Acoustic Guitar for live?

[Mark Stone]

One of the most practical and dependable giggers in your price range is Ibanez. Another option in a world of options - everyone else's suggestions are great - but Ibanez makes great guitars for performing.

[YamahaGuy]

Originally Posted by Oldguy64

Well I paid $900 for mine brand new.
The A3R I saw online was $969.

You got a great deal on your Tak, then. The ones I saw were like $1350 - $1600. I paid $1800 for my P5DC.

[euraquilo]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

The LL6 already has a pickup in it.

Just for clarification... The original L series guitars (before the ARE version) did not come with pickups.

[Oldguy64]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

You got a great deal on your Tak, then. The ones I saw were like $1350 - $1600. I paid $1800 for my P5DC.

The gentleman that had it had recently closed his shop, and was liquidating his stock.
So, I did do fairly well.
I have noted that with COVID pricing, even the used ones are going for $1100.
But that $9-1100 neighborhood is about where a P1 lives.

[YamahaGuy]

Originally Posted by euraquilo

Just for clarification... The original L series guitars (before the ARE version) did not come with pickups.

Correct. My 2010 LL is actually the LLX6A which has a fantastic pickup in it. Way better than the Zero Impact pickup Yamaha puts in the late model LL and LS 6 and 16 models.

[bufflehead]

Welcome to the forum, by the way.

[gerryc123]

Originally Posted by musicman1951

I would get a K&K installed in the L6 and purchase a good preamp.

I agree. I have a Takamine and couldn't stand the Piezo. Any Piezo just amplifies the sound enough so people can hear it and hopefully, you can bear it. But I couldn't. It affected my playing technique and overall vibe soo negatively that I was just gigging for the money and couldn't wait to get outta there. Zero enjoyment.

I upgraded my Takamine preamp (more $$$) and it was just still a Piezo. My view of PIEZOs in general is imagine if the first person who invented the wheel, invented a square one. So, still today they keep making cars with square wheels because people are still driving them. Sooo why not.

If you like the guitar you have, use it and enjoy it, if not I recommend finding a really good sounding dreadnought acoustic that you love to play with no electronics and put a K&K Pure Mini or Ultra Tonic in it. I have a K&K pure mini in my Guild with a K&K microphone. I got the whole trinity setup with the EQ. Which is great for studio recording. The k&K mic had too many feedback issues live, so I installed an LR Baggs Lyric to blend in with K&K live. But I could do gigs with just the Pure Mini no problem. If I did it again I would have gone with the Ultra Tonic. I intend on upgrading but I am still recovering from the 6 months I spent trying to get my live sound together so I will enjoy the K&K for the time being.

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by tadol

The UltraTonic is a great pickup for this - I primarily play my Santa Cruz F (maple/sitka) going straight into my amp or even right into the mixer, with a lead guitarist playing his Tele thru a Fender, electric bass going into a 2 cabinet set-up, drummer, and another vocalist - since upgrading my K&K to the UltraTonic, I've had zero issues with feedback, and my signal sounds great - I even have a Santa Cruz baritone, with an Ultrasonic that I can play with the band with no feedback and great tone. I can run it thru the Tonedexter if I want, but when you have a Tele and bass cranked up, and drummer as well, lets just say the finer nuances of my fine acoustics get lost in the mix most of the time anyway - so I play them just because I like the way they feel, play, and sound, even if its lost on everyone else. But they used to notice pretty quickly if the feedback started -

I really can't believe the Ultratonics are not more popular. I put one in my Iris DF and was completely blown away by the tone. It's like the K&K but better. More high-end, no feedback. The two issues I had with K&K were completely resolved. I just knew if I put a regular K&K into a big resonant guitar like the DF I was going to have feedback issues.

[tadol]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

If the OP is looking at $7-900 guitars, a $400 pickup doesn't make much sense.

UltraTonic is $249, with shipping - seeing as I use it quite successfully without any preamp or other box that other PUs need that add cost, plus the benefits of no battery, no feedback, a really nice volume control, and excellent tone - I still think it’s a bargain in comparison to many other options. And if the tool doesn’t do the job you need done, paying anything for it doesn’t make much sense - ;-)

[gerryc123]

Originally Posted by tadol

..since upgrading my K&K to the UltraTonic, I've had zero issues with feedback, and my signal sounds great -

Hi Tadol ,
By upgrading, do you mean you got the UTP V3.2-CK and converted your K&K transducers? If so how difficult was it? I know there is soldering involved.
thanks
Gerry C

[tadol]

Gerry - I’ve installed both - the baritone was from scratch, after watching James do an install at a NCAL (Northern Calif Assoc of Luthiers) meeting. It was harder, as I had to both drill and install everything. The retrofit was in some ways easier, as I only had to add the extra disc (whose placement is not critical), solder the old K&K leads to the circuit board (slightly scary as the wires you need to strip back are pretty tiny) and then do the adjustments on the circuit board and button it all up. If you’ve ever installed a K&K, you’ll probably find the UT easier -

If you don’t want to try it, email James, he’s getting more and more shops onto his list of installers, and he might know someone near you.

Good luck! Tad

[AntonioG]

are there guitars with ultra tonic already incorporated?

[guitarman68]

I use Dazzo, Ultra Tonic, Schatten HFN, K&K - all with external preamp.
I would recommend the Schatten HFN for three reasons:
- fine natural sound (like the other three mentioned)
- unsurpassed ease of installation
- passive and active available, so if the OP wants to go plug & play (no external gear necessary), Schatten HFN would be my first choice.

[guitarman68]

... I forgot to mention:
Back in the 90s I used "stage guitars" and left my nice Martins at home. Only did that for a short time and missed the feel and sound of my better guitars . So my recommendation would be installing a decent pickup in your Yamaha L6.

[leew3]

Originally Posted by musicman1951

I would get a K&K installed in the L6 and purchase a good preamp.

This again! From my experience the K & K pure preamp is sufficient, works well and has a very small footprint. If you're keeping your guitar on the whole gig you can even use the belt clip to have it handy for 'on the fly' adjustments. I play multiple instruments so this option doesn't work for me. However, this little preamp sits on top of the amp I'm using or right on the floor just fine.