Pick up system

ButterBean · #1 03-08-2014, 11:12 AM

Any thoughts ona pick up system for an acoustic? Ive had been needing to put one on my acoustic for years i just never had the money, but now that i do where shoukd i begin to look? I havent decided yet if i want active or not? And how does the location of the pickup affect the tone you hear from guitar to amp?

Long Jon · #2 03-08-2014, 11:17 AM

Hi Butterbean ! I read elswhere on the forum that some people think that these JJBs may be just as good as the legendary K&K Pure Mini. For a lot less money.
http://jjb-electronics.com/our_products.html
I have just received one safely by mail, all the way from the USA. Not got around to installing it yet.

evenkeel · #3 03-08-2014, 11:59 AM

Like strings, each aftermarket PU system has it's fans. I like the K&K system that has a small, simple pre-amp and a phase switch. All my electric/acoustics have this system.

http://kksound.com/products/prephase.php

The pre-amp gives the passive mini a bit more presence w/o having to drive the amp. I think it results in a cleaner, more natural sound. The thumbwheel volume control is a practical tool for stage use and the phase switch does help to reduce/eliminate feedback.

I have also installed a few of the JJB passive systems. I can't tell the difference between JJB and passive mini K&K. Both are very good.

philjs · #4 03-08-2014, 12:46 PM

You'll get as many different opinions as there are respondents here, I think (so here's mine...).

My personal preference is to Schatten HFN passive pickups. As good as, or better than, anything else that attaches to the bridge plate under the top (including the much-vaunted (I won't call them "legendary") K&K) and MUCH easier to install. Why passive? Because I dislike having batteries in my guitars...they go dead at the worst possible times and I prefer to use outboard preamps that are far better than any onboard preamp available (and I can keep up with changes in technology without having to change out the pickup).

Phil

guitaniac · #5 03-08-2014, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philjs

You'll get as many different opinions as there are respondents here, I think (so here's mine...).

My personal preference is to Schatten HFN passive pickups. As good as, or better than, anything else that attaches to the bridge plate under the top (including the much-vaunted (I won't call them "legendary") K&K) and MUCH easier to install. Why passive? Because I dislike having batteries in my guitars...they go dead at the worst possible times and I prefer to use outboard preamps that are far better than any onboard preamp available (and I can keep up with changes in technology without having to change out the pickup).

Phil

Thanks for your observations, Phil. There are a of couple luthiers down here (Northeast Ohio) who're also very high on the HFN. I'm curious to give it a try at some point.

You mentioned that the installation is easier than the Pure Mini. Have you used double-sided tape (for your own guitars) or putty?

philjs · #6 03-08-2014, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitaniac

You mentioned that the installation is easier than the Pure Mini. Have you used double-sided tape (for your own guitars) or putty?

The Schatten HFN is, as you likely already know, a single unit that looks, to me, like a squashed banjo bridge. I say that the installation is simpler because rather than having to repeat the installation three times for the K&K's three separate transducers (which also, from what I've read on this forum, seem to be remarkably finicky about placement), you only have to install the single rosewood "bridge" so that the three legs fit nicely between pairs of strings. It IS just easier to install.

I've used the putty for the three that I installed myself...I made a jig for the first one using bridge pin holes, etc. but installed the other two "by feel." One of those was on a Lowden O10 which, of course, doesn't use bridge pins so I just measured the distance to the saddle from the sound hole and used that to judge where the saddle was. At any rate, the results of all three installs has been excellent and all sound as good as the four others that were installed by two different luthiers.

I do have to admit, in the interests of full disclosure (!), that the last install that I did myself was actually an HFN active that I asked Les to wire up for me to replace a factory installed Fishman AGP-2 UST system on my old Larrivee J-09. The Fishman system had volume and tone control pots installed on the upper bout above the neck (same position as the 3 pots that Taylor uses) so Les wired the pickup to replacement pots rather than me having to use the soundhole wheels. The SBT sounds SO much better than the original UST and, since I wanted to re-use the holes, active was the only way to go...I can live with the battery in one guitar.

Phil

SpruceTop · #7 03-08-2014, 08:05 PM

About a year ago, I tried a Schatten HFN Active in a new Larrivee D-04. I didn't like the tone and returned it to Schatten. My installation was well done by me but the amplified tone was too brittle. I think the Schatten HFN is a good system for someone willing to mess with it by sanding the feet of the wooden housing, especially the center one, so as close to perfect contact is made with the guitar's top. I used the mounting strips as supplied by Schatten. Perhaps, super-gluing the wooden housing to the bridge-plate would contribute significantly to a better coupling and amplified tone?

Regards,

SpruceTop

guitaniac · #8 03-09-2014, 07:33 AM

Phil & SpruceTop,

Thanks again for the observations, Phil & SpruceTop.

I'm not sure that I'd care to super glue it in SpruceTop. One of the advantages for me is that it doesn't need superglue to perform well (according to some reports). I believe that one of my luthier friends actually taped it in. Aside from that, its been my own experience that some bridgeplate pickups (the PUTW #27) work very well with tape. Albeit, the Pure Mini worked poorly with tape when I tried it.