Need help installing a magnetic pickup

[HarmonicDissonance]

Hello everyone! I'm so glad I discovered this site. I need a solution to my quest to get 2 different guitar sounds out of my acoustic. I have a flat top acoustic that has a LR baggs Anthem installed already. I'm really enjoying the blend of mic and piezo. I also am trying to get a magnetic pickup installed so I can send that signal from a second output to a second guitar amp.
Is there an easy way to mount a magnetic pickup to a round hole flat top acoustic? I will drill a hole for a second output jack. Also I will be willing to drill some holes for volume and tone, or a passive control unit on the siding.
I enjoy the flattop because it is more comfy than an archtop for my right hand! My guitar has an active lr baggs anthem with a preamp that has controls mounted to the inside of the sound hole.

[docsteve]

What about a soundhole pickup?


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[Cunamara]

There are lots of options that mount easily to the soundhole. One I have been interested in is the Fishman Rare Earth Mic Blend with both a magnetic pick up and condenser mic that installs in just a minute to the soundhole. No need to cut holes in the guitar, mount controls, etc.

[HarmonicDissonance]

I'm talking about putting a PAF style humbucker pickup in

[HarmonicDissonance]

Do they make paf style humbuckers that fit in the sound hole? Would it fit with my lr baggs unit that is already on the inside of the sound hole?

[docsteve]

Soundhole pickups are meant to approximate the acoustic sound of a guitar. A PAF type humbucker isn’t exactly the first choice for that. I have seen PAF- equipped flat top guitars that were meant to produce an electric sound when amplified, but I can’t think of a soundhole pickup that was expressedly created to do this job.

(Of course there are cheap soundhole pickups that sound rather electric.)

If the Baggs controls don’t leave room for a soundhole pickup, what about a pickup that is affixed to the fingerboard? A Schaller Attila Zoller might just fit the bill, and it was designed to produce a jazz sound with an acoustic guitar.

[John A.]

I used to have a Dimarzio pickup like this one:

DIMARZIO SOUND HOLE ACOUSTIC PICKUP | Reverb

and one like this

Shadow Model 44 Buckaroo Humbucker for acoustic guitar 1980s | Reverb

Both had very “electric” sounds, similar to the sound of a floating pickup on an archtop. I’m pretty sure the Dimarzio one is one of their PAF style pickups in a different housing. Neither is made anymore, but you can find them used.

Whether either would fit would depend on where exactly the controls are. You might be able to move the controls, though, as I believe the are held in with double-sided tape.

[rlrhett]

A bit like asking how to make your clarinet sound like a saxophone. Very different instruments.

I would recommend buying one of the surprisingly good 335 clones on Amazon and swapping out the pickup if you aren’t satisfied with the tone. I mean, that’s what GAS was invented for! :-)


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[sgosnell]

I once put a humbucker in a round soundhole. The ring holes just fit the edges. Not the most secure installation I've ever seen, but it worked for awhile. In the end, an old DeArmond soundhole pickup was a better choice, and gave a better sound. A heavy humbucker in the soundhole is not an ideal choice, IMHO.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

You might consider a slim top-mount pickup between the soundhole and the end of the fingerboard. There are some good ones from Krivo and Lace, for example.

[RomanS]

You can easily find adapter rings to mount electric guitar pickups in acoustic guitar soundholes - just look on Reverb, Ebay, etc.

A friend of mine uses a setup like that for his solo Americana-folk music act - he has seperate outputs for his acoustic piezo and his electric humbucker on his Gibson flattop acoustic. The piezo goes to the PA for acoustic rhythm tones, and the electric pickup goes to a volume pedal and guitar amp, so he can fade in an "electric" tone (with overdrive, delay, etc.) for solos.

One thing to be aware of: your regular acoustic strings (phosphor bronze) won't work with a PAF-style pickup, the high E and B will be a lot louder than the rest; you need to use electric strings (nickel or steel), but that will nelot be so great for your acoustic tone. From my experience, GHS White Bronze strings are the best compromise between electric and acoustic tone (nope, monel strings don't work, either...)