FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

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Question:
My duet partner and I often play in public at a local coffee house or at art openings where we are engaged to play background classical guitar pieces, ranging from Renaissance/Baroque to modern S. American, and contemporary pieces. Since there is a lot of ambient noise in these situations, we have tried two solutions to amplify our classical guitars to give us a little juice (I play a 1964 classical De La Chica).  We've tried using both mikes, and Piezo pickups of the top mounted type.  We've been using a Peavey KB/A 100 amp. These solutions have not been very satisfactory.  The Piezo unit I tried, a Fishman Soundboard Pickup produced anemic sound (following the manufacturer’s recommendation for correct placement).  The mikes are on mike stands, don't permit freedom of movement, and the sound is inadequate. So we're ready to move to a different approach.... We like the sound of some of the acoustic electric classical guitars we've heard.- anyone have good experiences/recommendations for an acoustic electric classical guitar?  We've heard good things about Takamine (such as the CP-132SC) and Yamaha (CGX171CCA).  We'd prefer to purchase used instruments which have been well cared for. We also like the natural sound of amps built for acoustic guitar, such as the Peavey Acoustic 112.  Any thoughts?

Answer:
www.pick-uptheworld.com It's perfect for potted plant gigs, IMO. If you buy a new guitar you'll surely get yesterday's technology. Keep the guitar you have, and are used to, and invest in a quality pickup. PUTW's are what I use. All of the mp3's in my sigfile were done with PUTW pickups. No mics.