why the move to pickups?

KarenB · #1 05-29-2018, 08:05 PM

So, awhile back, everyone played their guitar into a microphone. Now, so many use pickups. I understand the attraction of being able to move around, but what else?

EdEd · #2 05-29-2018, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antaren

So, awhile back, everyone played their guitar into a microphone. Now, so many use pickups. I understand the attraction of being able to move around, but what else?

That was 50 years ago. The reason people used mics is there weren’t pickups.

Ed

lkingston · #3 05-29-2018, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antaren

So, awhile back, everyone played their guitar into a microphone. Now, so many use pickups. I understand the attraction of being able to move around, but what else?

A mic can sound great at low volumes with a quiet seated audience. Once people start standing, or talking, or dancing or partying...a mic just can’t get loud enough without feeding back.

Bob Womack · #4 05-30-2018, 04:56 AM

In combo situations we suffered through mics. I'm glad for good pickups.

Bob

KarenB · #5 05-30-2018, 05:05 AM

Thanks for the thoughts. So mostly it's about volume. If I'm doing a solo concert in a small room, with a quiet listening audience, using a mic is still a good option.

ManyMartinMan · #6 05-30-2018, 06:19 AM

Even in your last description of a performance situation I would use both internal pickup and external microphone. They will give a fuller, more comprehensive sound allowing you to blend the best of both.

RustyAxe · #7 05-30-2018, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antaren

So, awhile back, everyone played their guitar into a microphone. Now, so many use pickups. I understand the attraction of being able to move around, but what else?

Well, there WERE pickups back then. I used a Bill Lawrence playing coffee houses and "hoots". Gain before feedback is the main reason many stage performers use pickups. Acoustic fidelity is the reason many don't.

Nymuso · #8 05-30-2018, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antaren

Thanks for the thoughts. So mostly it's about volume. If I'm doing a solo concert in a small room, with a quiet listening audience, using a mic is still a good option.

Under those circumstances, I would say yes - if it is positioned and EQd properly.

AndyC · #9 05-30-2018, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nymuso

Under those circumstances, I would say yes - if it is positioned and EQd properly.

And you stay as still as a statue whilst playing.....

Petty1818 · #10 05-30-2018, 08:12 AM

I think at this point, it doesn't make any sense to use an external mic. I know some people blend them in but they still rely mostly on internal electronics.

EdEd · #11 05-30-2018, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RustyAxe

Well, there WERE pickups back then. I used a Bill Lawrence playing coffee houses and "hoots". Gain before feedback is the main reason many stage performers use pickups. Acoustic fidelity is the reason many don't.

There were also D’Armond pickups. Most of these soundhole pickups were just wound coil pickups in a housing that would fit in a soundhole. They made an acoustic guitar sound like an electric guitar. There was Barcus Berry, but they required someone who understood impedance and preamps... and still sounded quacky. Then there were other folks who just had wound pickups installed on their acoustics. Pickups have advanced a long way since then.

Ed

Dreadfulnaught · #12 05-30-2018, 08:28 AM

Been through all of it over the years. A good microphone sounds best but you are stuck there, not moving. They do that in bluegrass music, though. Soundhole pickups used to sound awful but have improved much, and I have several. One soundhole pickup has a condenser mic built in, I forget which one. I like the Baggs Lyric, it sounds the most like my guitar but permits movement. Feeds back if playing with a loud band, so keep a soundhole plug handy.

guitaniac · #13 05-30-2018, 08:40 AM

Pickups allow for more nuanced playing styles to be heard in less-than-ideal listening circumstances. The guy who sold me my first pickup was a veteran of the New England bar circuit and a four time runner-up at the Winfield fingerstyle contest.

Mr. Jelly · #14 05-30-2018, 05:41 PM

An additional reason is that now days anybody and everybody thinks they are sound tech because the can afford a PA. Most are not. So pick-ups make for less of a chance of them screwing it up to badly.

ljguitar · #15 05-30-2018, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antaren

Thanks for the thoughts. So mostly it's about volume. If I'm doing a solo concert in a small room, with a quiet listening audience, using a mic is still a good option.

Hi Antaren...
If I'm playing to a quiet group in a small room, I'm not using ANY amplification.

Pickups in my guitars are not just about volume, but about high quality, natural sound at a volume which is appropriate to the crowd/room.

The pickup rigs in my guitars sound very guitar-like, and sound great at every volume/sound level. They also open up opportunities beyond solo play...so I can play with combos and bands and choirs etc where I'd not be heard with just an external mic.

Good luck figuring out what's best for you.