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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 14
| I have a 1975 Custom Balladeer (1112-4) and want to buy a soundhole pickup. Has anyone used a SD Woody?
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/acoustic/
I ask because of the way it mounts:
- Balladeer rosette is raised
- Soundhole is larger than usual
Thanks. |
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Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 1330
Location: ms | I think it would sound pretty good alone but a good DI box would really open it up with that p/u. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | Made me look!
I prefer soundboard mount and bridge pickups but Seymour knows his stuff. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7232
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Along the same lines of music I'd buy site-unheard, if I needed one of these, I'd trust Seymour Duncan. I have a Dean Markley, but I don't know if it's just its age, or mine, but the last time I used it, I thought it sounded like crap, and it used to be gigged on my Medallion for years. I think I may get the Seymour Duncan just to have a new one now that I'm thinking about it. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | I had a Fishman ProFix (bridge) pickup installed in my all-acoustic Legend 1117. Best acoustic pickup I have ever encountered! Just in case the woody doen't fit or someting. Sad to miss out on a woody. |
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Joined:
July 2005
Posts: 354
Location: Flushing, MI | I've had trouble finding a soundhole PU that would fit onto the older style Ovation rosette. The Dean Markley was one that would, but I didn't really enjoy it's sound, and the flimsy cord. I've had a few of them, and they all eventually die.
I eventually got a couple of those Duncan Mavericks that are sold exclusively through Guitar Center (God help us) for a mere $29, or something like that. I happened upon an old Matrix, and a Legend that were both solely acoustic, and I wanted to amp 'em up for gigs. I'll use those when I get tired of the piezo quack from my CS257.
The Maverick sounds about the same as the Markley, and is at least as cheap, if not cheaper (construction-wise) but they've held up for going on two years now. So far, so good. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | I have an Artec MSP50 on my Applause - will see of it fits on my 1979 1615 which the raised pearl rosette. Though not expensive, it brings out the wound strings well but the plain sound very 'electric'. See reviews.harmony-central.com for reviews of soundhole pickups |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Artec will probably fit at the bridge side of the soundhole. I didn't undo the wiring but I will if you want to find out for sure. They usually go at the fretboard side but I find it makes no difference to the sound. I know you asked about the SD and its a humbucker pickup compared to the single coil Artec but some say its as good as the equivalent Fishman ones at about a third of the price. http://www.artecsound.com/acou/index.html |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | Why do you want a sound-hole p/u? The problem with any magnetic p/u on an acoustic guitar is that there's an inherent output imbalance particularly between the B and wound G string. The B string will always be noticeably louder. I guess you could use and unwound G string but that would change the tone of the guitar.
Soundhole p/u's are convenient, cheap and quick to install but I think that an under the saddle piezo would give a better overall tone. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Yes string balance is a problem with magnetic pickups. Using an 'electric' string set improves matters but not fully, and the acoustic sound suffers. As stated above. mags are 'convenient, cheap and quick to install' (though not all are cheap e.g. the Sunrise, but if it's good enough for Richard Thompson...).
At the end of the day, any pickup, magnetic or piezo, even an Ovation one, sounds like a pickup rather than sounding like your acoustic guitar. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | The key to balance with magnetic pickups is using nickel strings, experimenting with guages, and (very importantly) having a pickup with adjustable pole-pieces. There are several that will accomodate an Ovation bonded rosette without a problem, including the Baggs M1 and M1A, the Seymour Duncan Mag-Mic and several Artec models. Generally pickups which use an adjustable clamp mechanism rather than a foam-sprung push fit (like the Duncan Woody) will be fine. I used a Sunrise on an old Legend for years and it was great in it's day, but both the Duncan MM and the Baggs M1 knock spots off it. |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 4394
Location: East Tennessee | For Magnetic sound hole pickups Temp is right on.
The Baggs M1 is the best. I tried a Fishman Neo-D and was not happy with the results. Now I'm using either a K & K pure western mini and in another guitar the Baggs I-Beam run thru a Para DI. Best Acoustic sound I've had. At high stage volumes you have to be careful. With an M1 you should not have that problem. |
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Seymour Duncan Woody on a Balladeer?
