K&K Sound Systems Pure Western

Pickup features: Piezo electric bridgeplate system, internally mounted
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Big Baby Taylor
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Fingerpicking and strumming, I play in church
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level:
Tone:
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: I have heard this pickup in my friend?s Yamaha guitar. It sounded so great that I got one for my Big Baby Taylor. I used undersaddle and soundhole pickups before (in another guitar) but this is way better. I did buy an external preamp with the pickup but most of the time I just plug it directly into the house PA. It sounds so natural, responsive and warm and has plenty of output. I went with the installation directly to the bridgeplate after I talked to K&K on the phone. Very nice people by the way. Since I use the Pure Western I get a lot of comments how good my guitar sounds amplified. I would definitely buy it again if I need a system in another guitar or if this one would get stolen.
Excellent product!

Pickup features: Passive bridgeplate pickup
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Tacoma Roadking
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: fishman undersaddle
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): flatpicking , fusion
Reason for pickup change: wanted warmer tone

Perceived output level: very good output level for a passive pickup. I can plug in anywhere and it sounds great.
Tone: very warm and balanced
Sonic evaluation: I use a small JBL PA system or Peavey combo amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I am a flatpicker and this pickup sounds great for solos, richer than anything I have ever heard.

Comments: If it were stolen I would replace it immediately. It is the best acoustic pickup I have ever heard. I've been playing since 20 years. It really sounds like my guitar without that harsh undersaddle piezo quack. Frequency range is superb, especially nice is the rich bass response. I do not use any preamp and get good volume and good gain before feedback just like that. I guess this is the best acoustic guitar pickup availabe.

Pickup features: Passive contact transducer
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: acoustic dreadnought
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: Similar output to an undersaddle peizo with an onboard 9 volt powered preamp
Tone: balanced
Sonic evaluation: Superb

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: I have a 12-string with an undersaddle peizo and onboard pre-amp, and a 6-string with the K&K Pure Western (which I installed myself without difficulty). They both sounded great to me every time I took them out.
Recently I began a recording project, and recorded both guitars using only the pickups. Thus for the first time I got to hear just the sound of the guitars through their respective transducers. I was amazed at the difference in sound between the undersaddle peizo and the K&K Pure Western. THe K&K really does give a far more natural, warm and accurate guitar-like sound. Plus the K&K's passive output signal was almost exactly as strong as the pre-amped peizo.
Given K&K's excellent prices, I think this pick-up is magnificent. I use a number of their other pickups (Big Shot, Twin Classic, etc.) on my other acoustic instruments.

Pickup features: 3 piece transducer
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Taylor 410
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: s.d. woody/bill lawrence/dimarzio virtual acoustic
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): I play county/folk and acoustic music from the 60/70's
Reason for pickup change: I wanted true acoustic sound and convience of an installed p/u.

Perceived output level: Sound with and without a preamp is better than any undersaddle or in-hole p/u i've tried
Tone: Tone is more true to an acoustic guitar than i could have imagined. well balanced, but lets you know it's a big ol' dread your playing.
Sonic evaluation: when i first tried the guitar after having it installed by someone who knows his way around the inside of guitar, we(the store owner and i) a/b'd it with a new guitar with a fishman dual source. the pure western sounded like an acoustic and put the other to shame in tonal clarity and reproduction of tone. it's my guitar only louder.
at home i tried it through a fender kbr100...wow! then i tried a little fender champion 110(with an installed tweeter)...not too shabby for an inexpensive set-up. i'd consider playing out with it in a pinch, which is more than could have said with any of the sound hole p/u's. using a preamp helps in shaping the tone aside from the eq in the amp(the kb100 has 3 inputs, but the eq is for all) but it isn't necessary for boosting the signal. this p/u is ok straight in the amp. a tad more sensitive to feedback than some, but far better than a mike and easier to deal with.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I finger pick, flat pick and plain-ol' strum...it just does them all justice. no breakup when pushed.

