Korgscrew
Group: Super Admins
Posts: 3511
Joined: Dec. 1999 |
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Posted: May 09 2008, 22:12 |
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I do tend to find that all pickups are a bit of a compromise, but then in a lot of environments, miking up ends up being that too. I do like having a pickup there to just allow me to plug in when need be. It then really comes down to which compromise you prefer, I think.
I find the magnetic ones always tend to have a tiny bit of that magnetic electric guitar kind of sound to them. That's of course not necessarily a bad thing - it just depends on whether it suits your style of playing or not. I remember quite liking the sound of the Mike Vanden Mimesis pickups, which are now made by Fishman, sold as the Rare Earth series. They're not terribly cheap, though.
Piezo systems tend to have that slightly quacky sound. My own preference with those are the pickups made by Headway, which I've had fitted to a number of instruments made by Paul Hathway. He'll fit them into other instruments on request. I find they tend to sound very close to natural, though it depends what they're plugged into at the time. I use active versions, but without any external controls - the battery is fitted into a small holder on the neck block, and quite easily replaced by just reaching in through the soundhole. This way of fitting them means that the only telltale sign of a pickup being installed is the larger end pin. They're under saddle pickups (though I think they might do one which isn't), so it does mean a very minor amount of surgery to the instrument to fit it, but I like the convenience of having it permanently there, without it feeling like there's stuff stuck onto the instrument that doesn't belong there. I don't find that they affect the acoustic sound at all (though it's of course hard to say for sure, considering they were there from the start, but they sound as good as, if not slightly better than other instruments without the pickup installed).
This also depends on what kind of places you're playing at, of course, and what your act's like. If you're playing quiet venues and don't move around a lot, you could always try some different microphones to see if you can get a sound that you prefer. I think I've mentioned Oktava MK-012s before - you can get a set with three different capsules, which won't break the bank, and ought to give a decent reproduction of the sound of an acoustic guitar. Their sound tends to suit acoustic guitars fairly well.
More pricey is the Neumann KM184, which will give you an instant 'produced' sound with a subtle (yet smooth) top end lift. They get used a lot for acoustic guitar performances in theatres. I'd not be so confident about using them in a noisy pub environment...the hypercardioid KM185 (or indeed, the Oktava's hypercardioid capsule) might do a slightly better job, but there does come a point where the surrounding noise is so great that all a mic does is amplify that further, unless it's stuffed right inside the guitar, or somewhere equally bad sounding.
You may of course find you get the most joy from combining the sounds from a pickup and a mic together. It starts to get fiddly then, though. Under the right conditions, I like to go for the ultimate sound, but under many, I really prefer to go for what's actually most sensible. My feeling is that as long as the solution isn't offensive sounding and as long as I can play well using it, I'm fairly happy. I tend to get drawn to solutions which are efficient and convenient - though I'm familiar enough with all sorts of different bits of kit and can use them to get the results I want, I'd really rather just plug in and play if I can! Of course, ask me again in 10 years' time and I might give a different answer 
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