K&K Pure Maccaferri XT VS K&KPure Maccaferri Pickup or Pure Mini

Mondoslug

I want to amplify this thing & I've decided K&K is the route I want to go.

D Hole, so I could fit the two or three sensor ones inside.

I'm assuming we think that's best rather than the ones that mount outside?

Any opinions on the K&K options? Thanks!

Mondoslug

lol...I saw some reviews on here from some old threads...okay to awful. :)

I had a K&K in a Collings for a very brief period of time, couldn't get it out of there fast enough yet...I still am curious about one in the GJ guitar.

Buco

This is a picky crowd when it comes to amplifying. A lot of people are using K&K, I'd think, but don't advertise. It gets the job done, it'll make noise coming from the speaker. It was the first pickup I used, sounded ok. It was a pure pure floating bridge model. You'll most likely have the same overall impression as in the Collings.

Something to think about, as I know that you know it's not going to sound very acoustic, say compared to a condenser mic. Just as a magnetic pickup won't. In my view a magnetic pickup is the better choice between the two.

If course if you do the internal K&K it'll have a practical advantage. You plug in and play. That was the main reason why I internally installed Manouche mic. Which sounds very good by the way.

There's a Krivo pickup that came up for sale a few days ago, looks brand new, FYI. It's never a bad thing to have one in your gigbag.

cass

Been there and here is my experience. I can’t speak for the K&K Pure XT, but I have the old style Pure internally installed in my AJL, and the Definity installed under the bridge of my DuPont. Personally I like the sound of the Definity better. The pure is woofie, where the Definity is more natural and just feels and responds better. I also have the AT mic which sounds great, but I never use due to feedback. Tried the Carlos Sensor and couldn’t find a sweet spot on any of my three oval holes so I returned it. All that said, when performing I generally use one of my two Krio’s. Probably because I have been playing electrics for over 60 years😳 and it just feels natural. To me, every different type of amplification has not only a different sound, but a different feel which takes some getting use to. I hope this helps in your quest.

flaco

If I wanted the best, most feedback resistent acoustic sound, I would do the simplest K&K and pair it with a Tone Dexter. Maybe not exactly relevant, but I just saw Stephane Wrembel posted this clip of him discussing his setup. It’s a bit complicated but he often plays with drums, wants to be able to use effects, etc.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBr9M3bpc-0/?igsh=MWwycTN1eHo5dXN1Mg==

MichaelHorowitz

@Mondoslug there are two main issues that all top mounted piezos suffer from:

1 - Top mounted piezos (regardless of mounting on the upper or underside of the top) are more prone to feedback. The ambient sound can easily make its way back into the sensor creating a feedback loop. Generally, top mounted piezos are only effective at medium to low volumes levels as they will begin to feedback when turned up louder than that. Even medium volume levels can be difficult to achieve in an acoustically challenging space.

2 - Top mounted piezos are very far from the strings/bridge, which causes them to pickup quite a bit of the “internal reverb,” resonance, and/or overtones of the guitar. This may sound like a good thing a first as it can add color to the sound. However, as you turn it up you start to sound like you’re playing in a tin can due to excessive overtones/reverb.

For these reasons the bigtone as always been the most popular choice for a piezo on Gypsy guitars. The sensor is mounted in the bridge itself, which protects from feedback and produces a dry, clear tone that you can use at high volumes levels. It’s also much higher gain then any of the top mounted piezos, which require cumbersome preamps and batteries to achieve the same level.

of course the bigtone is more expensive and the install is more complicated . For many people the top mounted options are a good budget option, but generally for professional use it’s tough to beat the bigtone.