What's a good acoustic guitar pickup?

[Len Rabinowitz]

Any recommendations?

NO PERMANENT MOUNTING! So, no drill holes, no damage to the soundhole/rosette or bridge, gotta be removable-

The Fishman's any good? I guess that is what a lot of people use.

Thanks!

 

[Beagle1]

Are you sure no permanent mounting? That eliminates almost all the systems out there except for magnetic sound-hole pickups (the Baggs M1, Duncan MagMic, and Sunrise are all good) and the stick-on pickups like the Schertler Dyn G (excellent sound but expensive and can feedback in high volume situations).

You could also look at something like the K&K Pure and Trinity systems with a Tapastring Vintage Jack...that won't require any drilling, but the K&K's work best when they are super-glued (rather than taped) underneath the bridge. Of course, you can remove the superglue but it can be a PITA. The K&K systems do sound very nice and natural but have a tendency to feedback at higher volumes.

My favorite system is the DTAR Multisource as it sounds almost as natural as the K&K and does not feedback even at high volumes. But it requires drilling a hole in the saddle to accommodate the undersaddle pickup, as well as enlarging the endpin hole to accommodate a 1/4-inch jack. The new-ish LR Baggs Anthem has also gotten excellent user reviews and would be worth a look, but like the DTAR it is going to require a small hole in the saddle for the UST and an enlarged endpin hole for the 1/4 jack.

Honestly, I think if you get a really good luthier who specializes more in acoustic guitars to do the install work, drilling a hole for a UST and enlarging the endpin hole are really not a big deal and will not decrease the value of your instrument. The only exception would be something like a vintage Martin...I wouldn't want to mess with that, but any modern instrument should be fine with a permanent install pickup provided it is installed by someone competent.

 

[Len Rabinowitz]

I just don't like the idea of drilling into the HD-28 for something I wouldn't use that much. I would never even consider on my old J-50. Still, I will think about it. Thanks for the input!

 

[jasco]

How about a microphone on a stand in front of it? Depends on the tone you want and whether you need to be able to move around the stage while playing acoustic, but if you just want it to sound like the acoustic sound of the guitar and are just running it straight to the PA (i.e., not through any particular effects or anything) and you are just sitting or standing in one place while playing the acoustic, give it a try. The in-hole/non-modding pickups can work well, but IME they start to sound less like a pure acoustic sound.

 

[Len Rabinowitz]

I do that occasionally, but it never seems to produce enough volume. Maybe I am just used to the electric. Also I do move around.