Pickup suggestions for a Mandolin

[Scott Liebers]

I’m a fan of the LR Baggs Radius pickup. It mounts to the outside of the top with a sticky gel that allows it to be removed easily, or moved to find the optimum pickup spot. To my ears, it’s one of the best sounding. I’ve installed and used K&K twin pickups. They don’t sound as good, and require super gluing two transducers to the inside of the top. That part I don’t care for. If you install the Radius, I recommend drilling the jack hole in the instrument and tailpiece to mount the 1/4″ jack. The included carpenter/violin chinrest style mount is cumbersome, damages finish, and often falls off during gigs.

[Daniel Rohr Minnesota Guitar Repair]

I’m a fan of any of the K&K options there’s usually a solution there. They’re in Washington state they’ve been responsive to emails for technical questions also.