Best Reasonably Priced Mandolin Pickup?

[DrumBob]

I want to electrify my old Kay mando so I can use it on electric gigs with my band. What is the best reasonably priced mandolin pickup out there? I see them on Flea-bay from $2.64 up to almost $300.

[Jim]

These piezo discs work as well as any pickup I've ever heard. This is a dollar a piece for 15 , however I have found them on ebay sold in lots of 5 with jacks included for $10 and under. I put one in a Cheap Bestler oval hole and it is now my best sounding "plugged in" Mandolin
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121253903974...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[mandroid]

Ive bought a Piezo wafer bonded to a brass disc , and soldered a wire to each,
then epoxied it over for a strain relief to the cable and that worked fine..

Ive also bought and had these installed http://schattendesign.com/econo.htm

Because the Piezoelectric Wafer and disc are low cost to make the products using this source Abound..

Many brands are out there .. individuals each tout their favorites As Best ..

[kkmm]

this is a very reasonably priced piezo + jack

You only have to drill a hole for the 1/4" jack (using 3/8" drill bit), then glue the piezo disc under the sound board some place (that's the tricky part). To get better sound, I also add a layer of glue (about 1mm thick) to soften the sound because this piezo disc is very sensitive. I had a few mandolins sounding good with this cheap device (all sold).
Recently, I start using active preamp (with EQ) and transducer built in the bridge. This type always sounds better, similar to what being used in acoustic electric guitars and I can dial the bass / trebble / volume to fit my taste.
The Morgan Monroe model 9FE uses this type of active pickup and preamp.

[Bob Andress]

DrumBob, are you looking for one that needs to be installed or a "clip on" that doesn't need any drilling? I would be curious to know people's thoughts on the latter.

[mandroid]

Opinions Differ Greatly..

The Piezo Disc would be the same , the Cable connecting to the Piezo Handshake, impedance matched, preamp,

Would be more rugged and mostly terminating in a 1/4" plug. example Here http://schattendesign.com/guitar.htm

Elderly.com has this http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/DMAT.htm

Seeking Best ? I'd suggest the Contact Microphone there are 2 of those: Condenser, AKG c411 http://www.akg.com/pro/p/c411group

Or the dynamic type Schertler Dyn https://secure.schertler.com/en_IT/s...kups/dyn-m-p48

being Microphone signal outputs, the typical Mixer channel will provide the Mic Preamp, As do many sing and play dual channel Amplifiers, eliminating the expense of a separate Preamp.

NB the nature of a condenser mech is its requires a Small plate charge input.

so C411PP uses a Voltage regulator in its Plug to use externally provided Phantom Power
typically coming from Mixers .
C411L is a Battery Power Pack dependent combination..

It also blends in a second Mic if desired ..

reasonably priced Id ask about the critical nature of the sound Quality you desire ..

a Lot of posters seem Happy with Piezos , others continually seek the Best.
often going to a Onboard Microphone that hears the sound waves
of the air coming out of the sound hole , rather than only the vibrations of the Soundboard.

[Atlanta Mando Mike]

K&K twin for $99. Pro's use it and its priced very reasonable for pro level gear. Go for the K&K external if you don't want to have the end pin hole widened.

[Ky Slim]

I'm glad this topic came up as I am also in the market for a reasonably priced pickup.

Are the connections typically mounted inside or outside the soundboard? Are the easy to remove and reattach when needed or are they usually just left on there? And then of course, if these pickups are left stuck the soundboard would this noticeably dampen the acoustic volume at all?

These suggestions from above look pretty cool to me. I think I like the K&K most for the fact that it is straight to 1/4". K&K twin spot , the DYN Mp48, and AKG C411

[Jim]

I just superglue the piezo disc inside the body, under bridge feet off set to the treble side a little and leave it there, No noticeable damping. Member "Almirastrings" has don a comparison between the piezo discs and some of the better known piezo p/u like k&k. Surprising results. The study is archived in a thread on the cafe.

[kkmm]

I just superglue the piezo disc inside the body, under bridge feet off set to the treble side a little and leave it there, No noticeable damping.

For me, 1mm thick layer of glue seems to help the damping and the sound coming out is much sweeter, not harsh.
But I do have one mandolin that sounds harsh with this same device and installation technique, so I removed it and install an active pickup instead (lot more works needed for this).

[Steve Lavelle]

I'm very happy with the JJB Electronics 220 I have installed. $40 for a twin disk system with connector.
http://jjb-electronics.com/our_products.html

[DrumBob]

Thanks for all the good information. I would have it installed permanently. My guitar tech is also checking out pickups. I think that JJB 220 might be exactly the right choice. I'm trying to keep this under $100 total with installation. Less than that, actually. I only plan on using the mando for a couple of tunes. Let's face it; my Kay mando isn't a real high quality instrument, so I don't want to spend much to get it electrified. I was checking out one of those newer Gretsch mandos today and thought it sounded quite good.