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but opinions change and new stuff comes to market.......what acoustic pickups do you like and for the pros what , if you don't mind sharing, are your clients asking for ?????

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MK5acoustics.com

this is a hard question to answer. I am a big fan of K&K. I used Fishman but prefer the mini. There are so many good one out there you have to look at what your goals are. Jigging pick ups are different than recording pickups in my opinion.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I use K&K almost exclusively. Most guitars just get the Pure mini, with the next popular choice being one of the options that adds the mic. I like that my customers can always add the mic later if they want that upgrade. I would say that 80% of the pro players who have my guitars get them with K&Ks. The rest have asked for Fishman systems, usually because they have them on their other instruments.

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

I have not tried the K&K yet, hopefully will soon. With that said I have always liked the LR baggs systems. Recently I have done several of the Anthem puckups and everyone has been quire happy.

Kent

I really like the LR Baggs Lyric, paired with the LR Baggs Venue preamp. It is an internal PZM mic. Sounds great (no piezo quack), not crazy expensive, easy to install, and the only hole in the guitar that is needed is the endpin hole.

If you like the K&K pickup, it would be worth it to check out the Trance Audio systems.
It's a little clearer and less boxy sounding than the K&K system.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

anyone tried making pickups using piezo discs and and endpin jack?????

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MK5acoustics.com

There is a Canadian company called JJB electronics that makes an identical system as the k&k for half the money.

Myself, I can't stand the k&k or the JJB. No sir, don't like it.

Hears what I do like these days...

Schatten Designs HFN Passive. I was really surprised at this. I had a customer insist on having it in his guitar, so I reluctantly installed it, was fully prepared and expecting to hate it, and had to change my mind. It is now what I recommend as a go to system to my clients.

The only thing I like the sound of better is Pick Up The World. A featherweight soundboard transducer that is little more than two 2"x5/16" strips that run along the bridge plate next to the x's. It sounds absolutely incredible, but....

It requires a special belt clip preamp to blend the volumes of the bass and treble pickup, and therein lies it Achilles heel. For one, I just can't see any real working musician using a belt clip pre. I know I wouldn't, and what if you have multiple guitars? I used to use 3-4 sometimes more guitars at gigs. So until they can get it to be either all on board, or in a solid floor box, it just ain't practical despite how good it sounds.

Beyond that, I've never liked Fishman and feel the LR Baggs systems are a cut above as far as UST systems go...

Got a trance audio, expensive.very good.

+1 for knk. I have noticed that the better that the guitar sounds, the better the pickup sounds.

what about under saddle elements???? I have always thought they negatively impacted tone..

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MK5acoustics.com

My feeling is that any time you add something extra between the saddle and the bridge you will negatively impact tone. The debate would be how much of a negative impact it has. I've always preferred the bridge plate/soundboard transducers to an under-saddle pickup.

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

I'm in the camp that UST's don't really affect tone in any truly discern able way. This is after countless thousands of before and afters. With the exception of the newer b bands, where the strip is covered in a thick rubbery coating, essentially making it like sticking an 1/8 of pencil eraser under the saddle. Now that made a totally audible difference. What were they thinking?

I have noticed a difference in tone between a tight fitting saddle and a loose fitting saddle. Tighter saddles sound better to me. A ust needs to have a looser fitting saddle to work therefore they may have a lesser acoustic tone.