Carbon Fibre - Electronics Question

[rondeauboy]

Hello all - I am considering the purchase of a carbon guitar, specifically a Rainsong Shorty full gloss model. I need to be able to "plug it in", but I am not crazy about the barn-door style electronics provided by the stock model. I just don't like big holes cut in the side of my guitars...just a personal thing.

In my Guild, I currently run a Shadow SH-145 soundhole magnetic pickup through an endpin jack, which I actually quite enjoy. Does anyone have experience running a magnetic soundhole pick-up in carbon fibre guitars?

Any comments would be appreciated.

[mchalebk]

I don't have personal experience running mag pickups in CF guitars. However, there is nothing about CF construction that would really affect how well a mag pickup would work. I know that Rainsong has the David Wilcox model that blends a mag pickup with a UST. I also know that Alistair Hay (Emerald) is experimenting with a Shadow mag pickup.

Bottom line: mag pickups should work just as well as on wood guitars.

[Compurocker]

I do not like "Barn Door" type electronics in WOOD Guitars but when the back and sides are Composite it does not bother me nearly as much. CA Guitars were using the L.R.Baggs Stage Pro Element http://www.lrbaggs.com/stagepro.htmwhich works great in my opinion.
It has a Volume Control, EQ, a tuner as well as a preamp based on their award winning fantastic Para D.I. Preamp voiced for the element.
If you really are against the "Barn Door" they make a similar system called the Element Active System V.T.C. http://www.lrbaggs.com/EAS-VTC.htm
These are both primarily Under Saddle Systems. Good Luck!

[jonfields45]

I put a MiSi trio in my now eBayed RS H-DR1100N2 and have a Fishman Matrix Infinity in my current main guitar, a CO-DR1100N2. The CO topped RainSongs, to me at least, really work well with the Fishman UST. So good that it is hard to find (impossible for me) any Aura image that makes any improvement. The MiSi trio worked well with the H-DR, but if I had that to do over, I would probably go with a K&K Pure Mini (I've installed a bunch of these in my friends' wooden dreadnoughts and the H-DR sounded a lot like those guitars acoustically). My duo partner has a Fishman NeoD I gave him and we keep that with us as a backup. I've tried it in all my graphite guitars over the years and most of our wooden ones. It works similarly, which I find acceptable, across every guitar we've tried it with. I prefer not to have a pickup mounted to my guitars' sound hole and have never preformed with one. Jon

[Compurocker]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

I would probably go with a K&K Pure Mini (I've installed a bunch of these in my friends' wooden dreadnoughts and the H-DR sounded a lot like those guitars acoustically). Jon

The K&K Pure Mini is a fantastic sounding pickup in the wooden Acoustic Guitars I have heard it in!

[buzzardwhiskey]

I suggest giving MacNichol Guitars a call. His tech has installed a bunch of different pickups in CF guitars and can probably help you with your decision.

[rwskaggs]

My H DR-1100 N2 has a JJB Prestige 330 (same principle as K&K mini), and I love it. No internal batteries; just plug into my Redeye preamp and toss the cable to the sound guy/gal. Sounds perfect to me!

[AZLiberty]

I just bought a shorty and plan to have my tech install a K&K pure western mini.

[kramster]

I have a K&K in a CA OX and Emerald X-10.. both work well

[rondeauboy]

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions. I hadn't thought about a UST with controls inside the soundhole... I will look further into this.

Cheers!