pickup suggestions?

[sunpadre]

Andylie, did you get the K&K Pure Classic pickup installed? If so, what do you think about it?

[Turp]

Originally Posted by bigbjfan

Has anyone ever installed an under-the-saddle pickup themselves? Or is that best left to a professional?

Yes I have and it's not too bad. Care needs to be taken to not drill through brace. An automotive inspection mirror works great for this. Also use a drill bit big enough for the transducer but slightly smaller than the slot. Each pickup manufacturer has installation directions on their site.

IMO, and I have yet to do it ( till now), drilling the endpin is the other area care must be taken to prevent damage to the finish. There is a lot of info on how to best do this. Basically tape the hole witha a good adhesive tape to prevent chipping and is best performed with a reamer, but is often done with a drill.

I just went and drilled an old guitar I bought to tinker with. It's a Lucinda and I don't know what type of finish it has but have I tried a step drill. Essentially taped the area, located, and drilled with a half inch dia step bit. Took 5 minutes; perfect hole. The step drill set can found fairly cheaply; mine came from Harbor Frieght.

Here is a thread I did for a Taylor GC8 install with some images of the basic considerations. I had more, but there is a limit for the AGF. I still have them if you need help.
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=201767

[WeddingGuy]

I've been batting ideas around for a pickup installation. I've recently found a great deal on a K&K quantum blender on ebay--so I snapped that up. I then called up K&K and bought the pure classic AND a meridian.

I tried the meridian by itself the other day--after futzing with it for a while I was getting what I thought to be a really good sound. However, since it was ONLY the mic, I was pushing it pretty hot and it was a bit feedback-prone.

My plan for the evening is to install the pure classic myself. I'll try & post results.

[sunpadre]

Turp, thanks for that information and I'm waiting to here what WeddingGuy says about the pure classic install and how it sounds. Apparently not that many have tried the UST install themselves.

[Turp]

Originally Posted by bigbjfan

Turp, thanks for that information and I'm waiting to here what WeddingGuy says about the pure classic install and how it sounds. Apparently not that many have tried the UST install themselves.

While I haven't heard the K&K, a UST is pretty easy to install. However, one serious advantage a transducer like the K&K has is you don't have to be concerned about the saddle.

[Bluewyatt]

I recently bought a 2004 Goodall Crossover and wasn't crazy about the Baggs iBeam that it had. After quite a bit of research I decided to have my luthier install an active Baggs Element Classical. It was a stretch for me because I've removed a Baggs Element that was in my acoustic guitar and replaced it with a Highlander iP-1 which I love. I wanted to keep it simple, with no feedback issues for playing live, and I had read that the Baggs Classical was specifically designed with a nylon favorable eq. I'm absolutely thrilled with it! The tone control allows me to get a warm and accurate classical guitar sound. I'm more than pleasantly surprised.

[Play2PraiseHim]

Originally Posted by Bluewyatt

I recently bought a 2004 Goodall Crossover and wasn't crazy about the Baggs iBeam that it had. After quite a bit of research I decided to have my luthier install an active Baggs Element Classical. It was a stretch for me because I've removed a Baggs Element that was in my acoustic guitar and replaced it with a Highlander iP-1 which I love. I wanted to keep it simple, with no feedback issues for playing live, and I had read that the Baggs Classical was specifically designed with a nylon favorable eq. I'm absolutely thrilled with it! The tone control allows me to get a warm and accurate classical guitar sound. I'm more than pleasantly surprised.

Im anxiously awaiting your review of the Goodall Crossover.

[Bluewyatt]

Originally Posted by Play2PraiseHim

Im anxiously awaiting your review of the Goodall Crossover.

Ha..soon, Toni. I can't put it down. Joe Glaser pleked it to confirm the excessive relief and then did what needed to be done. It's perfect now and I'm just getting to know it. As a steel string player, I can say that it is a "crossover" in the truest sense of the word.

[jayhawk]

I have the K&K pure classic with then internal mic in my Applegate. I am very pleased with the sound. I did not want any kind of pre-amp in the guitar (I'm a strong believer in making the pickup and un-invasive as I can) so I picked up a DTAR Solstice to have a two channel pre-amp (the Solstice will provide phantom power to the mic). The combination of the pickup system and the pre-amp are quite impressive. I would highly recommend the setup to any nylon string player out there.

I would also say that K&K is a great group of people to deal with. Very patient and very willing to help you get the most out of the product. I had PWM in in my Martin D-35, of got the setup in my Applegate and am getting a Cittern built that will have a PWM in it. As you can tell, I'm really sold on the K&K pickups.

Jack

[WeddingGuy]

OK, this might be an overly-geeky post about the new rig, but perhaps it will be helpful.

I have to second what Jayhawk just posted about dealing with K&K. Wonderful folk over there....

I've been conniving for some months as to how I can go from gigging with a steel string to a nylon. I've been using a Taylor and a K4. I got a Quantum Blender in the mail recently and A/B'd it against the K4. Despite all the hooplah and the semi-parametric midrange, I found no discernible difference in sound quality and sold the K4.

Now, I can use the Blender for my Taylor if I want, OR...

Use it for the dual-source system I now have on my humble Cordoba C7. I put a Pure Classsic into the guitar--I did the deed myself on Friday night. For some unknown reason, I went ahead and did the superglue option rather than the double-stick-tape option right away. I think that I was just too lazy to dig in the guts of my ax more than once. I then proceeded to stay up WAY too late trying out the finished product.

Initial impressions:
Meridian is REALLY NICE. I'm getting a really good sound out of it by itself.
Pure Classic--I'll have to reserve my judgement. I only had 1.5 hours or so to play around with them in a living room late at night. My sense is that maybe I should've gone with the double-stick tape application. I'm getting a REALLY FAT tone--almost boomy. I was able to get a good sound out of the pickup alone by rolling off most of the bass and mid. I suspect that I might need some kind of actual EQ to do this better, but haven't gotten that far, yet. Having done that, however I think that the sound is quite good--not metallic sounding and quite a bit of articulation.

I also suspect that the "fatness" may come in handy for doing outdoor gigs & such--which I do quite a few of in the pleasant weather months.

I've posted (yep, I'm geeky) pix for your viewing pleasure.
http://picasaweb.google.com/10736176...eat=directlink

I do think that I'll end up liking this arrangement, but it'll take some getting used to for me. I don't have a gig again for three weeks or so--but that'll be a good time to try it out.

[sunpadre]

Thanks everyone for the great info!

[lodi_55]

At the time that I looked for pickups for both my classical (Navarro) and Flamenco (Burguet), I didn't have a ton of money to spend. I found the Shadow SH NFX EP-C Nanoflex Pickup and have been fairly happy with the pickup on both guitars. And it's reasonably priced.