Hi All,
I'm going out my head trying to solve this problem. I have the guitar I've always wanted (Simon&Patrick spruce 6) and will never part with it. Unfortunately, it isn't 'amped-up'. I've made a few enquiries about having a pick-up fitted in it, but don't like the idea of ANYONE ripping the saddle out and/or cutting into the shoulder of the guitar to fit electronics. Yikes! I've realized that my only real option is a sound-hole pick up - but are they any good?? If so, which product is best?? I've noticed that the prices vary greatly from just a few pounds (UK) to a king's ransome!!
I wouldn't want to buy something that 'spoiled' the sound (i.e, too tinny, too bassy etc), so if anyone out there has had the same problem and uses one of these 'bolt-on' devices and are happy with it, which brand are you using?? Problems??
Thanks
Never assume the other fellow has intelligence equal to yours. He may have more.
The Fishman Rare Earth always gets good reviews, so when I eventually get around to doing this that is probably what I will go with. Theres a review with soundclips here, based on a Seagull SP6 - isn't that a similar guitar to what you have?:
Hey Wow! Thanks for that Rich! just listened to the samples and that really does sound clean...
where could I get one and how much are they :)
Never assume the other fellow has intelligence equal to yours. He may have more.
Thanks mate! Hmm, it seems there is a few to choose from - but the 'humbucker' one seems to better than the single coil...
They are expensive! Do you think it's worth buying one, or should I just hold Simon&Patrick at gunpoint until they GIVE me an E/A guitar?? :D
I'd better check my bank balance......
Never assume the other fellow has intelligence equal to yours. He may have more.
Me? (In best Manuel voice) I know nooooottthhhing! :)
I've got to get a 'stick on' pickup myself at some point, but other than getting a rough idea of prices from Froogle, I've not looked into it at all. I'm too skint to be thinking about it just yet :roll:
Hi Dylan,
I have been extreamly pleased with my B-band blended pick up system. I have not had any trouble with feed back. I did have it installed at a luthier shop as I needed a hole drilled for the endpin portion and wanted to besure it all was placed properly for best performance. The set up is not visible which I also like. Inside the guitar is a 9volt bat. pack attached by velcro, and pick ups in two locations. Just under the top of the sound hole there are two knobs- one for volume and the other to go between or blend the sound between the two pick ups. Because of where the knobs are located it is easy to make minute adjustements as you are playing along. I love the way my acoustic sounds on its own and was worried it would sound like an electric guitar vs acoustic when played through an amp. Sounds just as rich and full only louder. :)
Along the lines of what Nwoodgirl was saying, I have just recently installed a K&K Ultra pure western pickup into my acoustic. Aside from the larger endpin jack hole needed, it's a totally non-destructive installation (which was a requirement for me when I was looking for a new pickup also). I was even able to install it myself in an evening, and I'm a total novice when it comes to that sort of thing (taking a drill to the guitar did scare me though :) ). Most importantly, it sounds pretty nice too. Not totally transparent, but still very good, especially for the price (I can post a short sound clip as well if you are interested).
I'd love to hear a clip of it thanks! Hmm, taking a drill to the guitar.....now that DOES scare the hell out of me!!
Never assume the other fellow has intelligence equal to yours. He may have more.
Ok, if you goto here I've put up 3 clips. The sample_mic is a bit of one I dug up from a while back, but was recorded through a (cheap) mic, to give you a bit of an idea of the original sound. The sample_pu1 & 2 are both with the pickup straight into the computer, no effects and no EQ beyond what the pickup's preamp provides. I hope that gives you a bit of an idea of the sound. You're not going to use it to record your next solo album (of course the limiting factor for me is not my equipment :oops: :)), but for me playing in a music team at my church and mucking around at home it does the job. And apologies for sounding like an advertisement, but I just got it installed last week and am still enjoying recording myself as much as possible :D
Bonus points if you can tell which song I've murdered in each clip :lol:
Hey thanks for that! Can't tell what songs you'd 'murdered' lol (just kidding, you sound great!), but that sounds clear enough for me! What pick-up are you using for the that?? Sounds good enough strumming, so probably sounds really clear finger-picked (I'm more of a finger picker than a strummer).
Bless ya buddy :lol:
Never assume the other fellow has intelligence equal to yours. He may have more.
The pickup is the K&K Ultra Pure Western Mini (gee, that's quite a mouthful). I'm not a big fingerpicker myself so I can't comment on that aspect of it, sorry.
Hey thanks for that! Can't tell what songs you'd 'murdered' lol
No worries, I neglected to mention that any bonus points you might have won aren't currently redeemable anywhere, and won't be in the foreseeable future, so no big loss :)
