Mandolin pickup ?

[Johnny M]

I just bought an amp (my first one ever), and was wondering what people thought was the best pickup for a mandolin.  I've been looking at the K&K twin fusion and L.R. Baggs Radius and was wondering what the verdict was on these?  I like them because it can be installed without drilling holes (use of a carpenter jack).  I already have a Baggs Para D.I., so I'm covered there if a pre-amp is required.

Any thoughts?

John

[unclrob]

Don't forget the Fishman which has the pu pre-mounted in the bridge itself.Which means you'll have to do some sanding of the bridge's feet so that theyconform to the top of the mando.That sound pretty good and will work with your Baggs preamp.

[flatlander]

I found out about "pickup the world" when looking for something for my octave mandolin. Real good reviews from mandolin players and I was not disappointed. They have lots of options including making one for you custom. The have tons of bridges they can use to make ahead of time and ship you, or in my case, since they didn't have an arch top bridge for larger octave mando, I gave them diminsions and they made one for me. (pick-up, not entire bridge)  They have standard setups or will make about anything you want custom for any instrument. You can call them and talk to them, very patient and nice, and they'll set you up. Sound great, My octave mandolin probably sounds more natural than any of my other acoustic instruments with pickups.
http://www.pick-uptheworld.com/

[Johnny M]

Decided to go with the K&K Twin Fusion and ordered one this morning. I was considering the Baggs Radius, but it seemed a little too bulky sitting on the outside of the mandolin.  I'll update this post when it arrives and had a chance to play around with it.

John

[Johnny M]

My K&K Twin Fusion still hasn't arrived yet, but I got on my son's Breedlove this evening.  I was running into an Analog.man Chorus pedal and a Carbon Copy Analog Delay pedal > Fender Blues Junior III.  Amazing evening that flew by with sound exploration.  Plugging in was bringing things out that I never played unplugged.  My son and I were trading off every 10 minutes or so of playing around.  You could see the lights going on in his head.  He was getting some pretty funky grooves going on hear the end.  I definitely play different when I'm plugged in 

I was playing some Irish songs and the effects really enhanced the slower songs, but got messy with the faster tunes.

My son has a concert on Thursday and will probably bring the pedals with him for the 1st time.  We've played with them a few times at home and he's now comfortable with them.  They're playing House of the Rising Sun and wants a funky tone.

Just wanted to share a fun night of music and the joys of exploration.

John & Tai