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Adding electronics to an acoustic guitar?

Hi, I’m seriously considering buying a Fender CD-100, but it has no electronics. I need the electronics. So I was wondering if it is dangerous or less than desirable to have someone cut a hole and add a pick up or transducer.
Also, I have a Martin pickup that you place in the soundhole, but I hear from many that it does not accurately pick up the full sound.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
sorry, it’s a Dean Markley pickup, not a Martin

The Martin pickup is most likely a “magnetic” pickup…similar in operation to the ones on electric guitars. It will work, but won’t capture the subtle sounds that make your guitar sound acoustic. There are transducer pickups that can be non-invasively mounted in a guitar. The cable runs out the tail of the guitar through a special plug that doubles as a strap peg. These pickups will more accurately capture the acoustic sound. So you don’t have to cut holes in the guitar to electrify it.

Having said all that, Fender CD-100 is a cheap guitar and isn’t going to have the greatest sound to begin with. The kind of pickups I mentioned are expensive. It would be more cost effective for you to purchase a guitar with the electronics already on board. If the Fender is all you can afford, use the Martin pickup. It’ll work okay until you can afford a better guitar.

Shadow Soundhole Pickups Review

Fishman Cork Shim Kit for Rare Earth Soundhole Pickup $9.95 These corks can be used to shim Rare Earth soundhole magnetic pickups (old format) closer to the strings on guitars with steep neck angles, or to replace those which have become worn or glazed. The corks are already cut at proper sizes from the cork sheets (shown) and ready to be detached and installed….

Fishman Rare Earth Blend Soundhole Pickup Standard $299.95 Fishman Rare Earth Blend Soundhole Pickup Standard

Duncan Performer Maverick Soundhole Pickup $29.99 The Duncan Performer Maverick Soundhole Pickup is great for hearty strumming, delicate finger-style chording, and articulate single note runs. No battery required. This soundhole pickup's tone is natural and transparent. Double potting makes the Maverick extremely feedback resistant. Fits all standard-size acoustic soundholes between 3-4/5" and 4-1/5". Duncan Performer includes a high-quality cable with standard 1/4" plug wth your Maverick pickup.

LR Baggs M1 Soundhole Pickup $139.29 New TriAxial Dynamic Technology allows the LR Baggs M1 Soundhole Pickup to respond to the guitar's string and body vibrations, redefining what is possible from a soundhole pickup. The L.R. Baggs M-1 is a humbucking pickup with a twist. In a common stacked humbucker, the second, lower coil cancels hum, but doesn't contribute anything positive to the sound. In fact, it can muddy the sound of the main coil. The M1 unlocks the second coil. This allows it to make a positive sonic contribution while maintaining the pure open sound of a single coil – but without the hum. The hum-canceling coil is suspended under the main coil by a tuned support that allows it to move in 3 dimensions. The primary coil moves with the guitar top and creates a body signal in the suspended secondary coil. This brings the M1 to life, with string and body sound all in one. It's like having a dual pickup system in your soundhole. The support is carefully tuned to control motion in all 3 dimensions. This allows you to selectively add the presence and realism from the body signal while suppressing runaway feedback.Gold-plated 1/8" jack. The L.R. Baggs M1 Pickup includes a prewired strapjack harness and a 12' Mogami audiophile-grade cable.

Lace Acoustic Bronze Soundhole Pickup $87.99 The Lace Acoustic Bronze Soundhole Pickup is used by the world's top acoustic guitar performers. The Lace Acoustic Bronze pickup is elegantly designed to be an in-hole pickup that produces the truest acoustic sound available-full, warm bass, crystal clear highs, natural midrange, and unmatched clarity. Operation is amazingly quiet, with tremendous dynamic range, and fast attack response. Designed to fit any acoustic soundhole.Lace includes a three-inch mini data CD that includes all its latest wiring diagrams in color along with Lace's most current pickup and guitar catalogs. Also includes a warranty card and other useful information regarding Lace Music Products.

Fishman Rare Earth Pro-Rep-102 Humbucking Soundhole Pickup 889406240667 $111.99 Fishman Rare Earth Pro-Rep-102 Humbucking Soundhole Pickup 889406240667

Fishman Rare Earth Pro-Rep-102 Humbucking Soundhole Pickup 889406300019 $89.59 Fishman Rare Earth Pro-Rep-102 Humbucking Soundhole Pickup 889406300019

LR Baggs M1A Active Soundhole Magnetic Pickup Standard $169.99 LR Baggs M1A Active Soundhole Magnetic Pickup Standard

Fishman Rare Earth Single Coil Soundhole Guitar Pickup Standard $96.76 Fishman Rare Earth Single Coil Soundhole Guitar Pickup Standard

Fishman Rare Earth Pro-Rep-102 Humbucking Soundhole Pickup Standard $139.99 Fishman Rare Earth Pro-Rep-102 Humbucking Soundhole Pickup Standard

