Acoustic pickups

[Jerry Turberville]

I just put a LR Baggs Radius pick up on my Kentucky KM805. It's okay, but it sounds a bit boxey. I run it through a K & K preamp equalizer which does help clean up the signal. I think the boxey sound is more or less the nature of the beast being it's a mic sitting on top of the mandolin. I don't want to put tape over the f holes. I've seen where people stuck socks, scarves, or bandanas in the f holes to quiet the boxey sound. Is that the only solution for this?
I'd alwasy used a bridge pickup on my fiddle and bass. Feedback is an issue with all the ones I've used, but with the pickups on the bridge I never got a boxey sound. I can control the feedback with the preamp though which is a plus. Any ideas?
Thanks

[ibanezed4yrs]

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guita...83011000000000

i think i mentioned this earlier on another thread.. lol.. i love this thing.. i dont own one, but a friend of mine has one.. i personally dont have a problem cutting thru the mix cause i'm a tone freak.. which is how i know this thing.. being heard is a main issue (especially dealing with ss amps) with alot of musicians.. 9 out of 10 times, it aint volume.. it's frequency (cutting thru the mix).. when you find adjusting your basic e.q. isnt doin it for ya', you're probably messin with the wrong frequencies.. the parametric e.q. let's you adjust the Q.. thus putting you on another frequency (in affect) and then, being heard.. this is a must for all acoustic players.. but then again, i kinda sway to the martin side of things when i can.. lol

[Jerry Turberville]

Thanks, I'll see if I can get my hands on a parametirci eq.

[Ben Milne]

You are right about the reason why our instrument sounds boxy, though the Radius is not a microphone transducer, but a piezoelectric transducer. As such it reacts to the Body's movements at the point of contact and is therefore lacking in the high frequencies you are used to hearing from your instrument acoustically. This results in what you are calling boxy.
Generally the reason people plug the f-holes to dampen the resonant frequencies of the body, and in turn aid in achieve more gain before feedback.
A parametric EQ can aid in both notching out problem feedback frequencies or trying to boost what you think is lacking.

Something like an AKG 411 might be a more balanced tone, it still relies on contact (and would be helped with an EQ etc), though being a contact condenser mic should sound more natural than a piezo pickup. I have used it on 'cello and it sounded great, and certainly there are folk here that swear by it for mandolin.

[mandroid]

They're small enough to stick it to the bridge, rather than the sound board/box.
give that a try, + the Baggs PADI, made to be paired, by the same company.

Loud stage environment is where a magnetic
nearly solid body mandolin comes in as better..

Foam plugs for your F holes will be of some benefit.

[Soundfarmer Pete]

The mandolin/mandola player in the band what I play in ......
He gets great results from one of those little Boss graphic eq pedals.....

[Jerry Turberville]

I just wanted to follow up and let you know I picked up a Rane PE 17 Parametric Equalizer. I'm very happy with the acoustic tone I can get with this eq. I do have a Boss pedal EQ, but mine is extremely noisey. I'd used it with my violin and it's okay, but I think the parametric has solved my problem. Thank you all for your suggestions