Anyone making a pickup for self-install that is similar to Taylor Expression 2?

[rockstar_not]

Having won a 414ce in July, and using it in a live situation with zero EQ with a quite microphone like sound, I'm wondering if any company out there is making a pickup system with similar concept?  It is a piezo element, but instead of sitting under the saddle, it sits behind it, on the pin side of the bridge.  There are small cams at 3 locations along the length of the saddle which adjust the pressure of the piezo element against the saddle.  Plug and chug.

I realize it's sort of blasphemy to brag on anything Taylor here.  I always go to the quoting Jean L. when he gave me a tour of his facility in Oxnard on a Saturday.  The CNC machine that they used at the factory for the roughing out of the necks was supposedly shared with Jean by none other than Bob Taylor.

I've not touched the cams on my 4141ce and it sounded fantastic through our church's PA system this past weekend.   I have a K+K mini pure western in my L03 after the factory installed fishman pre gave up the ghost.  However, I've never invested in the K+K external pre-amp, and I deal with the dreaded thump from the impedance mismatching.  At one time I tried making a cable with the resistor in the guitar end of the cable, but had no joy with the setup. 

The thing I don't like about the system in the 4141ce is the ugly and somewhat flimsy feeling of the battery access panel in the endpin location part of the guitar.

So, anyone know of something like the Expression 2 system that one can self-install?

[unclrob]

You can get crazy and wire a bunch of K+K's together run them into a soundhole mounted volumn and tone control unit to a jack out to an off board pre amp.



OK I know I'm the only crazy to think of this....dang it now I have to find a way to build one......unless you do it first.......

[George]

I use an onboard, inside the soundhole, K&K ultra preamp on one of my Pure minis.  I also use a Line6 digital wireless unit for impedance matching that does an extraordinary job with any kind of pickup, preamped or not.  That way I connect to the exact same equipment chain for every guitar and make only slight adjustments for the changes.  Scherlter is making some behind the bridge mounted transducers, as is Shadow, DTAR and some others.  Taylor developed this new adjustable bridge pickup specifically to replace their horrid body sensor they used for a while, it was just too body sensitive and too woody sounding for me.  I am always looking for a better mousetrap for guitar pickups...  my two cents...

[eded]

I'm pretty happy with K&K Pure Mini (or whatever they call 'em these days).  For a good deal less than the Expression 2, you can get the pickups and external or onboard preamp.  For just under the (advertised) price of the expression, you can get the K&K with an added internal mic and onboard or external preamp.  I haven't a/b'd the K&K and Taylor systems.

Since a couple horror stories from friends, I don't like the idea of a battery or lots of extra hardware inside my acoustic guitars.  Just the other day, I went to my local GC, and there was a $4K+ Martin and the little battery holder bag had come loose and was flopping around inside the guitar.

Ed

[rockstar_not]

Ed, I didn't know you could buy the expression 2 for self install.  On my "to buy" list is an external preamp for the mini pure western.  Though george's post gave me an idea to try my Zoom G5 processor as a preamp just to take care of the thump from the impedance mismatch.

[eded]

Ed, I didn't know you could buy the expression 2 for self install.  On my "to buy" list is an external preamp for the mini pure western.  Though george's post gave me an idea to try my Zoom G5 processor as a preamp just to take care of the thump from the impedance mismatch.

D'Oh!.  All I looked for were prices.  The Taylor is a factory upgrade and would require shipping the guitar there and back.

I guess I missed the "self-install" part.

Ed