Best magnetic pickup for recording

[Per Burström]

When sitting at home recording I record both my voice and the guitar at the same time, with separate condenser microphones. To be able to apply some distortion as well as some other effects to only the guitar, and without picking up too much of me hitting the guitar in a percussive way, I have a Dean Markley magnetic pickup. But it's pretty noisy.

Which magnetic pickup do you recommend? Quiet is a must.

I will probably buy an Yamaha LS6, so I plan to install it there. And I don't want it to affect the acoustic sound too much.

Thanks!
Per

[VinceM]

I've had pretty good luck with the DiMarzio Black Angel. Here's a direct recording. I found it very helpful to use a wide 400 Hz notch EQ for recording.

Hope this helps!

Vince

[Dshevy]

I've always had good results with LR Baggs Magnetic Pickups.

I mainly use the M1a as i like the insane battery life for an active preamp. That being said, the below was recorded with just a Baggs M80 for the guitar. There is a little EQ to the mids and a little Reverb in the mix.




I really don't hear a significant difference between the M1a and the M80 and so the M1a gets my vote becuase of the previously mentioned battery life. Despite the claims, i don't see a major difference in body sound either though the M80 is meant to pick up percussion more.

[noledog]

I’ve done some studio sessions for other artists and had great sounding success with the Baggs M80 in my D18... most times we use two tracks; one direct from the pickup and another using a condenser mic. Last year I switched my mag pickup to a DeArmond Tone Boss and like it even more. Both are very quiet. I find the tone and eq on the Tone Boss is easier to dial in.

[Goat Mick]

I'm a huge fan of the Baggs M1 Passive. I have one in all of my gigging guitars right now and wouldn't hesitate to record with one. To my ears the active version is a hair brittle, so I sold all my M1A's and replaced them with the passive versions.

[Per Burström]

Thanks for your replies!

Any love for the Shadow SH145 Prestige? And the Fishman single coil and humbucker?

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Per Burström

Thanks for your replies!

Any love for the Shadow SH145 Prestige? And the Fishman single coil and humbucker?

I used a Fishman Neo-D bucker for a while and liked it.

I'm not a fan of magnetic soundhole pickups in general and have installed K&K Pure Mini transducers in all the guitars I've owned for the past several years.

[MarkLee]

I've got a Fishman Neo-D (single coil) in my Epi Texan, it has an okay acoustic tone but it's not a very accurate representation of the acoustic sound of the guitar. Not the worst soundhole pickup, but not the best either.

The most accurate soundhole pickup I've ever tried (and I've tried a lot) is the Lace California.

The most electric sounding is the Gretsch Deltoluxe - it's also hot at 15.4K, so would be a fine candidate for distortion.

[Jinder]

Originally Posted by MarkLee

I've got a Fishman Neo-D (single coil) in my Epi Texan, it has an okay acoustic tone but it's not a very accurate representation of the acoustic sound of the guitar. Not the worst soundhole pickup, but not the best either.

The most accurate soundhole pickup I've ever tried (and I've tried a lot) is the Lace California.

The most electric sounding is the Gretsch Deltoluxe - it's also hot at 15.4K, so would be a fine candidate for distortion.

Are there different variants of the Lace California? I have read so many good things about them, picked a used one up for my son’s parlour guitar and it’s horribly prone to 60 cycle hum and sounds very electric and unbalanced. No idea if we got a duff one or if there are different versions/iterations.

I use mags exclusively on my gigging guitars so am quite used to them and how they need to be EQ’d etc.

[MarkLee]

Originally Posted by Jinder

Are there different variants of the Lace California? I have read so many good things about them, picked a used one up for my son’s parlour guitar and it’s horribly prone to 60 cycle hum and sounds very electric and unbalanced. No idea if we got a duff one or if there are different versions/iterations.

I use mags exclusively on my gigging guitars so am quite used to them and how they need to be EQ’d etc.

There are a few variants - male/female jack(/jacqueline?), and two different styles of case, one with the Lace logo embossed and the other with 'Lace Sensor' written in gold. None of these should cause any change to the sound of the pickup though. Mine seems hum-resistant as per the Lace Sensor design, at least compared to the Gretsch and Fishman pickups in my other guitars. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful, in my experience it's been a great pickup and it's a shame you haven't had the same experience.

[lppier]

For me the best ones are still those that have a mic - I tend to get as much of the mic as I can in the blend, and eq the result with a tone match solution in software against the original acoustic tone. Recently I tried to do this with a sd mag mic and it sounds pretty good to me

[lowrider]

I tried to find this online but I found very few answers.

Does a soundhole pickup affect acoustic sound?

If so, in what way and how much?

Thanks

[VinceM]

Originally Posted by lowrider

I tried to find this online but I found very few answers.

Does a soundhole pickup affect acoustic sound?

If so, in what way and how much?

Thanks

Yes it does - it's not too bad though. I find it takes away some low end. It makes sense that covering up the hole will do something to the acoustic sound.

That's why I insist on soundhole pickups that can easily be removed like the DiMarzio Black Angel or Baggs M1, which have a mini plug to the pickup. I can easily take the pickup out. I had my tech put a wire clip inside the body so the loose wire going to the endpin won't hang and rattle around. However I can also just leave it hanging and it doesn't really make any noise.

But the bass loss isn't that big of a deal for me - most of the time I'm too lazy to fool around with it and just leave it in.

[MarkLee]

Originally Posted by lowrider

I tried to find this online but I found very few answers.

Does a soundhole pickup affect acoustic sound?

If so, in what way and how much?

Thanks

This is the kind of thing that you'll hear if you want to hear it, you won't hear it if you don't. A small soundhole pickup, close to the edge of the soundhole, will have minimal impact on the acoustic tone of the instrument. The smallest I know of is the Shadow NanoMag, an active system which mounts to the end of the fingerboard so it has about as much effect on the acoustics as a fretboard extension. The smallest that actually claps to the soundhole is the Lace California.

Large and heavy pickups, like the Gretsch Deltoluxe or Sunrise S1, almost act as another brace on the soundboard. The effect is a slightly stiffer top with a smaller effective soundhole, which changes the projection and resonant frequency of the guitar. My loudest guitar is my Epiphone Texan, without the Fishman soundhole pickup is is only a couple of decibels louder, indistinguishable to the casual listener. My Faith with its small Lace Sensor pickup has no measurable difference in volume. My Vintage, with its large Gretsch pickup, has a perceptible drop in volume, but it's set up with high action and thick strings so I wouldn't describe it as quiet.

[lppier]

Originally Posted by lowrider

I tried to find this online but I found very few answers.



Does a soundhole pickup affect acoustic sound?



If so, in what way and how much?



Thanks

In my experience , yes it affects the acoustic sound. I can hear the difference, it’s mostly less Low end.