MIMF

I need advice on an inexpensive pickup to plug an acoustic guitar into a pa. Not sure what's best.

My vote goes to K & K. I think they are the best bang for the buck.

I recently installed a Baggs I-Beam in a OO sized acoustic and really like it. It has a warmer sound that a piezo, and you don't have to mess with saddle height. I have heard good comments about the K & K also.
Steve

K&K is the best. No under saddle strip to dampen the responsiveness. No battery. As loud as most active pickups.

A less expensive alternative to the K & K pure mini pickup is the Artist Series Prestige-330 pickup with the 15mm piezos from http://www.jjb-electronics.com. I have two K & K pure mini pickups and a JJB Prestige-330 pickup installed in my three of my acoustics, and they all sound great. I can't hear any difference, and the JJB is quite a bit cheaper. Check them out...

Andy

I have also used the JJB-Electronics pickups and the K&K Pure Western pickups, and like them both. The JJBs are quite a bit less expensive, and I can't hear a difference in the sound quality. I have also used Fishman Presys, under saddle pickup, and pre-amp system. The Fishman gives you added controls on the guitar which is nice, but you have to cut a large hole in the guitar side for the pre-amp. I found the Fishman Presys systems on Ebay for about $ 60.00. I also just tried a Joyo pre-amp system that is just like the Presys (in fact it is the exact size, right down to the mounting hole locations) which was dirt cheap $ 11.00 on Ebay. It functions just like the standard Presys (not the Presys blend which has a built in mic, and a blend knob to ballance the sound between the mic and under saddle). So far I am happy with the Joyo. it sounds very natural and clean. I didn't expect much, (because it was so cheap), but I like it. I have to add, that my older brother (who is a professional musican) says he can hear the difference, and only want's the Fishman Matric under saddle with a pre-amp. The Fishman Matric is about $200.00, and the pre-amps are about $200. as well. There lots of other options, but these are the ones I have used. I hope this helps.

I bought some piezo discs from a scientific clearing house years ago for pennies each. Some thing similar to these http://www.ebay.com/itm/20-New-20mm-BRA ... _786wt_952 I just wired them to a jack.Their output was high enough not to require a preamp. Their impedances was typically 1-2 MegOhm, so using a preamp would match your amplifier imepedance better and give a better frequency response. This is fairly true with most piezo pick ups. Well worth the pennies I payed for them.