Magnetic pickups shadow neomag / lace acoustic blade

D.G.

I have a Gitane D-500 which I like a lot. I recently installed a K&K pure archtop pickup in it and am less than thrilled with the sound. It sounds very "hard" and there's no high-end "string sound". It's frankly only a barely usable sound through my PRRI with the treble turned all the way off and only a little better through an expensive Schertler Unico (I don't own, but I tested it out at Pioneer Music in Portland.)

I have a Fishman Rare Earth in a Larivee flattop that I like a lot, especially through my PRRI. While it's by no means a "pure" acoustic sound, it's a very good sound. The oversized soundhole on the D-500 obviously won't fit the Fishman without a lot of monkey business which I'd really rather not go through if I don't have too.

A pair of teeny tiny magnetic pickups have caught my eye and I'd like to know if anyone has experimented with these on a gypsy guitar:

Shadow NanoMag
Lace Acoustic Blade

Thanks!

constantine

I tried this pickup and had high hopes. The problem was that there are no adjustable poles and the high E was clearly more quiet than the rest of the strings. This also happened with the lace ultra slim acoustic. The best of all of these by far was the 3/8 dobro sensor. Just remember that these are magnetic, so you'll sound a lot closer to an electric guitar. The baggs M1 is pretty cool for a humbucker too or Try mixing in an AT831b mic

D.G.

Ah,

Yes, the imbalance of strings is not promising. I don't mind a more magnetic sound, if fact, I actually want a more magnetic sound. I want the compression a magnetic pickup gives. The other thing is that I'd only be using the pickup/amp for stage monitoring. The main sound in the PA would be from a mic.

I'll look into that AT831b mic, thanks!

constantine

the baggs m1 is big and you need to add tabs to the sides to mount it on a D hole, but it sounds good.

D.G.

I think I'll try my Fishman first to see if the entire "tabs" idea is even workable for me before shelling out the bux for yet another pickup :roll:

Any pointers on making "tabs"?

constantine

popsicle shticks or any thin plastic.

D.G.

Popsicle sticks! Yes!

D.G.

No joy using popsicle sticks. The pickup sits too low in the soundhole and the output is very weak. The actual tone is a great, clear jazz tone, not terribly acoustic, but very good through a PRRI. I'm still not giving up, but I'm currently out of ideas that are feasible without hacking off the fingerboard extension...