Update: 4 more shows now done with the superglued minis. Two of which were in noisy party-type venues. All reservations are gone. These 'permanently' installed minis sound fantastic!


Anyone who's been around here for a while knows I'm a big fan of K&K Sound pickups. I use their Pure Western Mini on four guitars now. One of the controversial things about K&K is that the recommended installation involves superglue, and some folks will just never do that. I now have experience with both methods on the same guitar, so I thought I'd post a review of my experience.

A disclaimer: I love K&K pickups! Whether temporary or Superglued, they sound fantastic. Natrual, woody, accurate representation of ambients like string and body noise, and accurate representation of the guitar in which they are installed. So, any negative points made below must be take with the understanding the EVEN WITH these attributes, I'll pick K&K over most pickup systems out there.

First some definitions:

• Original "temoroary" installation method = Apply mylar type tape to sound board, then superglue the pickups to the tape.
  
• Current "temporary" installation method = Use the supplied glue/tape strips to apply 'temorary' glue to the pickups, then stick them in the guitar.
  
• Temporary Not sure why they use this term. It's not really temporary, except in the sense that K&K believes once you decide you like the sound, you'll have them glued in. I had mine in "temporarily" for four years with no problems.
  

Test 1: Old vs current Temporary installation
My Collngs D1A had the old Mylar tempoary method and I switched to the the new temporary method. There was very little differnece between the two other than the current temporary method results in a marginally stronger signal. Tone was not discernably different, maybe just a tad more 'air' and bass. In my experience, both original and current temporary methods require a preamp to get usable signal strength. The K&K Pure or Pure XLR preamps sound the best.

Test 2: Current Temproary vs Superglue Installation
My Larrivee OM-05MT had mini's installed with the Current temporary method, and I had them removed and superglued. First the good news: The signal really is much stronger. Perhaps even double. What used to take a 6 on the channel gain now takes a 3 or 4. I also noticed more air, wood, and midrange in the sound. Also more bass and treble. More ambients (string/body noise). At first I thought they were unnaturally loud, but now after a few shows I'm not so sure. There is DEFINITELY more midrange, which I'm having trouble controlling. The guitar sounds a bit less like itself and needs more mid cut EQ and still doesn't sound exaclty right. Tone before the re-install was a bit warmer and more natural. After a few more shows, if I still feel the same about the midrange, I am going to try removing the center pickup and re-installing just that pickup with the current temporary method and see if that helps.

Conclusion:
1) With or without superglue, K&K pickups sound amazing. Based on my experience with one mahogany top guitar, the non-superglued pickups are a bit warmer and more natural in the midrange, but at roughly half the volume.
2) Anyone who is hesitant to install a K&K Sound pickup due to the superglue issue should try the current temorary method. Other than the reduced strength, it will sound just as good, and in at least one person's opinion (me!), marginally better.
3) Both temporary and superglued K&K mini pickups sound their best through a properly matched preamp, such as the K&K Pure.

Cheers,
David

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dberch,

Update!

I may have to eat some of my own words.

I did a show last night with two K&K equipped guitars - both superglued. Man, they sounded wonderful. I did not hear any of the pronounced mids that I was hearing at home. Just great, natrual, woody tone.

One disclaimer: this venue has the perfect stage. It's one of those indoor golf game booths with carpeted walls.

It could be my review was premature and I just need to get used to the new sound, I don't know. Sure sounded good last night, though. The Harmonica player I've been gigging with lately, Steve "The Harp" Mehlberg, also thought both guitars really sounded good.

I have three more shows in the next week, then off for two months. I'll report back with another update in a week or so. Friday night's venue is much noisier, so well see....

Cheers,
David

David-
Thanks for the write-up. Excellent information contained in it. I have a few picking friends that have the mini in their guitars and they all sound good, all superglued. Two of them use a Baggs PADI and the other a K&K. I might be swayed to go this way sometime soon. I also want to check out the Trinity. If you have input on that, please share.

Ace
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David,
I've had a similar pre-amp experience with my CJ recently loaded with minis. The guitar didn't have a midrange "problem" without the pre, just a bit more pronounced. Adding a pre (I'm using a Carl Martin parametric EQ that has the proper imput impedance - can't say enough good things about this unit) with a flat EQ and just the signal gain alone the sound evened out - or to be more accurate, the bass and highs blossomed and the sound got more "air". I was floored. I really can't imagine getting much better tone plugged in save using a condenser.

I have a a K&K Mini installed in a Martin (SPOM-16)and I will back up what David says, on how natural & woody they sound. I just got another one to put in my Collings OM-3C, that previously had a Baggs M-1 in it, that I just did not care for tonally. Plus it was too awkward & heavy.

I was running the K&K into a Baggs PADI, but it was missing something soundwise & I wasn't quite sure what it was. So I got a 'K&K Pure XLR Preamp'. It made quite a difference! Much better matchup w/ the impedence thing, and a lot less knobs. It now has the evenness it was lacking before. The only drawback to this preamp is, if you want add another source (a mic or something), it only accomodates 1 channel. Other than that, it's way good!

RB

I've been gigging with K&K pure western minis, permanently installed, for a year and a half. They're the best pickups I've ever used. I do use a ParaDI, but not for signal boost, just EQ massage in some venues. The signal is strong enough to go straight to the board. I am intrigued by the pure xlr preamp comment. Maybe Santa.....

Update: 4 more shows down with superglued minis. Two of which were in noisy party-type venues. All reservations are gone. These 'permanently' installed minis sound fantastic!

David