But because they are microphones, they are far and away the most natural way to amplify the woody tone of your acoustic guitar. Actually, it’s hard to call these products pickups at all. Rounding out this trio of acoustic guitar pickup options are microphone-based designs. Pros: Great, natural tone ideal for blending with piezo or magnetic pickups

Also, magnetic pickups take a bit away from an acoustic guitar’s natural beauty because of their larger design and soundhole placement. And while they don’t have piezo “quack,” they do have their own not-quite-natural acoustic tonality.

Like piezo pickups, acoustic guitar magnetic pickups are excellent at resisting feedback at higher volumes. They’re constructed with a copper coil of wire around a bobbin, a magnet, and some lead wire.Īcoustic guitar magnetic pickups usually mount in your guitar’s soundhole. And their construction is very similar to that of their electric-guitar counterparts. Today there are countless magnetic acoustic guitar pickups still on the market. Therefore, magnetic pickups were the first method for amplifying acoustic guitars. Though we often associate magnetic guitar pickups with electric guitars, the fact is, before magnetic pickups, every guitar was an acoustic guitar. It is also tough to EQ out, leaving many acoustic guitarists accepting the sound as a compromise for the feedback control their performances require.Ĭons: Magnetic pickup tone a bit unsightly While it may sound ok in a loud rock mix, it is the bane of many solo-guitarists’ existence. Piezo “quack” refers to the sterile, plastic-sounding, and unnatural tone that piezo pickups produce. They also have a full frequency response and a low-profile design. The reason piezo pickups are so popular is their inherent ability to reject feedback at loud levels. By utilizing piezo-electric crystals in a thin strip located under your guitar’s bridge saddle, they sense the vibrations of the guitar top. Piezo-electric (or simply piezo) pickups are the most used acoustic guitar pickups on the market. Pros: Feedback resistant, broad frequency spectrum We hope this will help you understand how your pickup type affect the tone of your guitar, and give you some advice that will have your instrument sounding at its best. We’re going to look at the different acoustic pickup options available, as well as the preamp and direct boxes that pair best with each type. If this is you, you’ve come to the right place.

This leaves many of us searching for very elusive tonal answers. Though there are really only three main types of pickups used on acoustic guitar, they all excel at some things and struggle at others. If you’re frustrated with the sound of your acoustic pickups, you’re not alone.

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