Pickups are responsible for detecting the vibrations made by the guitar string and transforming them into electrical signals to amplify them.
For this reason, the pickups are extremely important to ensure seamless music production in guitars as it impacts the quality and clarity of the sound.
LR Baggs Lyric and K&K Pure Mini are widely acclaimed pickups, and both of them have unique features.
Comparing the K&K Pure Mini vs LR Baggs Lyric
| Features | K&K Pure Mini | LR Baggs Lyric |
|---|---|---|
| Preamp | Not included in packaging | Built-in endpin |
| Pickup system | Piezo | None |
| Output | Mono jack | Not specified |
| Active or passive | Passive | Active |
K&K Pure Mini
Pure Mini by K&K is a signature and award-winning pickup that’s specifically designed for an acoustic guitar and steel-string guitar.
This is a three-head and bridge plate transducer, which promises flat and highly balanced sound transmission. This is why it’s able to produce warm and woody sound without any clarity issues.
In fact, Pure Mini has a dynamic range over the frequency spectrum of the guitar, which makes it suitable for different music styles.
1. Design
This pickup is designed with a bridge plate design, which makes it a suitable choice for people who want to produce natural and rich sound.
With this pickup, the bridge plate is properly installed to deliver an apt balance of sound and has the capacity to pick up guitar strings without any percussiveness and harshness.
The pickup can be used for amplifying the guitar’s unique characteristics. As a result, the pickups are able to capture the full-range signals that promise warm sound, even if you don’t use a preamp.
It boasts extremely simple installation because all you need is the superglue gel to install it directly to the guitar to ensure optimal performance.
This is actually a passive system designed for steel-string and acoustic guitars and has an endpin jack. There are no onboard electronics or batteries in this system because it’s a transducer-based system.
The pickup is quite affordable and promises value for money. It has a discreet and minimal design. The pickup is designed to offer flatter sound transmission and balanced sound.
While it can be installed with the gel, it’s recommended to get it installed by a professional. The pickup comes pre-wired, so you don’t need to do any soldering, and promises a higher output.
It is also available with the volume control add-on, so you can increase or decrease the pickup volume. The pickup comes with a belt clip to ensure better control over the pickup.
2. Sound
The pickup promises rich and full sound and can produce enough output to drive the majority of PA systems and amps. Pure Mini is sufficient for picking up the acoustic tones that capture the character and warmth of the guitar.
It produces a bright sound and goes well with various music genres without extra tweaking and EQ changes, but it has to be connected to the microphone.
It can be used for direct recording, making it suitable for people who don’t have a silent recording area. The sound or tone produced by this pickup is transparent and natural.
Since it’s a passive pickup, you need to connect it with the DI to boost the signal quality. In addition, connecting the DI will help you acquire the tone-shaping controls, so you can tweak the sound accordingly.
It works quite well with small-bodied and large-bodied instruments as long as they are acoustic guitars.
The pickup is designed to pick up the audio signals from the guitar’s body rather than the strings, which is the reason behind the natural tone. It can be used to play mellow styles and will lead to a full-bodied sound.
However, the midrange frequencies are bloated. Overall, it’s a good choice for guitars that create excessive sound when strummed, but you must connect an amp to equalize the sound.
Pros
- Affordable
- Quick and easier installation
- No need for batteries
- Natural and acoustic sound
Cons
- It doesn’t have a volume control
LR Baggs Lyric
The pickup has bridge-plate mounting and special film sensors, which improves the quality of sound. The pickup has been designed with the Tru-Mic technology and combines a condenser mic and under-saddle pickup.
The mic is placed 3mm away from a soundboard, which promises higher gain before the feedback incurs. The pickup is extremely easy to install.
However, make sure there is a hole for drilling in the endpin jack, or else you will have to opt for professional installation.
1. Design
The pickup is mounted directly on the bridge plate with the help of a stick-on pad. The mic is placed away from the soundboard, resulting in high gain.
The pickup has been designed with noise-cancellation technology which is meant to neglect the boxy sound reflections within the acoustic chamber.
This technology also allows this mic to work as if it was outside the guitar, leading to an open and clear sound performance.
It has promising volume control and is designed with adjustable mic presence control, so you can adjust the high-end response of the music according to the music style.
When connected to the preamp, it has to be connected to the output jack enclosure. In addition, the circuit design of this pickup tightens up the low frequency and maintains the sweetness of the mic.
The pickup has presence and volume controls, but there is no notch filter or phase switch, which is why it’s only suitable for beginners. This is a compact pickup and has a built-in microphone that measures less than 2-inches.
In addition, the pickup has a remote presence or volume control unit which is connected to the sound hole’s edge and an output jack that’s connected to the tail block of the guitar.
It also has a battery bag to keep the battery safe. It has straightforward and minimal wiring, which runs from the mic to the output jack and preamp. Also, the clips are used for keeping the wiring in place.
To connect the mic to the bridge plate, you need to remove the protective cover of the mount, but you won’t need additional glue.
In addition, it is designed with volume and presence control to change the frequency and treble effect. It can capture the overtones and natural resonance of the guitar.
The presence control has a “set and forget” feature, which helps achieve sufficient response for a variety of guitars.
2. Sound
This pickup is known to produce a classy, crispy, and balanced sound. In addition, it can be used with the DAW software, which leads to accurate sound tweaking.
The pickup has a feedback-resistant design, but it can create a squealing sound when used at full level.
There are various output, tuner, and preamp features to make sure you don’t need third-party equipment for modifying the sound. Every stage of EQ can have a different impact on the sound.
It is a suitable choice for musicians who want to create mic and studio-like tonality at home, even if the surrounding is noisy and the audio can be directly transferred to the recording software. All in all, it can amplify the music.
The pickup has been designed to capture the full range of projection and resonance while the circuitry promises maximum gain and tight low frequency.
In addition, it can reject excessive reflection, leading to natural, dynamic, and warm tones. For this reason, the pickup can be used for on-stage as well as studio performances.
Pros
- In-depth sound
- Easier installation
- Rejects feedback and background noise
- Dynamic tones
Cons
- None
The Final Verdict
Pure Mini is a promising choice for people who have a steel-string acoustic guitar and want to create clean and natural tones.
On the other hand, LR Baggs is suggested for musicians who want to achieve maximum gain and tighter low frequencies while creating warm and dynamic tones.
i find the K&K to be extraordinarily top sensitive. i had one installed in a Gibson Hummingbird, and had it removed shortly after a gig and replaced with the lyric. i am often in a situation where i don’t have lot of set up time, and the Lyric, like it’s Baggs cousin the Anthem SL are really great Plug and Play. thinking about removing another (my 3rd) K&K and once again replacing it with the Lyric. i just don’t really want to have to buy outboard gear to make the K&K sound good in a live situation. Rick
The pickup has bridge-plate mounting and special film sensors, which improves the quality of sound. The pickup has been designed with the Tru-Mic technology and combines a condenser mic and under-saddle pickup.
The Lyric does not have an under-saddle pickup, only the mic.
I use the knk on 2 classical guitars, it ain’t perfect that’s for sure but it’s simple as a system as long as you have a gain boost. I use my electric guitar pedal ( creation audio Labs holy fire) and it works marvellously. I also have the LR BAGS element in a guitalele. It sounds powerful and I agree with your expression and conclusion. I think in a full band setting the LRB makes the most sense because of its enormous output and Less feedback issues where is the k and k will have feedback issues and least you pair it with a good preamp that has not controls or just use a high-quality graphic EQ pedal.
I like both systems but as I am a classical guitarist looking for a compromised natural sound I would go for the k and k in my nylon guitars in future.