Pickup in GS Mini (Other than ES-Go..)

[Gutch]

Thinking about maybe a pickup for the Mini and don't want to go down the ES-Go route.  Seeing Phillip's post on his three hogs made me curious about the M1.  I am not a big fan of K&K (One of the few, I know...) but would love to hear what everyone else has installed.


Biggest concern -- End pin installation.  Any issues?  Is the end block on the Mini already drilled for 1/2" jack?


Thanks!

[azslacker]

I am K&K fan, on my mini. Ran thru a Behringer ADI-21, it blows the socks off of the ES system on my 312ce, as far as good acoustic reproduction is concerned. For the end pin you'll need a pretty std. 1/2 washer. I used a stainless washer from Ace Hardware. Had to file the stamping ridge off. Took maybe 5 min. Fits perfect in the mini's routed recess.

[Paul60]

I am K&K fan, on my mini. Ran thru a Behringer ADI-21, it blows the socks off of the ES system on my 312ce, as far as good acoustic reproduction is concerned. For the end pin you'll need a pretty std. 1/2 washer. I used a stainless washer from Ace Hardware. Had to file the stamping ridge off. Took maybe 5 min. Fits perfect in the mini's routed recess.

Is the K&K Pure Mini hard to install ? Looks a bit fiddley.

[ksquared]

I'm considering trying JJB Electronics Prestige 330 in mine. They even offer an end that is supposed to fit nicely in the GS Mini, with some soldering. The pickup is apparently pretty much just like the k&k,  FWIW.

[MexicoMike]

I put KK min's on four different guitars and have been very happy with them.  They are quite easy to install - it looks harder than it really is.  On two guitars I had to enlarge the bottom strap pin hole to accept the 1/4" cable jack.  On the Taylor 12 I did not have to do that - its hole was already large enough for the 1/4" jack.

[michaelw]

Thinking about maybe a pickup for the Mini and don't want to go down the ES-Go route.  Seeing Phillip's post on his three hogs made me curious about the M1.  I am not a big fan of K&K (One of the few, I know...) but would love to hear what everyone else has installed.


Biggest concern -- End pin installation.  Any issues?  Is the end block on the Mini already drilled for 1/2" jack?


Thanks!

the hole in the tail block is the standard 1/2" & personally, i'm not a fan of the k&k either -
the m1 & active m1 have a pre-wired strap jack, which would require the use of a spacer or washer,
as azslacker suggested, or some disassembly, unsoldering & resoldering to an output jack similar to this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Classy-Chrome-Screw-Mount-Endpin-Strap-Button-Jack-for-Guitar-More-50-46-01-/170851745622?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item27c78ebf56

the m1 picks up body percussion also, as the second humbucking coil is in suspension, acting like a body sensor
http://www.lrbaggs.com/pickups/m1-acoustic-guitar-pickup

i've played with the anthem, which sounds very transparent to my ear & with a smaller body, like
the mini, the additional low end from the element may not be needed, so the lyric may  be an option -
http://www.lrbaggs.com/pickups/lyric-acoustic-guitar-microphone

for just a little more $ than the m1 active, it's easily installed, especially if using a washer &
if for some reason you decide to go a different route, the lyric may have a better chance
of recouping a larger percentage of the original investment than the m1 or m1 active -
the lyric is also less obtrusive in it's appearance, imho, & does not block the top of the soundhole

[TaylorMate]

Gutch, regardless what you think of K&K I can assure you it works real super in my Mini. Easy to install and the end pin is no problem at all. See my contribution to the Acoustic Guitar Forum where I extensively dealt with it: http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3173230

[MexicoMike]

Further comment re the KK..

IMO, the one slight downside of the passive KK mini is that it does not have any volume/tone control.  The massive upside of that is that since it is passive, there are no battery issues and basically nothing to go wrong.  Even though passive, it is plenty loud, louder through a standard guitar plug than my 414ce's ES system.  But I will admit that for my personal use, having volume and tone controls at the guitar are handy.  Obviously if your gigging setup allows easy reach on-stage of those controls on your sound system (or guitar) already, or you don't require any "running' changes," then that ability would be unnecessary.  KK makes a separate onboard powered preamp that provides this but although the volume is adjustable while playing, the tone controls are not.  They are designed to be set at whatever you want for that guitar and then left that way.

Yesterday my wife came back from a meeting in the US with a kk pure preamp that can fitted on your belt.  It's about 3" square by 1.5" thick and it has volume, bass, mid, treble knobs.  I fooled with it a bit and am very impressed with what it can do sound wise.  Yes, it adds another "thing" in the chain which I personally don't care for as far as setting up for a gig but it's really not much of an issue and if you want/need that capability, it does a nice job and doesn't require any guitar work at all.  PLUS, you can have several guitars with KKs (or other pickups) and be able to adjust any of them on the fly with the same little box.  Since I have exactly that, I think it's a nice little addition.  My Taylor GS 12 sounds fantastic with it - the preamp allows me to dial in a touch of bass that the 12 needs and it allows me to dial in some "sparkle" on my HD28 should I wish to use it.

I think it's a pretty neat little unit which requires NO guitar work at all to use but like everything, we all have our own "what works best for me" technique/ devices/preferences. 

[paulin]

I'm using the Baggs M80 in my mini hog and loving it.  I also used a SS washer from Ace Hardware, very easy install. 

[TaylorMate]

Mike is right. You don't have the on board control with the K&K Pure mini, but (because of that) the big advantages he mentioned: no surplus of electronics and no bateries, and the possiblity to connect different K&K equiped guitars to your preamp. I have three Tayors with K&K and use the small home made pedal board on the photo (K&K Pure XLR preamp, Boss Chorus CE-5 and Boss Tuner TU-3). You have everything at leg length and it works flawlessly! NB: for my K&K preamp I made a 9V external connection so that I can hook it up to my 1Spot Visual Sound adapter (I have an aversion to batteries).

[Gutch]

Thanks for the feedback, folks.  Great info here!  My primary concern was the end block setup, and it now seems like that shouldn't be an issue.


Sorry, but the K&K is out for me.  To my ear, I find that it needs too much EQ to tame the low end and  make it work.  I don't like the idea of supergluing the sensors to the bridgeplate.  Too permanent.  I installed one about ten years ago and simply wasn't impressed.


I'm happy to see the Baggs I-Beam is still around.  It was the golden child several years ago, but fell out of favor as other models came out.  The I-Beam is easy to install with the included jig, sounds good, and provides a volume control.  I know they can be prone to feedback if not installed properly, but the Mini will rarely be used for performance and when it is, it will be through a little Fishman Loudbox or a Bose L1.  I've never had guitar feedback issues with either.