Many beginners have a hard time to figure out which type of acoustic pickup would produce the best possible sound for their acoustic guitar. Each pickup would carry its own set of advantages but ultimately is a very personal selection that has to be decided by each guitar player. Like with every other tool, each pickup would present the sound in a unique type and style. This would enable the musician and its guitar to evolve into a particular sound.
What type of pickups are available for an Acoustic Guitar?
Under the saddle
The saddle is usually a piece of plastic or bone, that sits in a slot on the wooden bridge. The saddle can be remove if needed, although the bridge is glued to the top of the guitar. On most guitars the strings are placed over the saddle and then pass through the bridge. Under the saddle pickups are usually very thin strips of material. A wire runs from the pickup to an output jack, by the strap at the end of the guitar. Some custom acoustic pickup systems would include a pre-amp assembly kit that must be mounted inside the guitar. Some people utilize Velcro tape or glue to adhere it to the inside of the instrument, alt ought it's possible to screw it on to the neck block.
Contact Pickup
As its name suggests, a contact pickup is adhered to the top of the guitar. They can be adhere to the outside, as well as the inside of the guitar. Many players prefer a contact pickup that is uncluttered, so it does not affect guitar's playability. For this type of approach a hole must be drilled for the jack and this can be unacceptable for a big number of musicians
Soundhole [This is by far the second most common type]
The Soundhole pickup are clamped or wedged into the natural soundhole of the acoustic guitar. This is by far one of the most common ways of amplifying an electric guitar since it's pretty much accessible for all sorts of acoustic sounholes and it does not require a great deal of installation and modifications. It's also doesn't affect instrument's playability.
Microphone
Some microphones are integrated with the guitar with an end pin jack. There are some models in the market that can be adhere with Velcro and connected to an internal pre-installed pre-amp system which also has an end pin jack.
Regarding to feedback, keep in mind that the Soundhole type are definitely most feedback resistant. While they do might pickup some vibrations from the instrument, the sound is usually only triggered by the vibrating strings. This type of pickup might be an ideal occasion for many types of environment. Under the saddle pickups carry a relative high degree of feedback resistance due to the fact the pickup is seated under the saddle and surrounded by the wood of the bridge. Contact pickups provide little resistance to feedback, since they're on top of the soundboard they're usually affected by any ambient sound that hits the soundboard and ultimately creating noise and distortion to your sound. Microphones, because of their nature are most prone to feedback, since they're capturing not only what you play but other frequencies around you.
The best alternative to prevent feedback, regardless of the type of pickup you're using on your acoustic guitar, is to always keep the volume as low as possible and let your amplifier boost your audio signal.
As always I recommend you to try it yourself. Due to the amount of manufacturers and options in the market it's a good idea to give it a try and experience the type of sound you can create by utilizing each one of this acoustic pickups in your instrument.
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