I need a Pick-up

[youneverno41]

Hey everyone, i just got a Taylor 214 for x-mas and i need a pick-up installed. I need some suggestions for really nice pick-ups. I would prefer permenant pick ups. thanks

[alphatabs]

i'm getting a b-band pickup sometime in the not so distant future. unccrombie hooked me onto it and now i can't get off the thing. it sounds amazing. and it's only 100 bucks! Compared to fishman, and lr baggs, i'd say that the b-band gives the best acoustic tone because it's not a saddle pickup, it sticks under the bridge of the guitar. scroll down a little ways on this page:

http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptest.htm

and there is a bunch you can compare. The B-Band i'm talking about is the AST model. Good luck!

[youneverno41]

hey man thanks a lot!

[unccrombie]

FYI, the soundboard transducers are more prone to feedback than under saddle ones. in my opinion the sounboard ones capture a more natural sound. if you're playing with a band and are at high volumes i'm inclined to have you shy away from sounboard transducers (if you do get one you'll need a soundhole cover or something). if you're playing solo i'd personally grab the b-band AST.

there's always the fishman matrix natural 1/2 which dave and mayer used. they're pretty good and a bit pricey. you will definatly need a preamp with them, otherwise your sound will be just "meh".

check out the site above, but don't use it as the final deciding factor. check out the taylor on the site though, shy away from the other guitar when making choices. also check out www.shorelinemusic.com to order your pickup. great deals and free shipping! kick ass

[alphatabs]

i'm no taylor expert, but could you install a taylor pickup? i heard they're pretty nice. i have no expirence with it though.

[unccrombie]

ES systems are only available through Taylor. you could call them and have them put one in for you I think. you can't buy them anywhere though

[alphatabs]

that's stingy! :lol

[unccrombie]

the ES' rock though. he should send it back to taylor and tell them to put one in

[Pat M]

speaking, doug young is the coolest guy ever. so awesome.

i actually did a jam with him a while ago. (not really, but kinda) i recorded a track of me playing, and he recorded some stuff over it and sent it back. (wwys jam)

[Dancing Ants]

Fishman Acoustic Natural 2.

[unccrombie]

Fishman Acoustic Natural 2.
booooo :lol

[Rob]

I use Scotch as a pick-up.

I use a Fishman Acoustic Natural II as a pickup.

[unccrombie]

rob, do you have the prefix as well?

[youneverno41]

wait, how do i get the ES then? send my guitar back to taylor?

[unccrombie]

wait, how do i get the ES then? send my guitar back to taylor?
ask them if they'll put one on. did you buy it directly from them? or from an authorized dealer?

[youneverno41]

i'm pretty sure it was from an authorized dealer

[alphatabs]

wouldn't dealers be able to get their hands on an ES system and install it? if he had to send the guitar back to taylor that would be a pain!

[youneverno41]

haha yeah, and i definatly don't wanna send it back, i just got it

[Rob]

ES's have to be installed by Taylor. That's my understanding as of their introduction, it may have changed recently.

Yes, I have a preamp. It's offboard, inline, rather than cutting into my guitar further. It's a great setup.

[youneverno41]

even if it's bought from a guitar store, could i still send it back to taylor?

[unccrombie]

call/email them first

[Rob]

Taylor will do anything possible to make a customer happy. Their service is unbelievable.

[unccrombie]

in that case don't bother with another pickup, call them, ship it back to them, and enjoy your ES

[youneverno41]

yeah sorry with the questions...but how long would this installation take? and Price?

[Rob]

This is the type of research you're going to want to do yourself...