Comments: For anyone who has longed for a true acoustic sound coming out of an amplifier, this is just what the doctor ordered. now my taylor sounds just like my taylor, only louder. i was never happy with any of the other p/u's i've installed or the ones fitted in the sound hole. they all destroyed the wonderful tone of the acoustic. now i have what i was searching for. apprehensive at first, but after having it installed i can only say other guitars in my arsenal will be fitted with this pickup. it does seem to closely mimic the inherant traits of the guitar it's installed in, so be aware it will make a big guitar sound big!, but i'm sure in,say, a concert size, it could only make it sound like ear candy.
the folks at k&k were wonderful to deal with and i want to thank them once again for all their help. the question of which guitar to put it in was an easy choice after talking to deter. but he and i will be talking soon about putting one in a larrivee d-10 custom.

Pickup features: Passive, under bridge, soundboard transducer
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Alvarez/Yairi DY96 Jacaranda Dreadnaught
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Fishman Matrix Matural 1
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Not that many...yet!
You musical style(s): Acoustic Rock/Pop/Folk
Reason for pickup change: Like everyone else, wanted something more natural sounding

Perceived output level: Since it's passive, it's output is about 2/3 to 3/4 of Fishman Matrix 1
Tone: Very balanced. Much more bass response than Fishman. Can be a little "Tubby" or "Boomy" if your EQ settings were for the Fishman
Sonic evaluation: Using this through a Zoom 504II acoustic effects processor into a Peavey KB60 50 watt keyboard amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup is suitable for all acoustic styles, finger picking, flat picking and strumming. I think it would excell in a solo or duo coffee house setting as opposed to having to cut through the mix with a live band. For this situation I would probably go with a magnetic soundhole (perhaps Fishman rare earth)

Comments: Here's the straight scoop, and I'll try to not be too wordy. Is it the "holy grail" of acoustic amplification? No. Does it sound as Natural as a mic'd guitar? No, of course not. Is it better than any under saddle Piezo I've heard? You bet it is! I think that dual set-ups such as K&K's trinity or the Baggs Dual Source that incorporate a pickup and consensor mic are still probably the closest to a mic'd guitar without all the problems a mic'd guitar gives. i believe that the philosophy of contact pickups are more natural than under saddles,if not, why would LR Baggs, the pioneer in under saddle pickups come out with the ibeam? It just makes sense. An under saddle piezo picks up the signal of the string through the saddle and right to the pickups (ie. picks up the sound of the strings and saddle, Mahogony will sound the same as rosewood, Martin will sound the same as Yamaha) With an under bridge transducer, at least the signal passes through the sound board, giving it some "wood". Also, contact pickups sound more natural to me because you can hear the guitar "thump" if you tap or hit it in a percussive way and will also pick up more string noise than an under saddle(some people may not like that, I think that is part of a natural "mic'd" sound)
As far as K&K goes: I compared this to 3 other soundboard type transducers; the ibeam, Pick Up the World, and the B-band. From other reviews I'v e read, the ibeam sounded more like an under sdaddle than the others and a little tinny. The PUTW probably would have sounded just as good as K&K, but they "had" to have a preamp (another $100.. if you bought there power plug, plus it was kind of an eye sore sticking out of the end plug like that) The B-band looked like a copy of the K&K except it only had 1 pickup (the 2nd was an extra option) whereas K& K had three pickups, one for each pair of strings. I talked with K&K and they assured me there would be no tonal loss by not using a preamp and were pretty confident when I asked them about there competitors that they were the first and the best. I got one in and will have to say that installation is not "quite" as easy as expected. To get the best possible sound, they recommend adhering the pickups with super glue directly to the soundboard inside the guitar (silicone, apparently, does not transmit the vibratrions as well as super glue and neither does 2 sided tape. Perhaps a reason why they say they sound more "warm" and "woody" than there competitors). You only get one chance, and if you don't hit the mark the first time, you take the chance of ruining the pickup if you have to pry it off and try again
I did manage to get them installed without ruining them but they weren't exactly where they were intended to be. It doesn't seem to have mattered because K&K said you could be off as much as a 1/4" and still sound fine. This was another plus over the PUTW I had looked at, who said positioning was critical and you may have to reposition several times to get the best sound. When I finally got it in, I was impressed at the volume for not having a preamp. No tinniness and the bass was there just like they said. I had to turn my amp up to 2 instead of one. Although I still use the Zoom 504II (the best $80.00 I've ever spent on making my guitar sound better, by the way) to make it sound more natural (probably because of my amp. If I went through a PA it may sound OK as is) It did sound alot more natural than my Matrix. In fact, I went ahead (at K&K's suggestion) and used the Fishman strapjack/preamp with the K&K and now it's got the volume the Fishman had. As far as bang for the buck, I think that this is better than any under saddle piezo I have heard. Installation is easier than a Fishman (although I would recommend something with a little more handling time, like maybe epoxy)
And a preamp really isn't necessary to get good tone (I like it hooked to my Fishman preamp because it means I don' have to turn my