Seymour Duncan Woody XL Adjustable Pole Pieces Soundhole Pickup Standard $59.99 Seymour Duncan Woody XL Adjustable Pole Pieces Soundhole Pickup Standard

DiMarzio DP231 The Angel Acoustic Active Soundhole Humbucker Pickup Standard $189.99 DiMarzio DP231 The Angel Acoustic Active Soundhole Humbucker Pickup Standard

Seymour Duncan Woody HC Hum-Canceling Soundhole Pickup Standard $49.99 Seymour Duncan Woody HC Hum-Canceling Soundhole Pickup Standard

Seymour Duncan Woody SC Single-Coil Soundhole Pickup Standard $39.99 Seymour Duncan Woody SC Single-Coil Soundhole Pickup Standard

Fishman Rare Earth Blend Soundhole Pickup $299.95 The Fishman Rare Earth Blend Soundhole Pickup blends a humbucking pickup with an electret condenser microphone for capturing both the initial attack and sound chamber resonance for true acoustic tone plus power and projection. The pickup is easy to install.

DiMarzio The Angel Acoustic Active Soundhole Humbucker Pickup $189.99 DiMarzio® has always made passive magnetic soundhole pickups designed to stand alone, but they've also felt that an active circuit designed to work with a specific pickup could go further in creating a natural, open sound. The Angel™ Active was developed with Shadow Electronics. The electronics are mounted on an acoustic endpin jack, and include a volume control that attaches to the rim of the soundhole. The Angel can also be used as a passive pickup by attaching a standard guitar cable (included) instead of going to the endpin jack.

DiMarzio DP135 Super Natural Acoustic Soundhole Pickup $69.95 Acoustic guitar players will love the DiMarzio DP135 soundhole pickup in real-world situations where feedback and weak sound can be major problems. The Super Natural pickup delivers good acoustic tone with incredibly crisp treble, tight bass response, and patented 60-cycle hum reduction. The DP15 pickup is encased in a plastic cover molded to look like dark rosewood and installs easily beneath the strings. Foam lines the inside edges of both mounting brackets keeping the pickup in place and protecting the soundhole. The pole pieces are individually adjustable and the built-in 12" cable is thin and light. The DiMarzio DP135 pickup is ecommended for all steel-string guitars with soundholes measuring between 3-11/16 " and 4-1/8" in diameter.

Shadow Sonic NanoMAG Acoustic Guitar Soundhole Preamp with NanoMAG Soundhole Pickup $264.8 The Shadow Sonic NanoMAG is an easy-to fit preamp system for acoustic guitar. With the 2-band equalizer-controls (bass and treble) you will be able to adjust your personal, acoustic sound easily.Because Sonic preamps are installed into the soundhole there is no need to cut a hole in the bout/frame of the guitar. The system works with two 3V cell batteries and comes with an active NanoMAG pickup.NanoMAG is a small size magnetic pickup that fits at the end of the fingerboard. It is the only guitar pickup of this kind on the market that provides an acoustic sound, but can also produce a sweet blues or jazz sound. It is very resistant to feedback and has incredible dynamics. NanoMAG is a breakthrough in magnetic pickup technology that outperforms all the rest.Phase switch inverts the signal and cancels the overall feedback. The battery LED will turn on when the battery is low and battery should be replaced within 30 minutes.The complete system is extremely light and weighs less than a 9V battery other preamps work with.

Fishman Pro-Neo-D02 Humbucker Soundhole Pickup $79.95 The Neo-D02 Humbucker Soundhole Pickup is a direct descendant of Fishman's acclaimed Rare Earth pickup that shares the same neodymium magnets and coil technology. You get exceptional string balance and sparkling acoustic clarity. The main difference is that the Neo-D02 is passive. Encased in an attractive earth-tone injection-molded shell, this low profile Fishman Pickup comes complete and ready-to-use with an integral 10' cable. Installs with cork-lined clamps.

Fishman Pro-Neo-D01 Neodymium Magnetic Soundhole Pickup $59.99 A direct descendant of Fishman's acclaimed Rare Earth pickup, the Pro-Neo-D01 Magnetic Soundhole Pickup shares the same neodymium magnets and coil technology. The main difference is that the Pro-Neo-D01 is passive. Encased in an attractive earth-tone injection-molded shell, this Fishman Pickup comes complete and ready-to-use with an integral 10' cable. Installs with cork-lined clamps.

DiMarzio Elemental DP134 Acoustic Soundhole Pickup $64.95 The warm-toned DiMarzio Elemental Soundhole Pickup is sensitive to differences in picking attack and detects the change in tone as the right hand moves along the string length. This makes the Elemental a pickup particularly suited to fingerpicking styles with small and medium-size guitars. Like the Super Natural Plus, the Elemental installs easily with foam-insulated mounting brackets. 12 adjustable pole pieces allow precise string balance. Convenient slide volume control and 12-foot cable.