Pickup for 912C

[Gweetarpicker]

I have a 1996 912C and was considering adding electronics to it.  Any experience or suggestions (Baggs anthem, Fishman matrix. etc.)?

[Strumming Fool]

I have had great success with the LR Baggs Lyric on five of my seven Taylors. (The other two each have the ES 1.3 system.) Simple to use, non-invasive and completely reversible. Recently did a recording and the engineer was blown away by the pure acoustic sound. I have also played in plugged in venues with excellent results. Your 90s 912 deserves to have its sweet sound authenticly reproduced.Hope this helps.

[boneuphtoner]

I can’t vouch for the reversibility aspect, but I’m really impressed with tone and unobtrusive nature of the Baggs anthem Installed on my Martin D-18E.  I think it is less obtrusive than the ES2, and it’s blended microphone gives it a better plugged in sound - although to be fair I can adjust the EQ of either to achieve a tone I find equally pleasing.  There is a new Fishman pickup (it has aura in the name) that is Supposedly even better than the anthem

[Edward]

Do you fingerpick only?  Play some or lots with your pick?  General style is lighter attack, heavier strumming, or a balance of both?

The reason I ask is LR Baggs makes great sounding stuff, but choose according to your use.  IMHO, the Lyric is fine for lighter attack, solo/duo gigs, and quieter venues.  The Anthem (and Anthem SL) is much better for full band use, louder gigs, or otherwise more "aggressive" playing or presence, and is also a good deal more tonally versatile than the Lyric.

No experience with Fishman, so others may chime in there.

Edward

[Guitars44me]

I LOVE the K&K pure mini.  Weighs almost nothing, mounts underneath the bridge plate, and does NOT touch the bridge Saddle so no "quack". No preamp or battery needed in the axe. 

These sound GREAT and many collectors use them to avoid mods to instruments.

Completely reversible to stock in a Taylor since the end pin is pre drilled for a pup.

If you need a boost the Red Eye is super simple, and sounds great.

KISS,  for me.  Less stuff in my guitar the better, but I would like to be able to plug in!

[guitarsrsoawesome]

I've had both the lyric (it was great, especially for recording) in a GS8 and the K&K pure mini in both my 514 and gs mini.  I agree with strumming fool and guitars44me about both being great.  I also like the simplicity and non invasiveness of both.  What I would really love to do is combine them together!  But I will say that the k&k is amazing, though I do use their pre-amp/d.i. which I think brings a lot of clarity to its tone. 

You will need a sound hole cover for either in loud situations though...

[Hippy]

I have a 1996 912C and was considering adding electronics to it.  Any experience or suggestions (Baggs anthem, Fishman matrix. etc.)?

I have a 1996 912C that I had Taylor install an ES-2 on.
Well... it's not bad, but the older ES-1 sounds better to me. I really do appreciate the tone & vol knobs on the ES. While it certainly does not sound as good as a microphone on recordings, I can always make it sound great playing live. Never an issue with feedback and I can dial in the tone and volume right there on the guitar.