Soundhole pickup

What is it? You can spot these easily, as they’re suspended within the soundhole of an acoustic guitar. An extension of the electricguitar magnetic pickup design, the best modern examples have been refined for use with acoustic guitars, not least in terms of their performance with bronze and phosphor-bronze strings. They tend to sound a little bit more ‘electric’ guitar than an under-saddle or bridge transducer, especially when playing higher up the neck. What preamp and power does it need? Soundhole pickups come in both active and passive, not to mention single-coil and humbucking, forms. They do need some sort of preamplification; the active ones such as Fishman’s Rare Earth have an internal preamp, and you can plug them into something external too. A good desk, external preamp device or dedicated acoustic amp will all be fine. Batteries for active types – small, flat lithium types – are commonly housed in the pickup assembly itself and have very long lives. How to fit it The majority of soundhole pickups simply attach within the soundhole of the guitar using small clamps built into the pickup housing, so require no drilling or other woodwork for the pickup.You can either drape the cable out of the soundhole itself, or better still, have the endpin reamed for a combined jack/strap button if your guitar doesn’t currently have one. As with all endpin jacks, you need a specialist tool and a great deal of skill to do this confidently on your prized guitar. Nobody wants a split endblock, right? Upsides: Minimal modification to the guitar; have their own sound – very different from under-saddles and under-bridge pickups; feedback-resistant Downsides: Not everyone likes how they look (or sound!); can get in the way of the picking hand; may impede top movement; single-coil types susceptible to hum Our top three picks Fishman Rare Earth Single Coil LR Baggs M1 Active Shadow SH 145