Pickups

[skyline]

Just for fun -  so go with your first response (but you can change if you really want to)

Poll closes the day after the equinox.

[unclrob]

I voted.

[cke]

I won't have pickups. Sorry cant vote. They sound artificial, all guitars pretty much sound the same, and for the vast majority i think it's a silly affectation....

My first thoughts... Did i say that out loud?

[broKen]

I won't have pickups. Sorry cant vote. They sound artificial, all guitars pretty much sound the same, and for the vast majority i think it's a silly affectation....

My first thoughts... Did i say that out loud?

I heard it, and I'm shocked. 

But really, you do have to admit they are cool. And I believe the vast majority of the audience would disagree...with you that is...

[L07 Shooting Star]

I voted.

Me too!

I won't have pickups. Sorry cant vote. They sound artificial, all guitars pretty much sound the same, and for the vast majority i think it's a silly affectation....

My first thoughts... Did i say that out loud?

C'mon.  Be a little more open-minded, at least.  I agree that some folks expend too much time and money in the quest for the perfect acoustic pickup system.  However, for those who perform, the need for some kind of system is pretty obvious, even if it isn't perfect and may sound somewhat artificial.  After all, the reason guitars were electrified and amplified in the first place is because they couldn't be heard in a big band or jazz band situation.  

[eded]

<rolling eyes> (At the 'holier than thou' group.)

If anyone wants to prove a pickup can sound bad, it's easy to do.  Usually, it's easier than making one sound good.

I put pickups in all my guitars.  I use K&K and they work perfectly for the types of places I need a pickup...  they sound great, like my guitar but louder.  If I played acoustic in bigger places, I'd most likely find a different solution.

If it is at all possible to play without plugging in, I do so.

Ed

[rockstar_not]

I didn't vote.  I think you might have missed the most important reason:  A built-in pickup is more convenient than hauling around a microphone setup.  Another reason is a built-in pickup is going to sound pretty much the same no matter what room you are in and more forgiving than the room.

[skyline]

I didn't vote.  I think you might have missed the most important reason:  A built-in pickup is more convenient than hauling around a microphone setup.  Another reason is a built-in pickup is going to sound pretty much the same no matter what room you are in and more forgiving than the room.

Don't those both fit in with choice no. 1?

[skyline]

Did i say that out loud?

DOH! Spot the non-pro-pollster!  I added your option cke.

[rockstar_not]

Don't those both fit in with choice no. 1?

Perhaps, but convenience is the real reason.  I wouldn't use conquer because that means better to me.  I have yet to hear a pickup sound better than the right microphone for the venue and amplification system.  Plug and chug is just WA more convenient to me.  Most listeners where I play don't seem to care all that much. 

[skyline]

Perhaps, but convenience is the real reason.  I wouldn't use conquer because that means better to me.

So maybe more like No. 5 - "Pickups save me worrying about stage setup"  ?

[headsup]

i voted.
as a professional full time musician, using many Larrivee's on stage, I'll challenge anyone to come to one of my gigs and tell me how much my guitars sound like crap.

any one shows up, has a pair of ears and a brain and says that, I'll give them the guitar.
simple.

[rockstar_not]

So maybe more like No. 5 - "Pickups save me worrying about stage setup"  ?

Somehow, I missed that!  Voting now!

[bgfish]

Headsup, I am sure you have said before but what pickup and preamp are you using in your OM-60?

[headsup]

Headsup, I am sure you have said before but what pickup and preamp are you using in your OM-60?

Hi, yes I've said it before, ad nauseum, truth is, nothing fancy, nothing outrageous.
I use a standard run of the mill Baggs element in all my stage guitars.

There's nothing outrageously great or spectacular about the unit.
It just works, and is consistent, and easy.
David Wren of Twelfth Fret in Toronto, who I have dealt with for many years sold me the first one, with the OM-60, when he still worked there.

Several guitars/years and show later, I simply use that system because it's cheap, easy and has always stood me in good stead, in any situation with any guitar.
Tonight included, with a FM older L, for the first set, and a BR C-09 for the second.

It's not so much the pick-up, as the guitar (larrivee's) and very close attention to the subtle nuance of the instrument in question, and NEVER EVER playing hard.
Simply, let the guitar, the pick up, and the sound man do the work, not your right arm.

good results will ALWAYS follow.
sorry to repeat myself on this matter, after many guitars, many different shows, under many circumstances, I'm pretty solidly convinced on this formula.
 
Again it works for me, and my circumstances, many others
will challenge or disagree.

Just an old guy's 50 years of still figuring how to get the best sound out of the best guitars consistently, and happily.

[headsup]

AS an added and controversial piece, with this never ending subject;
regarding last nights guitars and post;

I cannot agree at all with the premise that all guitars sound the same with pick ups.
I understand, this could, and perhaps should (?) be the case, but for me, it's just not the case.
Otherwise, why would I go to the trouble of having a system in each guitar, given the fact that they are each different guitars unto themselves?

The night before last, I took, the FM-L and the C-05, both strung with mediums to my gig.
The L behaved poorly, had a couple difficult overbearing low end harmonic issues that were difficult to EQ out.

Yesterday afternoon, I put a set of lights on it before going to the show.
(I rarely use lights as a rule) but wow it sure let the guitar level out and gave it this beautiful sparkly sound on some of the material that I wasn't used to, just lovely. Perfect for first set material.

The BZ-C on the other hand, is a natural boomer for obvious reasons, and it filled the bill, with pick up, as it does acoustically.

It's these lovely guitar owning/playing revelations that make going out to do shows with such beautiful instruments, so much fun and so very worthwhile.

[skyline]

It's not so much the pick-up, as the guitar (larrivee's) and very close attention to the subtle nuance of the instrument in question, and NEVER EVER playing hard.
Simply, let the guitar, the pick up, and the sound man do the work, not your right arm..

Absolutely.

Your advice applies well to vocals too - the sound man should get your levels right - don't make it hard for him, or yourself.

You can't know if something is lost in the mix when you can't hear the real mix.

sorry to repeat myself on this matter, after many guitars, many different shows, under many circumstances, I'm pretty solidly convinced on this formula.

No need to apologize - it's a solid formula.

[skyline]

AS an added and controversial piece, with this never ending subject; regarding last nights guitars and post;   I cannot agree at all with the premise that all guitars sound the same with pick ups.

Sorry - I missed where that premise comes from, but I also don't agree with it.

I will propose these ideas that I think fit in with yours:
   
   you need to know your instrument(s)
   
   you need to play consistently

   guitars that sound fine acoustically do not always sound good with pickups

and add one from my experience:

   some guitars that are very lacklustre acoustically sound fine through pickups