Pick-up vs Microphone

I prefer microphone, specifically a pencil condensor for instruments. i used to place it over my left shoulder so I record the sound of the guitar I hear. I dislike the quack sound of undersaddle pickups, one of the reasons I was willing to rip out the preamp in my Amber Trail and make a SoundPort.

I greatly prefer a mic, but my guitars have pickups out of self defense. If I'm playing in a group where others are plugged in, I will use my pickups, but for a solo or duo gig or a gig where others are not plugged in, I much prefer a mic.
I recall the first time I saw Doc Watson plugged in. It was at a bluegrass festival and his act was the only plugged act. It sounded terrible. I had seen him play acoustic before and he sounded great, but plugged in it was twangy and quacky and sounded like a cheap electric guitar. I was not the only one who thought this judging from the crowd chatter.
A couple of years later I heard him plugged and it sounded much better. He had either gotten a better pickup or the sound tech knew what (s)he was doing.
Pickups are still frowned upon at bluegrass festivals and except for Newgrass groups, they are not often used.
There are many pros who prefer playing into a mic. Gilian Welch, John Hammond, Country Joe MacDonald, David Rawlings, Norman Blake. . .still use a mic. In a magazine interview, Tony Rice said, "Any interviewer who asks me what kind of pickup I use has never been to one of my shows."

TonyKgull said, "But, there are just too many situations where doing that would be impossible, or at least very difficult, due to feedback and etc issues caused by the microphones."
Go back and look at TV shows and videos from the past and you'll see that before the advent of "acoustic pickups" there was not a huge feedback/sound issue. Sound techs were used to working with mics and did a great job.
If everyone else in the band is plugged in, then you won't really have a choice, but. . .

I don't think you will find anyone that prefers the sound quality of a pic-up over a mic.
I sure don't. But like has been said, sometimes you have little choice.

There is a big difference in pic-up quality.
The first big difference is between active and passive systems.
Active will require a battery of some type and normally allow some sort of tonal adjustment.
In my experience passive is almost useless if you want an acoustic sound.

I'm with Tony in that I think the better systems blend the sound from more than one pic-up.
My "best" pic-up system is in one of my Epiphone Masterbilts, it is a dual pic-up system.
I get a just passable signal from my Epiphone AJ-45 ME.

You can Mic your guitar as well with the Roland Mobile AC - mic'd guitar output into guitar input, Mic into Mic input (with adapter mentioned in other thread).

Check out Roland AC 33, AC 40, AC 60, and AC 90 models, if you want more options - the AC 33 runs on batteries, and comes with AC adapter... 😉

Garland,

 Yes collecting can be great fun, and if you get a good trade in deals, it can work out not to expensive and you can end up with something great, but don't forget the playing.

Another reason I prefer a mic is the option of "playing the mic". When I take a break, I can step up close to the mic and when I'm backing others, I can step back.
It is not necessary to get a condenser mic (except for recording). An affordable mic like the SM57 and SM58 (under $150) seem to be the industry standard and they are almost indestructible while you'll never drop a condenser more than once.

There are sound techs who don't always try to get an acoustic sound. They are happy with a twangy, louder than necessary sound from an acoustic guitar.

Garland, Do you want to record your guitar and vocals separately or at the same time?

If you want to play and sing and capture your vocals and guitar at the same time in one shot, I'd suggest getting a condenser mic of some sort to your liking and/or budget.  But, you know, get the best quality you can afford.

If you're recording separately; for doing multi-track recording, then a more traditional mic would work better.  Although, when doing it that way, it's actually better to have 3 mics: 1 for your voice and two pencil mics for your guitar.   Or even two specific kinds of condensers for your guitar.

Oh man, when getting into recording, ...that's a whole can of worms one can almost never find that bottom of actually.  LOL.  It's fun though!