Installed K&K pure mini on my Weissenborn Style 1

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Weissenborn Players

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This group is dedicated to the Weissenborn players around the world.

179 Members, Created 2/15/2011 -

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From yeti on 8/29/2013 9:20:14 PM

Just wanted to share my thoughts on amplifying my Weiss. I didn't want to see any evidence of the instrument being equipped with a PU. I know that the Duncan Mag and Sunrise are the industry standard but I can't deal with that look.

So I opted for the K&K pure mini and a tapastring vintage jack that was a custom fit for Weissenborns (thanks to Tony Francis for facilitating this by sending Keith at Tapastring a replica of an original strap button). My luthier installed the jack and PU and really enjoyed the process of getting inside a 3" deep guitar:)

She said it was fun but she never wants to do that again, haha.

Anyway, after receiving the guitar back earlier today I ran out to an open stage at some coffee house in town, my Weiss and my trusty K&K pure XLR preamp in hand and I plugged into this tiny PA and it sounded fantastic, really really good and very natural.

Bottom line:

If you don't know that there's a PU installed in my old Weissenborn you'll never guess from looking at it. Everything is totally reversible and it sounds great.. The PU elements need to be installed in front of the bridgeplate because there is no room on the actual plate but Dieter from K&K send me a drawing and assured me it'd be fine. he was right.

Thanks again to Tony Francis, Keith Gipson at Tapastring and Dieter at K&K for their expertise in making this happen for me. I'm very pleased with the outcome.

5 Comments
	CDAITSCH says: 8/30/2013 12:17:57 AM One reason for the Duncan is, that you can play over normal guitar amps as well to make a distortion sound is possible. In case of needing a pure natural sound I prefer my AKG C1000 mic.
	Liz Williams says: 8/30/2013 8:47:25 AM I think the mic vs. pickup and which-pickup-is-best debates are going to outlive us all. For those who have wondered about the Western mini in an original Weissenborn, or those of us who can't live with the effect of a soundhole pickup on the acoustic tone of our Weissenborn's sound (me) this is welcome news. I'm especially glad to know it's possible to install one in a 3-inch body. "Fun" is not a word that comes to mind... I would like to hear more about how you get distrotion out of your Mag mic, CDAITSCH. Perhaps in a new thread?
	yeti says: 8/30/2013 8:41:06 PM I know about the Duncans and they are great, just like the Sunrise, LR Baggs M1 and a lot of other soundhole PU's. If you want a distorted tone as part of your tonal palette then they are the way to go and even if you don't they all perform very well, IMO. My goal was to amplify an instrument that I'd be playing unamplified for 90% of the time. I was only gona install something that does not alter the guitars' aperance. I have used the K&K mini in my Martin D 18 DC with great results. When I play that guitar at home I do it handles and looks like a guitar w/o PU. That's important to me. The reason I posted this is because at first glance it appears to be impossible to install the K&K in a Weissenborn since there's no room on the bridge plate and getting inside the guitar is not easy, BUT it can be done and I love the result. I can plug and play with good results and if I want I can add a mic and the sound goes from very good to absolutely fantastic.
	yeti says: 8/30/2013 8:43:46 PM I don't know how the typos and double post happened, sorry.
	yeti says: 9/2/2013 8:13:46 PM Hi, Tonu I was also interested in the Lyric since it sounds great as far as the demos are concerned but there's no way to install it without drilling the endpin to accept that big 1/4" jack/ pre-amp, correct? Not a problem with a new guitar since they are usually drilled for a 1/4" jack anyway but a no-no on a vintage Weissenborn, IMO. The 1/8" Tapastring custom Weissenborn jack in Ivory Micarta works great.. I experimented with my rig today and came up with a very good sounding setup. I use the K&K XLR pure preamp, the XLR side goes to my QSC K-10 PA monitor and the 1/4" output goes to my Ampeg B112 basscombo with all the mids and treble dialed out. In addition I use my Sennheiser MD 421 with the bass rolled off and I position that mic very close to, but not above the soundhole. The mic also plugs into the PA monitor. The PA monitor is mounted on a stand behind me to my left so I can hear it well, the Bassamp sits on the floor pointing up. The result is a very natural but thunderous Weissenborn sound. the bass thumps just like Lindleys' live rig but the tone is more natural than his magnetic PU's ( Don't get me wrong , I love Lindley's live tone but I want something less amplified sounding. If I turn down the bass amp it becomes very acoustic sounding but with the bass amp on there is a lovely gentle thump when I lay my hands on the strings. Feedback is not an issue at this point but I'm not talking Rock'n'Roll volume, just a nice loud clear tone.
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