With Darling Wife and I now having a couple of public performances behind us, I've been thinking about better options for plugging in an acoustic guitar. I've been using a soundhole pickup, which easily pops in and out of my Martin, and works well enough. But I know there are better options.
One would be to get an acoustic/electric guitar for our "playing out" opportunities. There are decent-quality Epiphones and Seagulls (and doubtless other brands) with built-in electronics, and you can plug them in right out of the box. But it seems a terrible shame to have such a nice Martin, just to leave it at home when it's time to go out and play. And no, I won't take the Martin camping or to the beach, but it's also not a museum piece - I have it to play it.
From my scanning of the acoustic guitar message boards, one product that I hear recommended time and time again is the K&K Pure Mini. They drill out the endpin, glue three small transducers to the underside of the bridge, and attach them to a jack that goes in the endpin. So you then have an acoustic guitar that can also be plugged in.
It was an intriguing thought, but my fear was that doing this modification would affect the unplugged sound of the guitar. That would be a deal breaker - I'm playing open mics once in a while, not gigging three times a week. It would *have* to be the same sweet-sounding baby unplugged that it is now. So I posted this question on my favorite board, and got all the reassurance I need that it won't affect the unplugged sound.
So I dropped my baby off at the shop this afternoon, and she's now awaiting surgery. I know she's in good hands, but I'm nervous anyway. They said it would probably be ready toward the end of next week, but I told them to take their time, as I'll be away all the following week. (Where, you ask? Details in my next post.)
Mike at Meadowood assures me that he's done this countless times. Fingers crossed. Of course I'll post again when I get her back.
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