Pickup features: Passive Transducer
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Seagull S6+ Cedar
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: None
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: Rich, warm, articulate and accurate
Tone:
Sonic evaluation: Yeah, it's me again. I pulled the one I had out of my old Takamine to put into my new Seagull. I can't recommend trying to recycle the pickups from one guitar to another. Although it is a non-destructive installation, de-installation took its toll on the pickup pads. Anyway, after corresponding with K&K, they sent me some new transducer pads which I soldered into the old end-pin jack. Viola! The tone I was looking for! This time they are installed for good!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play Folk/Rock/Blues

Comments: I will buy from K&K again. Their customer service is tops and the product meets and even exceeds my expectations. I search no more. My only recommendation is to leave your pickup in the guitar. Don' recycle. These things are delicate instruments and the slightest tweak can render them less than perfect. I also recommend use their preamps.

Pickup features: Transducer
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1983 Takamine G330
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Dean Markley ZH-7
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Folk/Rock/Blues
Reason for pickup change: Wanted more balance and natural tone.

Perceived output level: Compared to what I had, this pickup is the holy grail of tone for me. My old magnetic sound hole pickup was too artificial sounding for my tastes and it favored the "b" string above all others.
Tone: To me, the sound is very balanced. No string seems to dominate. They just seem to co-exist to the betterment of tone-kind!
Sonic evaluation: I am using an ole Takamine G330 from the old Martin-clone days. It suits me fine. It has great tone all by itself that's why I had to ditch the magnetic pickup. I play into a Fender Acoustasonic Jr., which I feel is a great amp, in and of itself. Plugging in, I tweeked the knobs until I found the sound I wanted. I sounds like my guitar now--not some processed approximation of what it sort of sounds like!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I mostly play in a praise/worship group at my church but overall I have been playing over twenty years having started out in classical. I also play rock and blues and my guitar/pickup combination sounds great for everything.

Comments: If I lost this setup, I would not hesitate to replace it. I also own an electric guitar setup that I won't go into now. I love this thing and hate nothing other than I wished I had bought one ten years ago! The only comparison I could make was to my old Dean Markley. It's not exactly easy to "A"-"B" pickups and strings and such on the same equipment, especially since it doesn't just pop in and out. I installed it myself following their very clear instructions. Fortunately I don't have really big hands so reaching into the sound hole was not much of a problem. When I first tried it out in my house, I thought I might need to add some kind of an e.q. device but when I plugged in at church, I was absolutely ecstatic over the sound coming out of my Acoustasonic Jr. I want for nothing. It sounds like my guitar. What more could I want? I would recommend this to anybody. I saw their ad in the back of Acoustic Guitar magazine and checked out their web site. I emailed them and corresponde with Karla several times. It seems like a mom and pop operation, but that's what I like about it. Just some folks making a great product out of Coos Bay, Oregon!