Acoustic pickup

bigbob789

Hi, I'm designing an pickup for an acoustic guitar for my Design and Technology project at school, and I was wondering if you guys could please help me out by answering this simple questionnaire? Thanks a lot.

According to your own preference with regard to a pickup for a guitar:
1. Is volume control important? YES/NOT REALLY
2. Is tone control (altering treble/bass) important? YES/NOT REALLY
3. Would you prefer the pickup to be permanently fixed to the guitar or removable? PERMANENT/REMOVABLE
4. Where would you want the output jack to be located? On the top of the guitar (on the soundboard) near the edge facing away from you, on the side at an angle (like most electric guitars) or at the bottom in the place where the guitar strap is attached? SIDE/TOP/BOTTOM
5. Would you be willing to spend between R80-120 on such a device? YES/NO

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate it.

AlanRatcliffe

bigbob789 wrote Hi, I'm designing an pickup for an acoustic guitar for my Design and Technology project at school

Nice! We didn't have projects like that at school.

1. Is volume control important? YES - In fact it's essential in most performance situations to be able to balance volumes with other players.

2. Is tone control (altering treble/bass) important? NOT REALLY - Most amplification has better tone control and with an acoustic it's more a set-and-leave control. However it is handy to have on occasion if it can be squeezed into the budget.

3. Would you prefer the pickup to be permanently fixed to the guitar or removable? REMOVABLE - an inexpensive pickup is unlikely to be a permanent solution, so must leave a path for upgrades to other systems.

4. Where would you want the output jack to be located? On the top of the guitar (on the soundboard) near the edge facing away from you, on the side at an angle (like most electric guitars) or at the bottom in the place where the guitar strap is attached? BOTTOM - Due to the construction of the guitar, the endpin is the only place a socket can be fitted without affecting the tone of the guitar and/or risking the jack socket punching through the body when knocked. It also automatically keeps the cable away from the player's feet.

5. Would you be willing to spend between R80-120 on such a device? YES - Maybe not for my own instruments, but that would place it at the entry level end of the market and make it significantly cheaper than any other solution.

Bob-Dubery

1) Yes. Essential, as Alan says, if you're playing with others. Otherwise handy for killing the signal when you want to tune, or, if things are getting out of control, for quickly killing feedback. Positioning the control is important. I like them in the soundhole a-la L R Baggs. Usually that's a virtually non-destructive position. Definitely no holes in the top of the guitar.

2) A notch filter is way handier either for dialing out some midrange or killing a particular frequency that is problematic in terms of feedback. But it's probably more expensive too - and you look to be building to a budget.

3) It shouldn't require holes in the bodywork. Under saddle is OK, even if small hole needs to be drilled. But I'm really not keen on holes in the bodywork. It might clip into the sound hole (see the L R Baggs M1). Quickly removable I can do without, but I want minimal surgery so that I can remove it or upgrade it.

4) End pin. As Alan says this is the only practical option.

5) Yes. I'd pay that kind of money. But would that include intallation?

If you're going to go for a wound pickup, coils of wire around a magnet sort of thing, then adjustable pole pieces are a good idea. Again this maybe a costly feature to add.