I can tell you I've tried several different types, under saddle, internal microphones and sound hole. From my experience the sound hole is the best by far, as long as you don't mind having something permanently (or semi permanently) mounted. I particularly like the Fishman Rare Earth humbucking PU. It gives amplified tone as close to the guitar's natural acoustic tone as I've found, so if you're acoustic tone is naturally bright or has a naturally strong bottom end, this will carry over to your amplified tone as well. Of course you can use the EQ on your amp to make chages if desired. I have a Taylor with the factory expression system, which is darn good, but the Fishman is better. I like them so much I have them permanently mounted in a Gibson J45 and a Takamine parlor. It does require some soldering to shorten the wire and drilling or reaming the end pin hole larger to accommodate the output jack. If this is something new for you, I'd recommend talking to a professional for this type of installation. If you're handy with tools it's really pretty simple. You only get volume control with the Fishman Rare Earth, but I prefer to control everything else through the amp anyway. The humbucking design is super quiet and there's no feedback at all. I've not found anything better. They're excellent! Hope this helps.
1 2013-12-28 16:05:01
Re: Under Saddle Pickups vs Soundhole Pickups (8 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)
2 2013-12-28 16:03:04
Re: Under Saddle Pickups vs Soundhole Pickups (8 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)
I can tell you I've tried several different types, under saddle, internal microphones and sound hole. From my experience the sound hole is the best by far, as long as you don't mind having something permanently (or semi permanently) mounted. I particularly like the Fishman Rare Earth humbucking PU. It gives amplified tone as close to the guitar's natural acoustic tone as I've found, so if you're acoustic tone is naturally bright or has a naturally strong bottom end, this will carry over to your amplified tone as well. Of course you can use the EQ on your amp to make chages if desired. I have a Taylor with the factory expression system, which is darn good, but the Fishman is better. I like them so much I have them permanently mounted in a Gibson J45 and a Takamine parlor. It does require some soldering to shorten the wire and drilling or reaming the end pin hole larger to accommodate the output jack. If this is something new for you, I'd recommend talking to a professional for this type of installation. If you're handy with tools it's really pretty simple. You only get volume control with the Fishman Rare Earth, but I prefer to control everything else through the amp anyway. The humbucking design is super quiet and there's no feedback at all. I've not found anything better. They're excellent! Hope this helps.