Under-Saddle Pup for Martin HD-28VL

[ch willie]

Pardon a Martin question on a Fender board--I can't find a decent Martin forum.

My Martin has a vintage saddle, and the shop told me in 1998 that they were afraid to try to put in a Martin under-saddle pup.

So what pickup would you recommend? The Martin has a very balanced tone, the bass very prominent because of the bracing. I need something that will accentuate the highs without rumbling the bass I have a Rare Earth humbucker that is too rumbly and harsh--doesn't do justice to my sweet Martin.

[Don]

K&K Pure Mini from K&K Sound. It's very natural sounding and priced right.

[Erock_Germany]

K&K is the only way to go. I have 2 acoustics with the Trinity System that adds a microphone to the under saddle...

Non evasive. Can not really see the guitar has been electrified.

Sound is incredible!

[ch willie]

Funny: Amazon offers them for $91 and Musician's Friend doesn't offer them at all.

[Don]

I bought mine straight from K&K. Mine has a small pre-amp (not the trinity). They used to be less expensive.

[ch willie]

Wouldn't I have the same problem with the K&K that I have with putting in a Martin under the saddle?

I should have titled the thread, "Can't put an under-saddle pickup in my Martin."

Is there a decent alternative to the under-saddle pickups?

[Don]

The K&K is not an under saddle pickup. It mounts under the bridge plate, inside the guitar. I think it sounds better than an under saddle pickup (though I haven't played many).

[ch willie]

Thanks, Don. I know so little about the construction of acoustic guitars that I didn't know there was a bridge plate.

[Erock_Germany]

The K&K is not an under saddle pickup. It mounts under the bridge plate, inside the guitar. I think it sounds better than an under saddle pickup (though I haven't played many).

Yes, this is the case and it does sound better than any under bridge system. IMHO, most basic under saddle systems sound tinny - may as well play an Ovation...

The basic system is simply the pickup and jack with a preamp. The Trinity adds a microphone with a stereo jack to a preamp where you can blend the under saddle and mic - this is great for quieter playing and recording.

I feed my preamp directly into a mixer, add a little reverb and I am good to go...have had mine close to 6 years now and have no troubles.

I would highly recommend these products. You can buy directly from K&K AFAIK

You can see the mic here...



The System looks like this...

[ch willie]

Is the preamp necessary to get good sound? Again, I plead ignorance.

[Don]

I bought a built in preamp with mine. It's not the same as Erock's. I have the UltraPure Mini system. The volume knob peeks out of the sound hole and the unit is held in the guitar with a magnet so I can remove it and tweak the eq.

I don't know too much about these kinds of things but I like that the preamp gives me tone shaping capabilities. For instance, with light gauge strings it can sound bass heavy. That can be mostly dialed out. With heavy gauge strings it's more balanced so a more neutral setting can be used. Also, I can adjust my volume from the guitar while I'm playing.

I plug straight into the PA and get a good sound. I don't recall if you can do that w/o a preamp.

Visit K&K's site for more info.

[Wilko]

I'd love to hear that system. I'm using the Fishman under saddle with the ellipse preamp that holds the mic in a similar way. The preamp attaches to the inside edge of the soundhole.

Besides maybe not liking the sound...I'm curious as to why your people told you they couldn't do the very basic job of installing an under saddle pickup. Maybe just the pain of mating the tapered ends of the long saddle?

[ch willie]

From what I remember, the shop guy said that it wouldn't fit under the vintage-style saddle.

[blackonblack]

K&K Pure Mini from K&K Sound. It's very natural sounding and priced right.

THIS!

[ch willie]

Thanks, Guys. I bought it with 1-click at Amazon. Don, I think I'm getting what you got. Can't wait until it gets in so I can try to set it up (but will wind up getting my more nimble-fingered friend to do the work)/

[ch willie]

Just got it installed by a friend with fingers more nimble than mine.

Thank you, thank you for turning me onto the K&K. It's the most natural sounding acoustic "pickup" I've ever heard.

I would have gone another, less ideal way if it hadn't been for the great advice I got here. Thanks, guys.

[Don]