

So I’m trying to find a guitar that sounds great plugged in. And since it will be played out, I don’t want to spend too much so I don’t lose my mind when the drunk guy at the next table bumps into it. So a budget of about $900-$1400.

Again, looking for great sound plugged in. Hopefully something that is easy to play sitting or standing, would prefer a 000/OM size (or smaller?), would prefer a cutaway, probably looking used, but none of those preferences are set in stone. The focus is really good electronics.

I’ll choose by trying them out, but what should I be sure to try? So far I’m thinking Taylor 214 / 314 and Martin SC-13. I’ll probably try the Yamaha A series. What else? Eastman 422? Guild OM-140 / 150? Others?

What should I be sure to try? Thanks.

There are so many great low priced (under $1500) Acoustic Electrics out there. I would stick to a name brand with a preamp built in. Simpler and you don't have to add anything or expense. Or worry about the installation.

Lower cost check out the Epiphone Hummingbird Pro with cut away- I love mine!

Yamaha A series would be fantastic.

Taylor 200 series or Martin Road series.. The SC13e is fun and sounds great right out of the box.

Head to the stores and play them all - Have fun !

[Mandobart]

I've used K&K a couple times, but I've installed JJB pickups much more - in 4 fiddles, 2 mandolins, an ukulele, a banjolin, a resonator mandolin, a mandola, 2 octave mandolins, a mandocello, 5 guitars, a banjo and an upright bass.

These are all gigging instruments. For ease of use, couple one of these with a K&K Pure preamp. It's a pretty simple setup. And will set you back ~$150; maybe $200 if someone installs it for you.

You'll be hard pressed to find a good acoustic-electric guitar for that.