There are probably hundreds of posts on this topic. I all boils down to:

1. If you need a pickup to do something a mic cannot do (or does better than a mic) you use a pickup.

2. If you're playing does not require a pickup you can order the guitar without the pickup.

My performances often requires the use of a pickup.

h

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Originally posted by hlpdobro

There are probably hundreds of posts on this topic. I all boils down to:

1. If you need a pickup to do something a mic cannot do (or does better than a mic) you use a pickup.


Yes, I've tried both, and I can haul a lot more compost with a pickup.

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Originally posted by SlideRules

I am seeing that pickups are being installed in almost every new Beard guitar. I have no need for a pickup. How many here use a pickup? What is the down side besides extra expense? Any real upside? Thoughts?

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TLDR: The advantage is versatility, the disadvantage is cost and some tone changes

If you plan on performing regularly, I consider it a necessity. If not, I'd only get one if I was jamming with people who play electric instruments and/or drums. 

I use the pickup, but situationally. If you're never playing in loud environments, with monitors, or with loud bands (e.g. with drums or amps on stage) then the pickup may not be necessary. If you are ever in any of those situations, you will wish you had one.

Down sides: expensive, not as natural sounding as a mic (more on this later), and you may slightly change the acoustic sound of your dobro because you're doing a new setup with new bridge inserts and a new spider. That being said, that change was very slight on my National Scheerhorn, and you wouldn't know the difference if the dobro was built already with the pickup in mind. 

The upside: VERSATILITY

My ideal sound set up for bigger stages is now a blend of mic (60-70%) and the pickup (30-40%). This gives me some stage mobility, a more stable signal, and usually a bit more bass response from my dobro depending on the system and the room. 

If I'm in a small, noisy bar or with a loud band (drums, amps on stage, or monitors) then I use 100% pickup. Feedback issues make a mic impossible or worthless because you'll be too quiet for anyone to hear the good tone, anyways. The tone from the pickup is good enough (often great) for these situations. Also, audiences like that honestly don't know the difference they most often just want it LOUD!

I use mic-only setups when I'm playing: bluegrass festivals, in quiet listening room environments, or in bigger soft-seater type venues with great sound systems. 

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Originally posted by AK Slider

Yes, I've tried both, and I can haul a lot more compost with a pickup.

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LOL!!!!

Must remember this line!  

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Originally posted by AK Slider

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Originally posted by hlpdobro

There are probably hundreds of posts on this topic. I all boils down to:

1. If you need a pickup to do something a mic cannot do (or does better than a mic) you use a pickup.


Yes, I've tried both, and I can haul a lot more compost with a pickup.

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Don't let the drummer have the keys to the pickup.

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I’m using the same setup as Miles and for the same reasons. I play a handful of venues (loud honky-tonks) with zero chance of anything working aside from the pickup.

As far as upsides/downsides…

Other than cost, I’ve not seen any downsides with a pickup. I’ve had 4 installations at various times and never heard any tone degradation acoustically.

I hve multiple guitars w/ pickups and I like that it standardizes the bridge string spacing across different builds. Probably not a concern for most, but a nice side benefit IMO.

When I was flying helicopters for Uncle Sam, we often said better to be on the ground wishing we were in the air than to be in the air wishing we were on the ground! In like manner, it's better to have one and not need it than to not have one and wish you did.

Greg: That's rich!

PIck-ups...I have used D'Armond (!) from 1963 to Lace from 2003. to Krivo (to present). Just don't get them close to any mikes on stage or feedback will raise its ugly head !
I still use an Electrovoice 664 (again !!) which is a broadcast radio mike from 1965 (!) on my 1933 Regal Dobro. Now, that is vintage stuff but it still works. I have been playing since 1951 !

The technology has improved mightily over the decades.

Feedback is basically a non-issue with today's offerings.

h

LOL, I keep on forgetting about my Covid era videos.

It's been 5 years and yes, the technology has evolved. Still useful, me thinks!

Resobits Ep. 1 Amplifying the spider bridge resonator guitar.

I'm a true Luddite; I don't even like playing with others who use pickups. SM-57s for all instruments is best in my experience. But I'm not playing in noisy situations.

It's not noise. With respect, reread the thread and check out the first several minutes of the video, especially "the reasons you should NOT use a pickup".

h

The upside is you got a factory installed pickup BEFORE a Beard setup in case you (or anyone else) ever wants to plug it in.

