Pickup advice / opinions needed

taylordb · Unread post by **taylordb** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 12:20 pm

I just got the acoustic guitar of my dreams. Before I get it sent to me I am getting a pickup installed. My first thought was to get a Fishman Acoustic Matrix Natural II, but the luthier highly recommended the L. R. Baggs Imix. He says they give a much more natural sound than a Fishman. The cost is $125 more, but that is not my main concern.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance and peace!

P.S. I did do a search on this topic, and read thru what I found, but was looking for some fresh input.

CWMCALL · Unread post by **CWMCALL** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 1:00 pm

I don't know anything about pickups, but I would love to hear about your new guitar...

Speenis · Unread post by **Speenis** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 1:29 pm

Hmmm, $125 seems like A LOT more than just getting the fishman. If Dave uses it, it has to be damn good. I don't see how the Imix will be that much better.

Pickles · Unread post by **Pickles** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 4:20 pm

L.R. Baggs makes good stuff. My Godin is equipped with the piezo they make, and it sounds great. Don't limit yourself to just those brands though. Check out http://www.shorelinemusic.com for a good selection.

Trippin Hillbilly · Unread post by **Trippin Hillbilly** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 5:05 pm

Holy shit, did you finally get a DM3MD? Wow. Congrats Danny, hope it's everything you hoped for.

As for the pickup, I have a matrix natural II on my HD-35. The reason I went for it is its reliability. I knew that once I installed it, it's wasn't going to give me any problems.
I keep hearing about problems with the L.R Baggs and K&K's.

To be honest, an under-saddle pickup is never going to sound like a true mic'd acoustic guitar but whenever I've plugged mine in to a soundboard, the matrix II has sounded pretty good.

I can record some clips of it plugged directly in to my mixer with no preamps or eq if you like. It would probably sound the same as your DM3MD would.

Another thing you could look at is the Ellipse Matrix Blend. I tried it briefly a few months ago and I was really impressed. I'm going to give it another try this weekend and might get it installed in my larrivee.

Let me know if you want the clips.

GrateDMB21 · Unread post by **GrateDMB21** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 5:59 pm

taylordb wrote:I just got the acoustic guitar of my dreams. Before I get it sent to me I am getting a pickup installed. My first thought was to get a Fishman Acoustic Matrix Natural II, but the luthier highly recommended the L. R. Baggs Imix. He says they give a much more natural sound than a Fishman. The cost is $125 more, but that is not my main concern.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance and peace!

P.S. I did do a search on this topic, and read thru what I found, but was looking for some fresh input.

Depending on the saddle of your DM3MD, I would rule out the Fishman. If it has a drop in long saddle, then the Fishman Matrix Series wont work out. Serious modifications to the bridge would have to be done in order to have it fit correctly. I recommend B-Band pickups, K&K Western or Trinity systems and def. the LR Baggs iMix. To get a more professional answer, talk to Maury at http://www.Maurysmusic.com. He helped me out ton when looking for a pickup for my Martin D-41 Special

taylordb · Unread post by **taylordb** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 8:03 am

Thanks for the feedback guys!

I am leaning towards the Imix, but still not decided. From what I have researched, the piezo's (under the saddle) pick up more of the string influence and do not really get any influence of the wood (soundboard), while the I beam is more sensitive and picks up the wood. The piezo's are better when you have to cut thru a band and play at higher volumes (which is probably why Dave Matthews uses the Natural II). The I beam gets feedback prone at higher volumes so it is not good in that setting, but is good in more intimate settings like a coffee house.

Miguel, my friend, I hope it is too!! Kind of scary to buy sight unseen (sort of) but Jared checked it out for me and gave it his blessing...that was good enough for me. I will check out what you said about reliabilty of the Baggs. I do like the idea of a more "plug and play" type reliable pick up. I have a Natural I on my current guitar and have been happy with it. The luthier was not saying that the Fishmans were bad, he was just saying that you could achieve a sound closer to the natural sound of the guitar with the L.R. Baggs.

Please keep the comments coming, particularly if you have personal experience with the Imix. Thanks again guys, I really appreciate your help.

Peace.

taylordb · Unread post by **taylordb** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 8:10 am

shane wrote:L.R. Baggs makes good stuff. My Godin is equipped with the piezo they make, and it sounds great. Don't limit yourself to just those brands though. Check out http://www.shorelinemusic.com for a good selection.

Shane, I checked that site and they said the L.R. Baggs were their largest seller. From what I read, it seems like they were backing it up almost like a recommendation.

GrateDMB21 · Unread post by **GrateDMB21** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 11:20 am

taylordb wrote:Shane, I checked that site and they said the L.R. Baggs were their largest seller. From what I read, it seems like they were backing it up almost like a recommendation.

Danny, if your set on the iMix then go with the iMix. Its a very good system. I chose the iBeam Active, because I wanted a very discrete system and to not deal with the sound control mounted on the side of soundhole. I'm extremely with happy with the sound of my iBeam; like you said though the iBeam gives alot of feedback when turned up to higher volumes. I do however run my guitar through LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI, which helps control the sound a ton. Good luck with the system and congrats on the purchase!

guitardmb · Unread post by **guitardmb** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 11:28 pm

After i had many problems with the Taylor ES system, I had it removed and replaced it with an EMG AJ-125. This pickup cost $120 inlcuding installation. And not only was it cheap, but it sounds a lot better than the pickup that was originally in my guitar. I don't know how proffessional of a sound you are looking for, but for minimal gigging and recording and what not this is great choice. Check out my site to listen to how the pickup sounds.

http://www.angelfire.com/rock3/kylewalkley

charliemike · Unread post by **charliemike** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 10:50 am

I have heard very very good things about the iMix. I bought it for my Taylor 912c but ended up selling the guitar before I could have it installed.

taylordb · Unread post by **taylordb** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:16 am

Thanks everyone for your help. I finally chose to go the L.R. Baggs Imix route. I spoke at great length with the guy about reliability issues, ease of use, using it in different settings (i.e. full band -vs- solo), etc. He was very patient and gave me good answers for all of those issues.

It will be installed this week and the guitar shipped probably this coming Monday.

Again, thanks everyone!!

buffjam9011 · Unread post by **buffjam9011** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:09 pm

i'm looking into buying a d-15 with some electronics installed in it... i know nothing about acoustic pickups but here's how the guy described whats in it: "I had the Guitar Luthier install the K&K Sound Trinity under the saddle pickup with a microphone in the soundhole pickup. This also includes the 2 channel pre amp black box with cable and belt clip." yall recomend?

Trippin Hillbilly · Unread post by **Trippin Hillbilly** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:41 pm

buffjam9011 wrote:i'm looking into buying a d-15 with some electronics installed in it... i know nothing about acoustic pickups but here's how the guy described whats in it: "I had the Guitar Luthier install the K&K Sound Trinity under the saddle pickup with a microphone in the soundhole pickup. This also includes the 2 channel pre amp black box with cable and belt clip." yall recomend?

Have a look at this. It has clips of alot of different pickups used on different guitars, including K&K. Should help you decide which you prefer. I personally wouldn't go for a belt clip though.

http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptest.htm

buffjam9011 · Unread post by **buffjam9011** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 3:00 pm

thanks

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Pickup advice / opinions needed

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