[unccrombie]

shipping assume $40-50, installastion maybe in the 100s, then they may charge you for the ES itself. it adds up quick. plus you'll need a good guitar cable and amp :lol bring out the dough baby

[onemanguitarban]

If you are serious about getting an ES system then I think you have screwed yourself by getting a 214. What you should have done is just gotten a 314 with an ES already installed. To put an ES system on your 214 (if they even do that) you will have to ship it to Taylor, the pick up costs $500, and you have to pay for the shipping on top of that. (Can you return the guitar you got for Christmas to the store and get a 314 instead?) If so, that is what I would do. (I have to assume the ES pickup is out of your price range if you asked for the 214 for Christmas, if so, depending on your needs you may want to check out other pickup options, such as the MacIntyre, it is about $100 and is basically a mic you put in your guitar, it sounds very natural, but you may run into feedback problems if you are playing with a very loud band). But if you are playing solo or duo gigs with a PA, it may be one of the best sounding options available. I learned about the pickup from someone who is world renown for his tone, and he was right, the other nice thing about it, is that you shouldn't have to makle ANY modifications to the guitar!

[youneverno41]

This is the type of research you're going to want to do yourself...haha yeah im just getting lazy

[youneverno41]

If you are serious about getting an ES system then I think you have screwed yourself by getting a 214. What you should have done is just gotten a 314 with an ES already installed. To put an ES system on your 214 (if they even do that) you will have to ship it to Taylor, the pick up costs $500, and you have to pay for the shipping on top of that. (Can you return the guitar you got for Christmas to the store and get a 314 instead?) If so, that is what I would do. (I have to assume the ES pickup is out of your price range if you asked for the 214 for Christmas, if so, depending on your needs you may want to check out other pickup options, such as the MacIntyre, it is about $100 and is basically a mic you put in your guitar, it sounds very natural, but you may run into feedback problems if you are playing with a very loud band). But if you are playing solo or duo gigs with a PA, it may be one of the best sounding options available. I learned about the pickup from someone who is world renown for his tone, and he was right, the other nice thing about it, is that you shouldn't have to makle ANY modifications to the guitar!i had no choice about the guitar i was getting, it was sort of a suprise....and if this pick-up is that expensive..fuck it

[unccrombie]

i had no choice about the guitar i was getting, it was sort of a suprise....and if this pick-up is that expensive..fuck it
um, dont say fuck it :lol whats the price difference between a 214/314 the ES kicks the ass of other pickups

[crazydmbmike]

I just installed a dean markley tahoe on my taylor 110....not the best one out there.....go with a fish

[youneverno41]

um, dont say fuck it :lol whats the price difference between a 214/314 the ES kicks the ass of other pickupsyeah but that guy made it sound like, if i have a 214 its not even worth it, and i think all taylors are nice...i didn't mean to fuck it...i acctually really want it...but onemanguitarban thinks ive already screwed myself and if i bought a 214, i probably cant afford an ES...so i think i meant fuck off

[onemanguitarban]

yeah but that guy made it sound like, if i have a 214 its not even worth it, and i think all taylors are nice...i didn't mean to fuck it...i acctually really want it...but onemanguitarban thinks ive already screwed myself and if i bought a 214, i probably cant afford an ES...so i think i meant fuck off

I don't think we were trying to be dicks about this, I know I was just trying to give some helpful advise. I own a Taylor 814 with a crappy Fishman in it, I decided to buy an Gibson Echoplex ($1000+) before upgrading my pickup to the ES, but I've played around with the ES and it is definately the best pick up on the market. It can easily make a Taylor 314 sound better than my Fishman equiped 814. I realize the pickup has a hefty price tag on it, or I would have gotten it the day they released the retrofittable version. You mentioned that you want a "permanent" pickup in your guitar. I would look for one that does what you want, but one that you don't have to cut a hole(s) in your guitar. First of all, it hurts your tone, second of all, unless you get the ES you are probably want a better pickup in the future and any modifications you make now, you may regret in the future. I personally hate the fact that if I replace my fishman, there will be a big hole in the side of my guitar. The LR Baggs I-beam is another good pickup, but this may be kind of expensive also after you get a preamp for it, and it takes some skill/trial and error to get the pickup in the right place. I'd personally go with the McIntyre, unless you play with a loud band. Basically every pickup in a reasonable price range is going to make your guitar sound much worse than it is. Taylors sound pretty good, so you want something that sounds natural, this is why I suggest putting a mic in there, i.e. the McIntyre pickup. They are only about $100 and like I said before, you don't have to make midifications to the guitar and the mic they use is definately better than the mic Fishman uses in their blender systems.

