What pickup or guitar should I use to get percussion sound when hit the guitar body?

[flyingbird]

hey all, I use loop station and wanna add a drum sound to the loop. My acoustic guitar is Martin DPCA4. When I hit the guitar body, it doesn't get the full soomth bass drum sound.

What should I do?

Thanks.

 

[JBid]

Take up golf.

 

[rickenbackerkid]

Best thing for this is the LR Baggs Anthem. The mic gives you a nice airy tone and the UST gives you a clean low end.

Demo:
Thomas uses an Anthem along with a Blue Sky reverb.

 

[mannish]

I play a percussive style at times and the K&K sounds great

 

[dankayaker]

I have a Rare Earth Blend I use in a Martin HD28V and when the mic is blended in, it becomes very percussive.

 

[royd]

This is one of those instances where a manufacturer installed pickup system simply doesn't meet the needs of the player and an aftermarket would have been a better choice.

You need either an internal mic or a soundboard transducer to get the body hits. Different brands and different placement will give you different timbre of the hits. Many folk who play that style use two or even three separate sources. Thomas Leeb, for example, uses Dazzo soundboard transducers, an internal mic, and a soundhole magnetic pickup to get the full spectrum of sound from his guitars.

here is an example from Thomas played acoustically...


and the same tune amplified...

 

[flyingbird]

Thanks guys.

What kind of guitar body suits loop, acoustic and percussion performance? My Martin DCPA 4 is not very comfortable to play when I use a strap and stand up. Or buy a Martin Mini? Like Ed Sheeran.

Should I buy an acoustic guitar and then install an aftermarket pickup? Or buy aftermarket pickup replace my Martin DCPA4 stock pickup?

Thanks again.

 

[rob2966]

A guy I know does a lot of the "modern fingerstyle" guitar with the body hits, etc. and this is the pickup he uses. Sounds great.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/acoustic/mag-mic

Later
Rob

 

[rob2966]

As for the type of guitar that will depend. Certain body styles are going to work better (generally small, the big dreadnoughts will be too boomy). Very important is the neck/action, especially if you plan to do a bunch of tapping (which often go hand in hand with that style). Player tend to use more "modern" (for lack of a better word) guitars (i.e. Lowden, Furch, Maton, etc.) over traditional brands such as Martin (although certain models may work very well). Probably best to aftermarket the pickup system so you can get the exact sound you want.

For reference, here is my friend playing his Furch guitar w/ SD Mag-Mic system. Is this the type of sound you are looking for?

Again, these are 2nd hand observations since I don't play this style.

Later
Rob

 

[flyingbird]

I am thinking of buying a Maton EBG808C or SRS 808C. Both with AP5-pro pickup.

Anyone played them?

 

[iainmc]

i had a maton with that pickup - great for that sort of stuff. tommy emmanuel is probably one of the best people at the percussion on the guitar thing - he plays one. he's also a great drummer too...

/i

 

[CactusWren]

One of the factors is to realize that the guitar is not going to respond the same way when you are amplified. So practice amplified and find out where the sweet spots are, for your particular system. If you think of it as a different instrument, you will be fine. Of course, you should explore other possibilities to see if they meet your needs.

Gabriela gets some of the fattest percussive sounds I've ever heard on a guitar (of Rodrigo and Gabriela, of course).