OldePhart
Well-known member
I stopped at Guitar Center in Nashville TN on the way to UWC and picked up an inexpensive Dean Markley soundboard transducer acoustic guitar pickup in case I wanted to run my KoAloha through my effects board.
I ended up not using the effects or the transducer, and had almost forgotten I'd purchased it. So, I tried it out today. It's the inexpensive "Artist Transducer" model and is intended for temporary use - attaches with sticky tack and has a long chord and plug instead of a jack. I think it cost me about twenty bucks.
Placement is supposedly pretty critical on these things - at least on a guitar where moving them around can drastically change the response. I just stuck it right behind the bridge between the C and E strings. I was pleasantly surprised - the sound was pretty natural - I think maybe more natural than most USTs I've used. There was a little more noise than from most USTs, but not terrible.
The sound was pretty open, I didn't feel like fooling with moving it around to optimize the response but I might on a day when I have more time.
As near as I can tell the biggest drawbacks were more related to the temporary nature of the device than to the sound. That long chord is a real nuisance when you aren't using the pickup so you pretty much have to remove the pickup after every use. The sticky tack was pretty aggressive - it held better than I expected. It also tried to leave a residue behind. The residue wouldn't rub off with a finger but did come off after rubbing with a bit of Renaissance wax.
I think there might be a permanent, inside mount, soundboard transducer in my future. I liked the sound of this than I do USTs, and this was about the cheapest soundboard transducer out there.
John
I ended up not using the effects or the transducer, and had almost forgotten I'd purchased it. So, I tried it out today. It's the inexpensive "Artist Transducer" model and is intended for temporary use - attaches with sticky tack and has a long chord and plug instead of a jack. I think it cost me about twenty bucks.
Placement is supposedly pretty critical on these things - at least on a guitar where moving them around can drastically change the response. I just stuck it right behind the bridge between the C and E strings. I was pleasantly surprised - the sound was pretty natural - I think maybe more natural than most USTs I've used. There was a little more noise than from most USTs, but not terrible.
The sound was pretty open, I didn't feel like fooling with moving it around to optimize the response but I might on a day when I have more time.
As near as I can tell the biggest drawbacks were more related to the temporary nature of the device than to the sound. That long chord is a real nuisance when you aren't using the pickup so you pretty much have to remove the pickup after every use. The sticky tack was pretty aggressive - it held better than I expected. It also tried to leave a residue behind. The residue wouldn't rub off with a finger but did come off after rubbing with a bit of Renaissance wax.
I think there might be a permanent, inside mount, soundboard transducer in my future. I liked the sound of this than I do USTs, and this was about the cheapest soundboard transducer out there.
John