Best pickup for a 14 fret D-Hole?

EmmettRay

Hi guys,

I just bought a DG-320 Jorgenson which I need to amplify for some upcoming gigs, I was wondering which pickup I should go with and if it would be too risky to install myself? I'm looking for a permanently mounted one that won't give me too many feedback problems.

Does anyone have any experience installing these themselves? It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult.

Thanks!

Em

manoucheguitars

I use and recommend the Shatten... much more natural sound I think... the BigTones I've heard are okay if you like a little Fender Strat mixed in with your gypsy style...

Dr. Hall

I have a DG-320--love it to bits--in which I installed the K&K Pure Macaferri double-piezo with an end-pin jack. I've had very little trouble on gigs with feedback, and I get a really nice hollow amplified gypsy sound. You've got to be willing to drill a huge freakin' hole in the end-block of the guitar, but I think it was worth it. I also sometimes use an Audio-Technica AT-831b clip-on mic in conjunction with the K&K for even more natural acoustic sound. Good luck.
-Stefan

ace

Hope I don't piss anyone off here, but I think they should change the name to Shat-in as that would be a better representation of the output.

Especially for rhythm playing it tends to give a muffled tone with very little response to dynamic changes. The undelying problem is, is that there isn't really any great solutions! I find it is very difficult to get an acoustic guitar to sound great amplified without spending a ton of money and having a great soundsystem. I will however recommend using a Shertler DYN, or, If you can swing it, I would even give a higher recommendation to a bridge pickup system coupled with a clip on microphone system or the Shertler.
Hope that helps more than hurts.
If you can find the holy grail of amplified sound send it to the rest of us.
J

A.K. Kibben

Amplify it through what?
An amp or a PA?
Bottom line...
Mic it!
We have used a pair of AKG C1000 condensers with good luck...
Just came back from my first gig with my new Rode NT3...
Sit down! More power, clarity and balance!
Had to turn down the main's 'cuz it was so hot!
No feedback!
Our sound man has used these in our past gigs and that is what sold me on them...
$200 out the door, if you know where to shop...

I have road tested it through my Polytone here in my studio with fantastic results!

I sometimes wonder why more players don't opt for the true sound of a acoustic guitar with a good condencer mic! And not a sound hole one either...

Just my 2 cents worth...

Doing a gig with the Rode through my amp Wednesday... No PA...
Got Shertler's, BigTones and Fishman's...
Nothing compares...

Jack

I don't know if there's any one answer to this question, which comes up pretty often. I'm perfectly happy with my Bigtone and a David amp; the sound is good, with a wide range of tones available, and easily adjustable to the venue. No feedback issues at all, and my gear for a show consists of my guitar in one hand and my amp over my shoulder.

That said, we're not playing concert halls. In that kind of situation I might want a nice mic, and while we've got them available for the band it's rare that we use them, and most of the places we've played where I wanted one the venue had great mics to begin with.

The few Schattens I've heard definitely needed some sort of EQ between the guitar and out, but I'm not sure what models they were; I know there's a few. I think in the end it all depends on what your priorities are-for me and what I'm doing, the convenience, consistency, and reliability of my setup is worth the trade-off of a perhaps better or truer sound from a mic. If that's what you're after ("I'm looking for a permanently mounted one that won't give me too many feedback problems.") I think you'd be fine with something similar...

best,
Jack.

WowBobWow

Hi ~

Everything has its' pluses & missus. I'm not sure if a perfect pickup system exists.

If you are looking for a drilled in system, I have used a schatten on my oval hole and must run it through an LR Braggs box (and it can sound very good to me coming from the Unico amp). If you wanted a better sound though, I would use the schatten as well as a mic (I used a shure 57, and after trying other various hot expensive feedback mics, the 57 never had feedback and always performed to my liking). Also, I was using the old schatten design and I have seen & heard their new under bridge design and it sounds absolutely 100 percent better than my olde version when run through an LR braggs!

