software

Hi Guys,

What is your opinion on acoustic pick ups? Also do you have any personal favorites and preferences to any certain brand and model? I am thinking if i should get a Taylor with an expression system or just get a non electronics one and then upgrade it with a fishman of some sort later.

Jason

Hey Jason.. IMO amplying a Acoustic is much more difficult to do thatn an electric. Acoustic guitars are made to be played acoustically. That being said I have had the previledge of playing thru just about every type of acoustic system available. It really has a lot to do with the guitar itself. A good acoustic amplification system will amplify the natural character of the guitar. In short the two best systems that I have experienced are the new Fishman matrix system. This is the one that has all the controls inside the sound hole. If you did not know it was there you would barley be able to tell. The controls are a blender volume and tone adjustments. The only negative to this system is it is hard to see what you are adjusting because it sits inside the soundhole. Over all this is an excellent choice. ( I played a EC 0028 Martin and a Martin Acoustic Bass with this) The second one that I have played that I feel also has excellent sound quality is the LR Baggs system. The LR Baggs is slightly more $, but in the guitar that I played it thru ( A Santa Cruz Dreadnaught) It sounded amazing. The LR Baggs systen has a cream colored control box that is mounted in the soundhole. It does not look as good as the Fishman, but that sound was excellent. IMO it would be a toss up between these two systems. They are both excellent. Both use Piezo and Microphones, so getting a good mix between the PUP and the Mic is really very easy to obtain. I have not played with the Taylor Expression system, but I have heard good things about it. The next thing you have to consider is wheather you are going to go direct to the PA or to go to a Acoustic AMP. If your choice is the Latter I might lean a little harder towqrds the Fishmen system. This plugged into a Fishman Loudbox will be an excellent choice!

Another important issue is both the Fishmen and the LR Baggs will not require any major modifications to your guitar. The only thing that needs to be done is a small hole be drilled under the saddle to feed the wire for the pickup into the body of the guitar, and the endpin needs to be reamed out to fit the jack and harness.