what type pickup for "weissenborn" type acoustic l

[John Groover McDuffie]

It seems that many acoustic lap steel players use soundhole mounted magnetic pickups such as the Sunrise, LR Baggs M1, or Seymour Duncan Mag-mic (David Lindley).

Does anyone use saddle transducer type pickups for this application?

What are the pros/cons of either?

[Fred Kinbom]

Other: K&K Pure Western Mini (with K&K Pure preamp). It is a transducer that is superglued to the bridge plate, not an undersaddle pickup.

www.kksound.com

Fred

[Tom Gray]

I use both the Sunrise and the Mag/Mic. Both sound good, but I still kind of favor the Sunrise. An undersaddle pickup will give you more attack, good for strummers. The magnetic pickups give a sweeter tone with more sustain. Some people use both and dial in a mix.

My secret weapon is an Avalon U5 preamp.

[Steinar Gregertsen]

Other: K&K Pure Western Mini (with K&K Pure preamp). It is a transducer that is superglued to the bridge plate, not an undersaddle pickup.

www.kksound.com

Fred

Same here, I have K&Ks in all my acoustics now. They don't have the 'harsh' attack ("quack") of undersaddle piezos and sound amazingly natural. Also installed the onboard K&K PrePhase preamp which was a huge improvement over the other preamps I used to use (Pick-up The World and Baggs).

[Mark Mansueto]

I have a K&K with a Baggs preamp which works OK for live but when I compare that setup to a good condenser mic the mic just kills it. I wouldn't think of recording with the pickup. I think I'm going to try a different pre to see how that works, maybe a K&K like Steiner and Fred use.

[Steinar Gregertsen]

I think I'm going to try a different pre to see how that works, maybe a K&K like Steiner and Fred use.

The thing is that when using another preamp with the K&Ks you're likely to get an impedance mismatch (and vice versa,- K&K preamps are not recommended for other pickups, for the same reason).
The most important difference I noticed was a more focused bass response and an overall better clarity.

Record with them? No, pickups are for live use, when recording I've always used mics regardless of the pickup system in my guitars.

[Chris Drew]

K&K Pure Western Mini for me too!
(Thanks Fred for the recommendation! )

I've got this real aversion to undersaddle piezos... for any acoustic guitar... who would want to sound like an ovation???
I found that even a dirt-cheap transducer bug glued on the bridge-plate can sound better than an undersaddle!
(Unbranded ebay bug vs. Fishman undersaddle piezo)
I found that out whilst researching what pickup to fit in the Bristolian.

The K&K works as a passive pickup, so I plug straight into the busking amp, no preamp ...though I do intend on getting one (K&K)...
I've checked the sound straight into a mixer & it's good.

Basil plugged straight into his AER acoustic amp & that sounds sweeeet!

I wouldn't expect any pickup to beat a good condenser mic, but to my ears the K&K comes closest to the actual sound of the guitar as it takes the vibrations of the soundboard rather than just the strings as with a soundhole or undersaddle.

I've heard soundhole pickups that sound "good", but they sound like the pickup not the guitar!
(Also, to my eye, they spoil the look of the guitar, but that's just my petty opinion!)

So, for me it's K&K, all the way!



(I'm even getting K&Ks for my regular acoustic "armpit guitar" & ukes!)

[Fred Kinbom]

K&K Pure Western Mini for me too!
(Thanks Fred for the recommendation! )

Thanks Steinar for the recommendation!

If Steinar only got a cut on all the sales he has generated through his trying out of gear and sharing his respected opinions on the forum.

In my case: Lazy River, K&K, Lap King, Cmatmods - Steinar sharing his opinion of these contributed to my decision to try them out myself. And they're all keepers.



Fred

[Jim Brobeck]

I play two Brauchli weissenborns (fixed bridge and floating bridge). I run them through a Boss 7 band EQ pedal toning back the 3.2K slider about -3-5db.
Brauchli explains on his excellent website:
The pickups I use as my standard are a custom made K&K, which has classical width but is balanced for steel strings. I charge $140aud to supply and fit it. Despite the low price, I find these to be the best undersaddle pickup I have come across, having a true tone and needing no boosting as they have more output than a strat.

I must point out that mixers and most amp inputs are not designed to take ultra high impedance piezo pickups. Most modern FX pedals, or signal processors can handle higher impedances, so using one between the guitar and the mixer is a good way to match the impedance.