acoustic pickup

I've got a Korean made Fender Redondo (http://www.42nd.net/strat/acoustic.htm) it's the 3rd one down. I love the sound of this guitar and would like to add an acoustic pickup to it, but I have no idea where to start. I've heard a dean markley (the one that looks like a wooden block), but it sounded terrible compaired to the takamini's played by it. I'll probably eventually get a Taylor 812ce, but until I get rich, I want to try to add a pickup to the already amazing guitar I've got. Any experience and advice with these type pickups will be greatly appreciated.

Check out Fishman Rare Earth pickups. The pickup is a slim piece of metal that fits under your saddle, and the jack replaces your strap button, which means that your acoustic will look almost exactly the same as before (except for a new shiny metal strap button). Jon Broderick wrote up a little review on it a (long) while back, if I remember correctly. Also, I believe that the pickup has a gain control on the input jack.

Fishman also makes a pickup that has a plastic control box which gets fitted into your guitar (scary!!!!). I wouldn't be comfortable with sawing a rectangular hole into the side of my guitar, but some people like the convenience of having the controls right there and the battery is much easier to replace that way.

If you need just a quick fix and aren't a total tone freak, there are some decent soundhole pickups out there (e.g. Seymour Duncan). The problem with this is that the cable runs outside the body and rubs up against it. The plus, though, is that the pickup helps fight feedback.

Sorry, no reviews, all I've done is a lot of research in my quest to find a good acoustic pickup. After a while, I finally decided that, when it's time, I'll get a separate guitar with a mike/pickup in it (e.g. Takamine, Yamaha, Simon & Patrick). The guitar would cost less than putting a full-blown Fishman pickup in my trusty Yamaha FG412S, which BTW, is 7 years old and sounds better with each passing day...

I've used several types of acoustic PU over the years. The worst I have come across have been the contact mics that you stick to the body, they are horrible! The best have been the saddle Pizo style iamthe_eggman was on about. Im using a saddle pizo at the moment and I really like it.

Another option is the good old SM57 or a condenser mic. Careful positioning can yield really nice results however it means no moving about !

I have a SM57 mic that I've recorded with a few times and got fairly good results for what I'm working with. I've also tried using the 57 through a small PA that I've got, but there's usually too much vibration. the eq can help this some, but not at loud volumes. I'll probably just take my guitar to the music store and play with a few to see which one I like best. Thanks for the help!

I thought for sure Jon would have given his review by now... maybe I'll search in the archives in a little while for it, but in the meantime:

GuitarNuts.com review of Rare Earth soundhole pickup

This is a review of the humbucking soundhole pickup. The guy who runs this page, John Atchley, is a real cool guy who really knows his stuff. Actually, I've wondered for a while now if John Atchley and Lordathastrings are the same person, but I don't think so, since I believe John lives in the US.