Fishman – Rare Earth Humbucker Acoustic Guitar Pickup
This is a magnetic sound hole pickup installed just in front of the neck in the sound hole under the strings. The difference between this and the Big Woody was staggering when I first used it through a PA system. It offers warm and smooth tones with even gain between strings. Easy to fit for temporary use by just holding it inside the sound hole and tightening the screws on either side. The only problem with this is having the delicate looking wire and jack attachment dangling down the side of the guitar. I would recommend getting a professional guitar engineer to install it so the jack input replaces your strap lock in the back of our acoustic guitar. This pickup has a little volume control that you can access by putting your finger past the strings down the side of the pickup near the bass strings.
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It sounds good with both pick strumming as well as finger picking and also soft and hard strumming styles. I use it in my Big Baby Taylor Acoustic which is a wonderful combination to play and to listen to. I have yet to record properly with this pickup, however I don’t think it would ever sound as good as recording with a condenser microphone.
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An alternative pickup to this which I considered buying was the Fishman Rare Earth Blend sound hole pickup. With the built in Cardioid microphone blended with the magnetic pickup, the ‘Blend’ supposedly offers a warmer and more realistic acoustic tone. However, I heard stories of feedback problems when you use more than a bit of the microphone making it kind of pointless for what I needed it for.
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I can’t see me needing another pickup any time soon. This one sounds great, looks great, has a small volume control, massive battery life and the option to fix it in or use it when needed.
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Recent update….
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Sounds crap through some speakers, lack bottom end in comparison to a under saddle pickup. However, through an RCF PA speaker with a Mackie desk it sounds awesome. Even through my Marshall Acoustic amp in sounds fantastic, still love it.
Another Update… Use a DI box. In fact, with all electro/acoustic guitar and acoustic guitar pickups, use a DI box. It boosts the signal, balances the signal, most give you the option to reduce the signal and also to engage the ‘ground lift’ switch to reduce hum/interference. DI boxes vary a lot, but essentially do the same thing to different qualities.