Weissenborn Pickups - Plugging in and amplifying
About 70% of our customers elect to have a pickup installed, so questions about pickups are some of the most commonly asked.
The world of acoustic guitar pickups is virtually endless, with a wide variety of technologies being implemented to attempt to capture the natural acoustic tone of a guitar for live performance or recording.
The list of pickups below is anything but exhaustive. Indeed, we're happy to install just about any pickup you can think of (and probably already have before!) -- just contact us.
Magnetic Pickups
Like many in the Weissenborn world, I prefer magnetic, soundhole mounted pickups for my guitars. The reasons for this are simple:
- They capture the natural warmth and richness of Weissenborn guitars perfectly,
- Magnetic pickups are naturally feedback resistant and lend themselves perfectly to effects pedals and electric guitar amps, and
- They can be completely removed and the guitar returned to a 100% acoustic state easily.
LR Baggs M1A
The LR Baggs M1A is my preferred pickup for its tonal characteristics and overall ease-of-use. It's a soundhole mounted magnetic pickup, which is plug and play into any amp or PA, has a built-in preamp and it really captures the warmth and richness of the Weissenborn perfectly. They're as feedback proof as pickups get, so particularly good on stage.
LR Baggs M1A Active Demo (acoustic):
LR Baggs M1A Active Demo (via Fender Blues Jr. amp):
K&K Sound Double Helix
K&K Sound's Double Helix pickup is a 100% passive solution. It requires no batteries but is plug and play in virtually all amps, PA and recording setups. The Double Helix offers incredibly versatile tone thanks to its two settings: 'Gloss' and 'Steam'.
K&K Sound Double Helix Demo (acoustic):
K&K Sound Double Helix Demo (via Fender Blues Jr. amp):
Seymour Duncan Mag Mic
Like the M1A this one is a soundhole mounted magnetic pickup with built-in preamp, so it captures that warm, rich Weissenborn tone perfectly. It also has a built-in microphone that can be blended separately (the pickup features an overall volume control as well a separate one for the mic), which gives the option of a bit more natural tone. The mic can add feedback issues in a live setting, though it can be mixed out completely as needed.
Transducer pickups
K&K Pure Mini
This is an underbridge transducer pickup. It's purely passive, so in some settings it's best to run it through a separate preamp, though in my experience it works fine directly into most amps and preamps. Being a transducer pickup it captures note clarity really well. It's also very lightweight and invisible from the outside, so has essentially no impact on the acoustic tone/volume of the instrument.
The transducers on the Pure Mini are glued directly onto the bridge plate inside the guitar. Removal is possible, though quite often damages/destroys the pickup itself (though not the guitar), so it should be considered a permanent installation.
Combining Pickups
Quite often, we'll install two pickups (or more) for a "best of both worlds" setup. Most commonly, we'll combine a soundhole magnetic pickup to capture the warmth and body, with a transducer pickup to capture the clarity of notes as well as a more percussive sound.
Often, players will route the magnetic pickup to a pedalboard and/or guitar amp for heavier playing, while the 'clean' transducer signal is routed straight to a PA.
Below is a guitar featuring a LR Baggs M1A combined with the K&K Pure Mini.