[youneverno41]

alright thanks for the advice man

[onemanguitarban]

The other option, depending on what kind of gigs you want to play and the reason you want a pick up. You may want to consider getting an Oktava mic instead, like an MK012. Look under the Vocal mic Thread and you will see some of us have been talking about it. It would be in the same price range or less than a pickup you would buy, and it will defintaly sound better than a pickup. You do have to worry more about feedback (and there is a limit as to how loud you could turn it up in a live setting before you get feedback, but you could use it for professional home recording also, which you couldn't use a pickup for. And they sound amazing.

P.S. be glad you have a Taylor, just think about all the other people that would kill just to have one. Well maybe not kill, but you know what I mean.

[alphatabs]

You do have to worry more about feedback (and there is a limit as to how loud you could turn it up in a live setting before you get feedback, but you could use it for professional home recording also, which you couldn't use a pickup for.


Why couldn't you use a pickup for home recording?

[Pat M]

Why couldn't you use a pickup for home recording?
Because acoustic guitars in studios are recorded with microphones. You can't capture the true sound of a guitar with a pickup. It's too "digital".

[unccrombie]

for home recording you can, putting out a demo CD i wouldn't with anything else but an ES

[onemanguitarban]

for home recording you can, putting out a demo CD i wouldn't with anything else but an ES

The ES is about the only pickup you could do it with, the Trance Audio Amulet would also work, but a good pair of microphones is still going to be better. The only advantages to using an ES for home recording is so that you don't have to worry about extraneous noise in the room, and you can be lazy not having to deal with mic placement. I personally would use a combination of an ES (to give a little punch) and a pair of good mics, but with the emphasis on the mics.

The ES is really good, but it still doesn't replace the use of good mics for those of us with critical ears. Granted the average listener who you might give a demo to wouldn't know the difference, but then again the average listener thinks MP3s sound good.

[YknSTONE]

Im assuming Taylor has some company that specialize in doing these new ES systems?...(anyone know the name of it if they do?)

You would think a company like Fishman would have a "better" mic system just because that is what they specialize in, and Taylor specializes in making the guitar..but not the electronics...get me? or it would seem that way.

[onemanguitarban]

Im assuming Taylor has some company that specialize in doing these new ES systems?...(anyone know the name of it if they do?)

You would think a company like Fishman would have a "better" mic system just because that is what they specialize in, and Taylor specializes in making the guitar..but not the electronics...get me? or it would seem that way.

No, Taylor does not have another company doing the new ES systems for them, and it is a VERY smart move. They hired one or two of the top audio engineers in the world to help them develop it. Rubert Neve was one of them.

Yes, Taylor specializes in making guitars, but they are also one of the only companies that could afford to spend the kind of money that it takes to hire these people for that kind of project and do all the research and development to come up with a revolutionary system (that was made specifically with Taylor guitars in mind). You have to buy a Taylor to get one, and only they sell and install them.

Fishman doesn't have that kind of budget, and they typically use cheap components. For example, the mic in their blender systems costs no more than $20. Not exactly hi-fidelity. Fishman just can't make the kind of money that it would take to develop something like the ES and to make it profitable. They also don't seem to be dedicated to producing a serious hi-fidelity pickup, the mics they use alone attests to this. They make systems that are just good enough and that yeilds a resaonable profit.

Someone else could develop a system like the retrofittable ES version and I would be surprised if someone doesn't try to put it in a different kind of guitar to see how it sounds. (i.e. ship them a Taylor have them install it, rip it out, and put it in a different guitar) Someone with a lot of money is going to have to try it.

The other problem Fishman and other "pickup" companies have is the fact that there isn't a huge market for pickup systems that cost $500+. Most people haven't even heard of the Trance Audio Amulet system, and in many ways that is where Taylor got some of their ideas from. I only know of a couple of people who use an Amulet system, but I know of tons that use the P.O.S. Fishman, (and I happen to be one of them right now). Another problem is, most people seem to think the Fishman systems sound good, so they have little reason to develop and market something significantly better. I'm hoping the ES is going to change all that, make people see what they are missing, and make companies get serious about making better pickup systems.