I'd recommend getting it installed professionally unless you are a person with those kinds of workshop skills and the confidence to do it (just remember, one mistake and that's it, the point of no return thing is scary)

In regards to just using a mic, I also have just used a simple shure 57 mic and been happy with that set-up as well, unless the room is full of chatting people(but for just a small sit-down audience/quieter soundspace the 57 works fine).

In regards to my experience with my 320: mine is excessively reverby, and has a ceiling high middle range. What has been great so far is I am using a DYN-G and an Unico and I simply cut the mids severely and, depending on the room size and current lifecycle of my strings (new strings versus a week old strings versus a month old strings are all completely different animals), adjust the highs & lows to my liking. After always feeling burned by the high price of the DYN, I'm finally glad it is being put to use and sounding good.

On my old oval hole and d-hole the dyn-G was something I was never happy with as when amped via the Dyn-G the tones came out very muddy or crummy. Yet now with the super loud 320 with just the DYN-G sounds great (perhaps because the soundboard vibrates more than compared to the other guitars? Maybe because the guitars' loud volume? Both?). For fancy gigs, I will use the Dyn along with a mic to get a marriage of tones from 2 places.

Overall, I think it's good to go to a guitar store/mic store and simply try out what sound good to your ears. I'd also recommend trying out your local g-jazzers guitars and try out their amping setup (if they have a bigtone, schatten, dyn-G, mics, etc).

Regardless of the system you end up choosing, you'll find its always an evolving & learing process to shape your sound from gig to gig. There are lots of factors that come into play (carpeted rooms vs. cemented bars, gitane bridge versus a custom made one, larger rooms vs. small ones, your amp and its position, a thick pick vs. a thin one, your picking technique that day, etc). Don't get your hopes too high in whatever system you choose: either way you are electronically trying to simulate your acoustic guitar and just be patient in getting used to getting a personal tone that satisfies you.

BluesBop Harry

I second the mic option too but sometimes a pickup is more practical.
Not permanent... but I really like the Schertler Basik.

EmmettRay

Thanks for your help guys, I'm still undecided though. I need to try some more guitars/amps, not that easy to find.

Love the DG-320's acoustic sound though, its louder than hell!!!

djadam

Ace, I really can't agree with you about the Schatten pickups. I haven't tried their pickup with the attached preamp, but I played many a gig with the passive Schatten pickup in my Gitane through a Baggs preamp and a Compact 60. The key is the Baggs and getting the settings right. Without putting some care into the settings on the Baggs, you're not likely to get a great tone out of the Schatten. However, with a well-tuned pre, the Schatten sounds great to me. It sounds very natural and if I have any criticism, it's that it maybe sounds a tad thin for single-note work. Terrific for rhythm though.

Now I play a Park guitar with a bigtone and skip the preamp. I think it sounds great and certainly "big", but perhaps sounds less natural at higher volumes. But if you don't overdo the gain, then you can get a very natural tone. So far, this is my favorite non-mic solution.

My understanding is that a bigtone can sound very different depending on who installs it. For example, Shelly's bigtone installs have a reputation for producing a very hot signal compared to others.

I like the Schattens, but overall, if I had a Jorg Gitane, I'd probably give the bigtone a try this time.

HCPhilly

I'm still using a Shertler transducer thru a unico [Shertler], amp.
It's a very subjective thing obviously. I know that Wrembel loves his Bigtone, but they sound brassy to me, too much like an electric guitar.
I met John Jorgenson, when I was getting into GJ a few years ago. He was doing a gig with Earl Scruggs. John was using a Shertler on his acoustic guitar, and it sounded great. They were playing in a theater that was probably 500 seats.
There was no feedback and since the pickup is placed on the guitar's top it
picks up the natural sound of the guitar, [as opposed to pickups that are in the bridge, which tend to sound produce a nasal tone color.] The thing that I like most about the Shertler is that it basically just amplifies the natural sound of the guitar. You can use the rig for small or big rooms, just use the line out to PA for bigger venues, and use your amp onstage for a monitor.
Pompe on, ya'll
Barr