The same pickup in different guitars? Or different pickups for variety?

[aaronmarkson]

I just got a Collings OM1A, and it has a LR Baggs iMix system in it (element and ibeam). It’s not bad, but not my favorite.

I absolutely love the trance amulet M that I recently put in a Gibson, so my first thought was to put that same pickup in the Collings. A friend of mine has the Baggs anthem in his guitar and I like that too, so I could put that in to have greater variety or stick with the amulet.

If you have multiple guitars that are different body styles or that just sound different unplugged, do you put the same pickup in them for consistency when plugging in, or do you put different pickups to have variety plugged in just like variety unplugged?

[Irish Pennant]

I have opposing views on using different pickups with both having pros and cons.

I like having at least one or two of my guitars with a pickup that's open mic friendly whilst all the others are compatible with my sound system.

On the flip side, I like having the same pickup or at least the same type, it makes eq'ing and gain staging easier when switching between guitars.

I prefer factory pickups in my cutaways and pickups of my own choice in full bodied guitars.

[SpruceTop]

The Trance Amulet M should work just fine in your Collings. My experience with Trance is, however, only in several dreadnoughts in which I've installed the systems, namely two Martin D-18 models, a Martin HD-28, and a Larrivee D-40 Legacy Rosewood and Larrivee D-04 (newer model).

[meb]

I use swappable soundhole pickups for variety. The Black Angel is my go to
pickup, but I can pop in an M80 (or other Baggs) if I want to have percussive
options or want to use an active pickup. They both connect via an 1/8"
mini-jack.

[Gordon Currie]

For playing live (the main reason for me to have a pickup), I'm looking for consistency between guitars. They each have a different sound, and so I'd rather not confound things by introducing more variables.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by aaronmarkson

I just got a Collings OM1A, and it has a LR Baggs iMix system in it (element and ibeam). It’s not bad, but not my favorite.

I absolutely love the trance amulet M that I recently put in a Gibson, so my first thought was to put that same pickup in the Collings. A friend of mine has the Baggs anthem in his guitar and I like that too, so I could put that in to have greater variety or stick with the amulet.

If you have multiple guitars that are different body styles or that just sound different unplugged, do you put the same pickup in them for consistency when plugging in, or do you put different pickups to have variety plugged in just like variety unplugged?

Hi aaron…

My dual-source rigs all have a pickup and a mic (passive internally), so I use external preamps, so for my usage having identical installations brings a more uniform approach.

I'm not looking for variety to come from technology, just solid and natural guitar sound through the amp/pa/monitors. I find that the K&K Pure Mini and internal mic, run through an external preamp provide a solid and very hearty sound. Yet each guitar's uniqueness is evident in the output. By using all the same components, the adjustments when switching guitars in/out of the preamp only requires minor changes.

The K&K doesn't sterilize the sound. The guitars DO NOT all sound alike despite having the same pickup installed. The attack, sustain, and balance of the strings are replicated well, and the addition of the internal mic establishes/reflects the uniqueness of each instrument even more.

Hope this adds to the discussion…