Finding the right acoustic pickup can be difficult. There are several different kinds, and each has its technical requirements to get the best performance. On top of that, you need to consider the rest of your signal chain and how it interacts. And finally, each type of acoustic guitar pickup has a unique sound with its own list of pros and cons. So how do you know which is the best acoustic pickup to buy? You read this post; that’s how.

The first step to finding the proper acoustic pickup is knowing that the majority of them fall into three categories:

• Piezo
• Magnetic
• Microphone/Blended Systems

Each of these designs has its strengths and weaknesses. Some are better at rejecting feedback, while others may sound more natural. Knowing which is suitable for you is all about knowing your application. So we’ll look at all three through the lens of our own acoustic pickup offerings, helping you narrow down the field and find the perfect pickup for your acoustic guitar.

Piezo Acoustic Pickups

Strengths: Feedback resistant, broad frequency spectrum

Piezo pickups are by far the most popular acoustic guitar pickup out there. The pickup itself is a thin strip of piezoelectric crystals that sit under your guitar’s bridge saddle. They sense your guitar top’s vibrations and convert them into an electrical signal.

Piezos have a hidden profile that protects the look of your guitar, they offer a full frequency range, and they’re among the best at rejecting feedback. This makes piezos a go-to option for players working in high-volume situations. Because of their inherent passive design, many piezo pickups benefit from an active outboard or onboard preamp.

Wavelength Solo

The Seymour Duncan Wavelength Solo is an excellent example of what a piezo pickup can do. It combines a distortion-free under-saddle pickup with a high-headroom preamp giving you the benefits of piezo amplification with a full, natural sound. The 18V preamp offers enough power to eliminate the quacky spikes of other piezo systems. And it even boasts bass and treble controls for fine-tuning the system to your liking. Add an optional Volume and Tone Module for convenient control just inside the soundhole. The Wavelength Solo does require installation inside your guitar. But once it’s there, it’s all but invisible to everyone else.

Magnetic Acoustic Pickups

Strengths: Easy to use, feedback resistant

Magnetic acoustic pickups are very similar in construction to electric guitar pickups. Crack one open, and you’ll find copper wire, a bobbin, and a magnet or two. And like electric pickups, magnetic acoustic guitar pickups are excellent at rejecting feedback. Often, you’ll find magnetic acoustic pickups mounted to a guitar’s soundhole. This arrangement gives you easy access to the pickup for any onboard controls and easier installation and removal. Magnetic acoustic pickups also come in both active and passive designs, allowing you to choose the best for your rig.

Active Mag

The Active Mag is our most full-featured magnetic acoustic guitar pickup. Yet even with the tonal power onboard, it retains a sleek, soundhole-mounted design for easy mounting or removal. This makes it great for either permanent or temporary installation.

The Active Mag gets its name from its onboard, active preamp. The preamp boasts plenty of headroom and a wide-open and warm tone. It also has onboard control for both volume and tone right at your fingertips. All of this makes the Active Mag fantastic on its own or in a blended system with a microphone. But we’ll get into blended systems more in a second.

Woody Series

The Woody Series is our line of passive, magnetic acoustic pickups. We designed all three models with great tone, three attractive finishes to choose from, and ease of use. You can install all three Woody pickups in seconds, running the hardwired cable to your favorite amp, DI box, or PA with ease. You can also permanently install them in your guitar for a sleek onstage look.

Woody Single Coil

The Woody Single Coil is extremely popular for its brilliant top end that cuts through a busy mix. Internally, it is much like an electric single-coil pickup. It features a single coil of wire around magnets. So it makes sense that this Woody offers more bell-like highs and detail than its brothers.

Woody Hum Cancelling

If the Woody Single Coil is like a Strat pickup, this one is like one of our Strat stack pickups. Sitting below the top coil is a second bobbin which rejects 60-cycle hum for noise-free performance. It also has a warmer, more “woody” sound than the Single Coil, great for strumming and vocal accompaniment.

Woody XL

The Woody XL is the flagship of the Woody line. We designed it with hum-cancelling performance like the Woody HC, but the XL offers six adjustable magnetic pole pieces, so you can easily fine-tune string to string balance when used with your particular guitar.

Microphone and Blended Systems

Strengths: Natural tone, Benefits of multiple pickup designs

On their own, microphones are the most natural-sounding way to amplify an acoustic guitar. That’s why players prefer them to plugged-in tones in the studio. But live performance is a very different animal, and mics have a hard time keeping up…by themselves.

A popular way to utilize great mic tones live is via blended pickup systems. These are acoustic pickup circuits with an integrated microphone, usually a condenser. These blended acoustic guitar pickup systems give you the benefit of both styles of pickups while reducing their weaknesses.

Mag Mic

The Seymour Duncan Mag Mic is one of our most popular acoustic pickups. It uses a magnetic pickup similar to the Active Mag and adds a condenser microphone to the mix. You can lean on the magnetic pickup for volume while rolling in enough mic to introduce the woody character of your guitar’s authentic voice.

Wavelength Duo

Like the Mag Mic is to the Active Mag, the Wavelength Duo is to the Wavelength Solo. But this time, we’re talking about blending a great-sounding mic with an under-saddle piezo pickup. You have the wide frequency response and high gain before feedback of the Wavelength Solo, but now, you can also blend in an omni-directional condenser mic to taste with its soundhole-mounted volume control.

Let’s Talk Tone

Still searching for your perfect tone? Check out our blog for tips and tricks to help you dial in the sound in your head.

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