Koa om and pickups

[shiloh]

HI everyone,
I'm considering the purchase of a koa/cedar OM (you can see it at www.gryphonstrings.com and look under 'mandolin family). It's a 22" Petersen. (I sold my 20.5" Davy Stuart - and of course I am really missing having an Octave.) I've heard some good, and some not-so-good koa guitars. I've played this koa OM once, several months back. Still thinking about the 22" scale, but I almost always play rhythm, and only partial chords at that.

Secondly - thoughts on pickups (Schertler? Baggs?) for the OM? I might be in a situation where using a mic is going to be a problem for the sound engineer, so I'm thinking ahead to pickups should the need arise.

Thanks,
Jill
(San Francisco; formerly San Diego)

[Richard Russell]

I tried the Audio-Technica Pro70 instrument mic on my Garrison Octave and it was superb. Extremely natural and very easy to mount. Guitar Center or Musicians Friend will sell them at around $100. It's a mini condensor mic, so it sounds much much better than most pickups. It is quite resistant to feedback, unless you are in an extremely loud setting.

[EdSherry]

Jill -- I was at Gryphon last week and played that Petersen. #Nice instrument.

I've had good success amplifying OMs with Pick Up The World (PUTW) piezo-based transducers: #

http://www.pick-uptheworld.com/pickups.htm

I haven't tried a Schertler in any of my OMs, but (given how mine works on my F5) I'm sure it would do just fine. #

I don't know of anything Baggs makes that would work on a Petersen.

Mini-mikes often work well, but I'm not sure they're much of an improvement (in terms of dealing with the soundman/feedback issue) over using a good external microphone. #I'd suggest looking into the AKG C1000, which I find to be an excellent all-around mike.

[allenhopkins]

My Flatiron 3-K OM is koa, though with a spruce top. Honestly, I don't find a huge amount of difference between koa and mahogany as a back-and-rims wood. There's maple (brighter) and rosewood (bassier), but what I like about the koa is appearance, color and figure, rather than a distinct difference of sound.

Only one person's opinion, take it for what it's worth.

[Danny Packer]

I have a B-band undersaddle transducer pickup which i think is like a Baggs. I hae been very happy with it.

Danny

[steve V. johnson]

I don't know much about koa, except that it's generally really pretty, but my luthier pals always stress to me that the sound has a lot more to do with the top than with the b/s wood... And I really like the cedar top on my Crump, so that's the best vote I can submit on that.

I'll second Ed Sherry's recommendation of the PUTW pickups. I have #27s in two instruments and I love them. I can say that they sound just like the instrument, only louder. Both of mine are mounted on the bridge plate inside the instrument. David Enke of PUTW has been unfailingly helpful and pleasant to everyone I know who's ever spoken with him.

All the best,

stv

[shiloh]

Hi Steve and Ed,

So, do you guys use a pre-amp, or is it necessary? Thanks for the link, Ed, to PUTW. Maybe you can let me hear yours.

Jill

[Unseen122]

I have a Maple/Spruce Petersen and I just had a Pickup installed on it. The guys at the music store recommended I go with a K&K Steel String Country pickup (made for guitars) and I have to say that I am very happy with the results. Sounds great direct into a PA or a Bass amp. The pickup is an interior one so it may not be for the DIYers.

[steve V. johnson]

I do use a preamp, an old Raven Labs PMB-II, which has two channels, one of which has a dual input with phantom power for instruments with both an internal mic and a pickup, and both channels have 3-band EQ.. Those aren't made any longer, but the contemporary equivalent seems to be the D-Tar Solstice. ( http://www.d-tar.com/solstice.shtml ) I like the dual inputs so that I can use both the guitar and bouzouki thru a single box.

I also have a PreSonus Acousti-Q preamp, but it's not as transparent, quite as true to the instrument. as the Raven Labs. It has "a tube" preamp stage, and the eqs are good, but it has only one input.

I have, on occaision, plugged into an on-stage direct box and let the house mixer take care of it, but I'd rather not. The pickup/preamp system is pretty much 'self-defense.' Most of the time I prefer to use a mic but I'm moving back toward using
the pickups these days.

I hope this helps.

stv

[mandroid]

FWIW:transfer the schertler to the mandola as required, no preamp or DI needed.

the other one, looking into current AKG site, their C411 in contact with the top, and their mini-mic each with mini xlr connectors, share a small power supply and blender, so condenser contact mic pickup and condenser microphone, onboard, can be balanced.