Amplifying an Eastman 305; pickup, amp or DI question (newbie)

[Texas_Surfer]

Hello! New Member here and this is my first post. Been playing Mando off and on for several years now but the Mano I had (a cheap Greg Bennett Samick Electric) was crushed near the F-hole from something falling on it in transport. After much research on here, I have taken the step in purchasing my next Mando and am very excited to have chosen the Eastman 305 from the Mandolin Store. I found very little negative remarks on here about it considering it is an all wood; Carved top and sides for under $500.

My next step (and question here) is how to amplify it. I play in a Texas Rock / Country band so it will be competing with real drums, bass and an Acoustic Electric Guitar. I use a Fender Princeton for my Guitar amp.

I am currently leaning towards an LR Baggs Radius pickup, mounting to the top with the putty or tape and I am a bit confused from various posts on here as to what it should run into from there.

Can I just plug directly into my Princeton? Does it need to go into an Acoustic DI Pre-Amp Box before the amp? Or is it better to run it into an Acoustic DI and then into the mixing board?

Thank you in advance for the help and I am very glad to be here among such an awesome community!

[Kevin Winn]

You'll need some kind of pre-amp. I use a K&K twin pickup into a Red Eye into my Princeton (via the FX send) and it works great. You can also run into a mixer using the regular out on the pedal. I would assume the Baggs DI has the same options.

[kurth83]

Most guitar amps have hi-z (high impedance) inputs so guitar pickups can be plugged directly into them, so DI box likely not needed. I was not able to confirm the input impedance of the various princeton models from fender's online stuff however.

If you can't get enough gain without hiss, you will need a preamp too.

Plugging into a PA is different, mixing boards generally have low impedance inputs (for microphones) and pickups need a DI box.

Eastman's are great instruments for the their price, can't go wrong there. :-)

And welcome to the forum. :-)

[Texas_Surfer]

Thanks for the replies! That info helps a lot. My Princeton has two inputs (a High and Low I assume) so Im thinking going from the pre-amp DI into the 2nd input of the Princeton should do the trick?

[pops1]

How old is your Princeton? The two inputs are not high and low impedance, but high and low gain if following the Fender line for decades. The input of your Princeton, if it is tubes and not transistors, they made both. The tube amps have a fairly high input impedance and can sound quite good without a preamp. You can also change the resistor on the first preamp tube and change the input impedance to be more compatible if you need to.

[kurth83]

It's a hi and low gain, with the low gain being down 6db, that much I got from Fender's site. But same impedance. I would try it without a pre first and see if you really need one.

FYI, pretty sure I have seen Sierra Hull in videos using the LR Baggs Radius-M. :-)

[pops1]

Yes they would be the same impedance, just a gain difference. Some use the Radius, a lot don't like it. If you are playing loud you may want a pickup in the saddle, like a Fishman. I prefer the K&K and play occasionally with a drummer and acoustic electric and electric guitars. The K&K works great, sounds great, drop the highs a little and no other EQ necessary. I don't have feedback issues, using a toneguard will make a mandolin more feedback prone. When I used a Schertler pickup I would have to take the toneguard off to keep the back from vibrating, that helped. The K&K I have on several and have had no problem, but we don't play extremely loud, we have a tasteful drummer when we have one.

[Texas_Surfer]

Yes they would be the same impedance, just a gain difference. Some use the Radius, a lot don't like it. If you are playing loud you may want a pickup in the saddle, like a Fishman. I prefer the K&K and play occasionally with a drummer and acoustic electric and electric guitars. The K&K works great, sounds great, drop the highs a little and no other EQ necessary. I don't have feedback issues, using a toneguard will make a mandolin more feedback prone. When I used a Schertler pickup I would have to take the toneguard off to keep the back from vibrating, that helped. The K&K I have on several and have had no problem, but we don't play extremely loud, we have a tasteful drummer when we have one.

ahh ok. Good to know. Would you recommend or are you using the K&K twin internal?

And yes, the Princeton is one of the tube re-issues from 2012.

[soliver]

I had a 305 and it sounded great through one of these: http://www.jjb-electronics.com/The_Marcato.html ... much more affordable than others and just as good. I played it through a LR Baggs Para acoustic DI and had very good results. I currently have a K&K Mandolin Twin internally mounted in my SA and Play through a Fire-Eye Red Eye and it sounds REALLY good... I have the JJB mountednon my Jacobson but have not played it on stage yet... probably will this weekend though.

[illinoisfiddler]

The band you have sounds a lot like the country bands I am playing with up here. I gigged for a couple of years with the K&K, and it was alright, but kind of low output and feedback prone. Once I got the Fishman M300 Nashville pickup bridge installed I never looked back. Much less likely to feedback, strong output, and natural sound.

[Dave Greenspoon]

Plugging in that axe with the Baggs Radius, in that setting (vs. a rock/country drummer) will require volumes that begs for feedback issues, IMO. Also, the Baggs Radius is famous for picking up low end stuff that really needs to get EQ'd out. I learned that from experience. If you've got Sierra's sound engineer with you, no problem. Otherwise, I'd suggest considering a different alternative.

I regularly use the Baggs Venue DI with my acoustic instruments, and love it. FWIW, it is my emergency backup for electric work as well; when all else fails it goes straight to the house. The FX loop, unbalanced and balanced outs, eq, boost, and a cutout (forget the meh tuner) make this a serious bit of gear that happily takes a 9v battery or a wall wart. It doesn't always get a lot of love around here, but it certainly pulls its weight and IMO sounds great.

Once you have the Venue, even the Radius can be tamed nicely.

[Texas_Surfer]

Thanks for all the tips! I decided to go with the K&K twin Internal system. My drummer is pretty skilled in electronics and wood work and is gonna drill the jack hole for me. For now, I ordered the Behringer ADI21 for the pre-amp DI. Since running it into my Pronceton, hopefully itll make up for anything the Behringer lacks for now. Having spent close to $650 on the Mando and pickup, I figured the $30 Behringer would get me off the ground and thru a few gigs until I can afford the Red Eye or the Baggs Venue.

Thanks again and Im glad to be here!

[pops1]

My K&K has tons of output, I run it thru a FireEye and have to turn my channel on the PA way down or I am too loud.

[Kevin Winn]

Thanks for all the tips! I decided to go with the K&K twin Internal system. My drummer is pretty skilled in electronics and wood work and is gonna drill the jack hole for me. For now, I ordered the Behringer ADI21 for the pre-amp DI. Since running it into my Pronceton, hopefully itll make up for anything the Behringer lacks for now. Having spent close to $650 on the Mando and pickup, I figured the $30 Behringer would get me off the ground and thru a few gigs until I can afford the Red Eye or the Baggs Venue.

Thanks again and Im glad to be here!

Watch Reverb for used Red Eye's. They show up there often.

[illinoisfiddler]

You can also buy a Red Eye direct from Fire Eye. They are worth every penny and then some!