Pickups for Acoustic Guitar:  Pickups

Pure Pickup Acoustic Guitar Pickup for Steel or Nylon String (Classical) Guitar

Manufactured by: K&K Sound

PURE Pickups
for Acoustic Guitars (steel-string and classical guitar versions available)

This specialized, easy to install transducer system does not sound as harsh and is less percussive than saddle transducers! By positioning transducers directly beneath the bridge inside the guitar body, high signal-to-noise ratio and high gain-before-feedback can be achieved. In addition, the guitar top plays a more important role than with saddle transducers, yielding a warmer, more microphone-like tone. The Pure Western (shown), for steel string guitar, has three transducers. The Pure Classic, for classical guitar, has four transducers to allow for its different bracing pattern. A two transducer Pure Bass/Tenor Guitar version is also available.

Read this unsolicited Review of the Pure Western System at Guitar Notes. The magazine quote refers to the Pure Pickups and the Trinity Guitar system that employs them with a K&K microphone.

The Classic model is shown in the illustration below, which demonstrates where the transducers are located. Installation is far easier and precise positioning is less critical than with the typical undersaddle transducer. Special tape is included to apply to your precious guitar's soundboard, so you don't need to superglue the transducers directly to the wood - removal is easier and the installation is non-destructive. The special tape and a tube of Super Glue are included, and the transducers are prewired to a high quality endpin jack K&K Sound, manufacturer of the Pure Guitar system names the following ADVANTAGES of the PURE GUITAR's transducers and mounting system:

• The special PURE surface transducers DO transmit a significant portion of the soundboard because they are not as close to the strings as an undersaddle pickup. Each of the 3 or 4 transducers is designed to pick up a specific string pair, but also “listens” to the adjacent area around the bridge.
• The PURE pickups are not under pressure and therefore do NOT sound percussive or harsh.
• The PURE system reproduces all strings nicely balanced, a known problem with undersaddle pickups.
• The PURE system sounds great just in passive mode! Unlike undersaddle pickups which passively sound thin and treble-only, the passive PURE system puts out a nicely balanced, warm, full range signal.
• How safe is the PURE GUITAR System with feedback? Due to PURE GUITAR’s location on the bridge plate under the bridge, feedback resistance is comparable to undersaddle transducers. Technically, a pickup installed in or on the bridge is a lot less likely to feedback than one which is attached to the open sound board. The 1/8” thin sound board can act like a diaphragm and vibrate along with loud sound-signals from speaker cabinets. This is the kind of feedback you experience on an acoustic guitar. The thicker bridge area is a lot harder to be set into vibration from an outside source simply because of its mass.
• In K&K Sound's tests with both steel string and classic guitars equipped with an undersaddle pickup plus the PURE system, they were able to achieve about the same gain-before-feedback with both systems.

• Hard, percussive tone, because the piezo transducers are under high pressure.
• They picks up mostly string and finger sounds, and capture very little from the guitar's soundboard, so crucial in reproducing your guitar's true voice.
• There is always the chance of unbalanced volumes, with individual strings louder or softer than others. Trying the equalize loudness can result in a very work intensive balancing procedure.
• Needs special preamp to compensate for the hard sound.
  
  Of course, every manufacturer swears that his undersaddle transducer is far better than anything else. Let’s face it, as long as the pickup is in the undersaddle position, they have to deal with the above mentioned characteristics.

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