headway pickups

[Oliver Fuchs]

Got a new michael kelly dragonfly and I am looking for a decent pickup now (to play along with a loud band).

Does anybody use a headway pickup (which model?)? The price for their top model (HE1/M2.FEQ) is (together with a special bridge to house the pickup) about 300 euros (200 without the bridge). Is it worth the investment or are there better solutions in this price range (e.g. the schertler or the baggs/sullivan)?

[Big Joe]

The headway is a great pickup, but the installaton is a bit bothersome. The bridge they provide is not very good. It is a pain to install in a good bridge, but can be done. It is not a do it yourself project unless you are an excellent woodworker.

Our preference is the Baggs saddle pickup. It is much easier to install, is louder than the headway (though the Headway is a bit more natural sounding). A good share of the artists are using the Baggs system. It seems better than the others we have seen and tried and works properly. Hope this helps.

[Oliver Fuchs]

@ big joe: thank you for the advise

So maybe I should go with the baggs (also because it can be easly removed). At fqms they offer also a version with a mills mini mic for 390 dollars (smilar to the fischman m-200-m) I have already a two-channel preamp (rane ap13) Does anybody use this pickup?

[Oliver Fuchs]

meanwhile I have installed both the headway HE1 and the baggs/sullivan. I absolutely agree with big joe. The installation of the headway WAS a real pain (and expensive too, my luthier charged me 95 euros)...

To me the baggs/sullivan sounds as good as the headway (but different, not as smooth as the headway but with more bite without being harsh) and it's half the price, no batteries, no drilling and very easy to install...

I just got the headway cheaper so I thougt I give it a try...

[Avi Ziv]

oli - did/could you capture a sound sample of both installations by any chance? It could be interesting to hear the difference. Also, can you describe the mic part of the Braggs/fqms system - what does it look like and where is is located on the mando?

Avi