Course:Phys341 2020/Guitar pickups

From UBC Wiki

Acoustic Guitar Pickups: A Blessing and a Curse

The Problem

There is a problem that exists in the world of instrument amplification: acoustic guitars. Acoustic guitars are wonderfully complex instruments, with wonderful, full and lush tones that are often difficult to translate in a live setting. Recording an acoustic guitar in a studio is a dream. All of the variable factors in a recording studio are controllable; the ambient noise can be measured and taken into account; different styles of microphones can be used to capture the true tonal profile of an acoustic guitar; more than one microphone can be used and most importantly feedback can be controlled in a studio. The acoustic guitar also doesn't have to compete with other instruments in a studio setting, whereas in a live sitting an acoustics guitar can have to try and cut through a mix full of drums, bass, electric guitars and vocals; not to mention the amplitude of the crowd at a live show.

The Solution?

The solution to this problem is the acoustic guitar pickup. Pickups come in a variety shapes and sizes and do their best to translate true sound nature of the guitar. But, how well do they actually do this? How do the frequencies translate with a pickup versus a microphone? Please see the video below to find out the answer. This project will be a YouTube video and the link can be found below!

https://youtu.be/C3mm8CzRaIc

Appendix

Equipment Used:

Guitar

Martin D-222

Dreadnought style guitar, with a 12-fret neck joint, solid Sitka spruce top with VTS[1], mahogany back and sides.

Microphone and Pickups

Blue Spark SL condenser microphone [2]

Fishman Neo-D02 Passive Humbucker Soundhole Pickup (used on D-222 and 000-15M) [3]

Recording Gear

All recorded audio was recoded through the aforementioned equipment and into a MacBook Pro running Logic Pro X. Frequencies were analyzed with Blue Cat FreqAnalyst and Logic Pro X's built in Multimeter.

Microphone and pickups were recorded through the M-Audio M-Track USB Audio Interface.

Full Spectra Videos:

Here are the full spectra of the guitar with each signal input:

Complete Commentary on Each String and the Primary Air and Wood Modes:

https://youtu.be/kJeIJg6tYDE

Complete Dreadnought Spectra:

https://youtu.be/q4_bp0Aojvw