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Well, up till now I've been using the B-Band A1 with UST system and I've had good results from my own guitars and those I've made guitars for who have them.

But...

I'm considering a change and I have a customer who needs a new pick up put in his guitar (the B-band is giving him grief as it's starting to squak and crackle alot). I was thinking of giving the K&K a try as it's had awesome reviews here.

So, what system should I be looking at? Up till now, everything's been active with the B-Band systems.

Also, any other systems that I should consider? I'm all ears.

Help me make the best choice for my customer.

He uses his guitar at his church (not sure if the board has phantom power or not) and at home in a small practice amp.

Thanks

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I have K&K pure westerns in five acoustics - three dreads, an ABG, and a jumbo 12. The only negative to the passive Pure Western is that I have no control over the output onboard the guitar. I like to have control over volume and EQ while I'm playing, so I installed one of these in the guitar I play at church:

http://www.allparts.com/store/pickups-g ... roduct.asp

Which required cutting a rectangular hole in the upper bout of the guitar. I am very pleased with the results. The K&K Pure Western has a very natural sound without the quack-like attack of an under-saddle transducer.

--Steve

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---Steve

Rod (and Steve),

go for the pure western, and add the pure preamp to the system .. no onboard battery or extra holes to cut, and the controls are right at your hip when using a guitar strap - plus, you only need one for ALL your guitars when loaded with KK. Or you can just have it on the floor beside you once its set (thats what I do when playing seated - set it , forget it.)

its a bunch more money, but they have just added a tube pre to their product line ... supposedly sounds like having the high end sparkle of a studio mic.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Oh .. and KK also have pre's with balanced line outs (XLR) . to feed a mixer board directly.

Another option - Stephen Bennett when playing my newest baritone Monday night ran the KK pure western in it directly into his Radial pre (he has ditched the para DI in favour of this, says its way better). The first thing he had to do was drop the gain on the radial, as the KK blew the PU in his Morris SB model out of the room ...

Rod .. if you want another opinion on the sound/tone .. ask AZ , he was there.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Get the pure western mini.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I agree with Howard...I tried the K&K to install where there wasn't room in the x-brace intersection for the LR Baggs Active I-Beam that I was using...glad I did! The K&K mini is awesome!

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

I put the K&K Trinity system ( Mini western and mic ) with external preamp in my small jumbo and it sounds fantastic. I even tried the Mini western plugged direct to my AC 90 Roland and the sound is as good as through the preamp but needs a little more gain on the amp to get the same volume from the amp. I use the mic set at about 20% and the mini westerns 100% to get a very natural sound. I have a B band bridge plate with A1 preamp on my 000 and will replace it some day, sound is great but it is a feedback nightmare.

My advice is go with the K&K as I will next time.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

While shopping for K&K I came across this link to a pure mini western on board volume control.
http://www.kksound.com/purevolume.html

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

I put a K & K pickup into a guitar a couple years ago. SOund is good, but every time I touch the top you hear it. If you're a percussive player, you MUST be aware of this. I found myself compromising my playing style too much to accomodate the pickup.

Know your application (IE: solo or loud band setting) The K & K does NOT eliminate feedback, but seems to do decently in my settings. It really gets the grades becasue of sound integrity. But your sound man may thank you not to "thump" your guitar with your hands until he can roll off the bass, possibly CONSIDERABLY. Your mileage will likely vary. These are guitars after all.


I want to install some more and see how they do. I like the installation (superglue CAN be tricky) and the price seemed competitive. (I used no preamp. It's pretty hot output without the pre)