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Soundhole pickup question
From Aron on 7/9/2013 12:09:28 AM
I'm currently in the final stages of having a koa weissenborn built for me and I wanted to ask for some advice or words of experience.
My question is regards to sound hole pick ups. I have had installed in my new weissy an LR Baggs M1 (passive) pick up. I'm very happy with my M1 (active) in my current weissy and found a good deal on this pickup so I thought I'd go with what I knew. I run it through a Venue DI and it sounds great to my ears. I have read all the debates over a Sunrise pickup verses everything else and I will possibly one day try that pickup as a lot of people rate it above all others.
But my real question is not how the pickups perform when being used but how they affect the tone through they're physical characteristics by simply being in the sound hole.
For instance when not playing through the pickup but the pick up is still installed does the sound or tone of your guitar get compromised in any way? Or at least in a way that your ears can hear a difference?
The LR Baggs is quite a lump really and when installed sits quite deep in the body chamber of the guitar (its a little awkward to remove too in a weissy sound hole). The sunrise has a bigger surface area and blocks off more of the sound hole. This must have an effect on the resonance up and down the body, or does it?
Am I being really naive to think I can keep my pickup installed on a permenant basis and record through condenser microphones and it not make any difference to the sound quality coming out of the guitar?
Has anyone tried a sound comparison test. Will I have to resign myself to having to remove the pickup everytime I wish to record with condenser microphones?
You help and guidance would be very welcome
Thanks, Aron
10 Comments |
 | CDAITSCH says:
7/9/2013 12:47:07 AM
Hi Aron,
I had the M1 in my Weissenborn and switched to the M80, which was really a step forward. But recently I tried the Seymour Duncan mag mic and I must say that this my favourite of all soundhole PUs I have heard so far. It is easy to install (soundhole problem with M1/M80) it sounds very natural to my ears and you can control the amount of mic to adapt the feedback sensibility to your live situation. There is not much advertisment and talking about that pickup, but to me it is the perfect solution.
Cheers
Christian
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 | Aron says:
7/9/2013 2:06:52 AM
Hi Christian,
Thanks for the reply but it's not a pickup recommendation I was seeking but thanks for the advice anyways :-), it's about whether you can leave them in and still record with condenser microphones without noticeable (to the ears) impairment to the sound and tone.
Regards Aron
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 | CaseyHunter says:
7/9/2013 6:35:17 AM
Aron,
My experience is that there is a slight difference in the pure acoustic tone and volume. However, it was not a big enough difference for me to consider removing the pickup, especially given the utility the pickup can provide.
If your a purist with a great ear it may be something to fret about. I would recommend installing it temporally to see if it degrades the instrument.
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 | Dobro66S says:
7/9/2013 6:54:38 AM
I have the M1 passive as well.Yes to me there is a difference,,but I leave mine in to play with the band and when I play acoustic I would remove it.Really with a screwdriver takes two minutes to remove.
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 | Liz Williams says:
7/18/2013 10:37:04 PM
I can hear a difference with the M1 in too, so I remove it. It's interesting Christian should mention the Mag Mic - I'd like to try one, but they seem more difficult to remove than the M1, so I stay put.
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| Aron says:
7/18/2013 11:00:41 PM
Thanks for all your feedback guys and gals :-)
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| CDAITSCH says:
7/20/2013 1:51:31 AM
Liz, the only thing which is different from the M1 is the separate battery clip, which is attached with a velcro strip. The mag mic pickup itself is easier to remove because it is only about half as thick as the M1/M80.
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| Liz Williams says:
7/21/2013 10:59:57 AM
Christian, the mag mic I have (and loved - tried it yesterday) is hardwired from the pick up to the endpin jack, so the jack has to come out when you remove the pickup. The cord from the end pin on the M1 plugs into the pickup, which can be removed, leaving the end pin in place. I see there is a temporary installation option for the mag mic, by I don't like the looks of it. Is that how you use it?
In an ideal world (I still believe this exists somewhere!), I could install the mag mic end pin and unplug the cord to remove the pick up.
I have another contender that might address Aron's original concern. The MiSi Acoustic duo. It's billed as a battery-less active pickup and looks like it's smaller and lighter than the mag mic, so maybe it would affect the sound if left in.
Here's a link:
elderly.com/new_instruments/it...MSAD2.htm
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| CDAITSCH says:
7/21/2013 12:16:46 PM
Liz, a good friend of use this and is very happy. The mic is optional.
schertler.com/homepage_schertl...-ag6.html
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| Liz Williams says:
7/21/2013 5:55:15 PM
Thanks, Christian. Those Schertler's look grand.
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