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Originally posted by hlpdobro

It's not noise. With respect, reread the thread and check out the first several minutes of the video, especially "the reasons you should NOT use a pickup".

h

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Miles wrote,

If I'm in a small, noisy bar or with a loud band (drums, amps on stage, or monitors) then I use 100% pickup. Feedback issues make a mic impossible or worthless because you'll be too quiet for anyone to hear the good tone, anyways. The tone from the pickup is good enough (often great) for these situations. Also, audiences like that honestly don't know the difference they most often just want it LOUD!

I use mic-only setups when I'm playing: bluegrass festivals, in quiet listening room environments, or in bigger soft-seater type venues with great sound systems. "

To straddle the pickup/mic fence.....I have good luck with a small Audio Technia condenser mic that clips onto the cover plate; the tone is clear, and the volume is sufficient. I much prefer it over the pickup that was installed a few years ago; however, that pickup does still get used occasionally. It has come in handy for open mics and such, when setup time is negligible. Any loss in tone is offset by the patrons' beers and chatter.

I don't like pickups, but everyone I play with wants me to have them. So I do.

I don’t have a Beard but do have a Mule with a factory installed pickup. I treat it as an electric guitar that kinda sounds like a resonator, not the other way around. My vintage National does not have a pickup and is perfect the way it is.  Both are useful but very different instruments for me. 

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Originally posted by SlideRules

I am seeing that pickups are being installed in almost every new Beard guitar. I have no need for a pickup. How many here use a pickup? What is the down side besides extra expense? Any real upside? Thoughts?

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Can't tell you how many of us use them. 

Downside: The guitar isn't original anymore. Fine with me, but some balk.

Upside: Though I prefer a mic or no amplification, a pickup is convenient. People running PAs like working with guitars with pickups, so if you perform on stage, having one makes life easier for everyone. Like many things in life, it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

There are three main pickup options:

- A peizo pickup (like a passive K&K or JBB), which will sound pretty much like your instrument but louder.

- A magnetic external pickup (like a Krivo), which will add some heft, a little like an electric guitar pickup.

- A Fishman Aura system, which will model different types of microphones to emulate studio sounds.

I prefer the first two, but some  feel that only the Fishman captures the real sound.

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Originally posted by gadobro

I'm a true Luddite; I don't even like playing with others who use pickups. SM-57s for all instruments is best in my experience. But I'm not playing in noisy situations.

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If you use an SM57 do you still qualify as a "true Luddite?" 

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Originally posted by MarkinSonoma

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Originally posted by gadobro

I'm a true Luddite; I don't even like playing with others who use pickups. SM-57s for all instruments is best in my experience. But I'm not playing in noisy situations.

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If you use an SM57 do you still qualify as a "true Luddite?" 

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I used to think the same thing until I tried a Slate Digital ML-2 Small Diaphragm Modeling Microphone. I just use it as a standard mic and it works great. 

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Originally posted by MarkinSonoma

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Originally posted by gadobro

I'm a true Luddite; I don't even like playing with others who use pickups. SM-57s for all instruments is best in my experience. But I'm not playing in noisy situations.

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If you use an SM57 do you still qualify as a "true Luddite?" 

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No, hardly a Luddite. SM57 is a great choice, if you're happy playing to a mic. And I think most players that have Nashville PU's once played thru SM-57's.  Still great for most electric bands, and especially drummers. 

I use the Meyers Grip on both my Clinesmith and my 1930 National tricone, same pickup moved from one guitar to the other. I play in an Americana band, and they are loud, and the Meyers (a little condenser mic on a gooseneck) has not given me any feedback issues. I also use a K&K mini on the biscuit of a 1932 Style O National and run that through a Tonedexter, which sounds just like a mic. There are all kinds of ways to amplify these instruments and if you are a performer, you need them. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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Originally posted by gfirob

I use the Meyers Grip on both my Clinesmith and my 1930 National tricone, same pickup moved from one guitar to the other. I play in an Americana band, and they are loud, and the Meyers (a little condenser mic on a gooseneck) has not given me any feedback issues. I also use a K&K mini on the biscuit of a 1932 Style O National and run that through a Tonedexter, which sounds just like a mic. There are all kinds of ways to amplify these instruments and if you are a performer, you need them. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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Do you use the original Tonedexter? What mic did you use to make the wave map?