Paul Simon & the Trance Audio Amulet M

[MaurysMusic]

According to Bill Asher, it looks like ol' "Rhymin' Simon is on-board now. He's using the Amulet M, according to a Facebook post by Trance Audio's Gary Hull. Very cool.

[TOCS]

And apparently a custom wireless model, too. Probably something people have to consider as well, before buying this system.

[Petty1818]

I tried to listen to clips of Paul playing over the past month to see how the Trance sounds but the quality of the videos is poor. There are a couple good ones though. The only issue with the Trance that I keep hearing is this weird mid range, almost magnetic quality to the pickup. That's a terrible way to explain it but when I listen to Dazzo or K&K pickups, I hear a woodier, more natural tone. It's the only thing that has kept me from ordering the Amulet M so far.

[MaurysMusic]

Originally Posted by TOCS

And apparently a custom wireless model, too. Probably something people have to consider as well, before buying this system.

Technically, sure. But it's not like going wireless adds any sonic benefit that cable-using Trance users should need a disclaimer for. If anything, I'd bet good money that wireless will never trump wired when it comes to signal chain fidelity.

[MaurysMusic]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

I tried to listen to clips of Paul playing over the past month to see how the Trance sounds but the quality of the videos is poor. There are a couple good ones though. The only issue with the Trance that I keep hearing is this weird mid range, almost magnetic quality to the pickup. That's a terrible way to explain it but when I listen to Dazzo or K&K pickups, I hear a woodier, more natural tone. It's the only thing that has kept me from ordering the Amulet M so far.

I'm not sure what's in there that tells your brain "mag", but if you're not loving what you're hearing, it just might be a pickup that's not for you. I hear more midrange in the Trance than I do in the K&K but nothing non-musical to my ears. I haven't heard enough Dazzo yet to form an opinion but I think I like that system too.

[Vancebo]

Maury, I have heard some great stories from Teddy about the Trance and Dazzo. In a way, they both had their beginnings from the old FRAP. The two share some similarities in the way they function. Without giving details, there is a reason that the Trance by design will naturally cut through a band mix easier than a Dazzo. The Dazzo, also by design, should sound more woody. It's all about what's inside the little triangle or rectangular prism that makes it that way.

Btw, I have posted a few clips from my iPhone recently of Teddy and his Dazzo equipped 1945 Gibson with everything set flat.

As for the OP, Paul Simon probably made a great choice of pickup for his needs.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by Vancebo

Maury, I have heard some great stories from Teddy about the Trance and Dazzo. In a way, they both had their beginnings from the old FRAP. The two share some similarities in the way they function. Without giving details, there is a reason that the Trance by design will naturally cut through a band mix easier than a Dazzo. The Dazzo, also by design, should sound more woody. It's all about what's inside the little triangle or rectangular prism that makes it that way.

Btw, I have posted a few clips from my iPhone recently of Teddy and his Dazzo equipped 1945 Gibson with everything set flat.

As for the OP, Paul Simon probably made a great choice of pickup for his needs.

Could you post the link to those videos? Thanks!

[Cams]

That's great news. I saw him two years ago in Glasgow and his tone was awful.

[TOCS]

Originally Posted by MaurysMusic

Technically, sure. But it's not like going wireless adds any sonic benefit that cable-using Trance users should need a disclaimer for. If anything, I'd bet good money that wireless will never trump wired when it comes to signal chain fidelity.

No doubt, my post was mostly directed towards people who buys the system because they think it fits natively into their wireless setup.

I don't personally play wireless, yet, but should the day come, it would be nice to have support for it.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by MaurysMusic

I'm not sure what's in there that tells your brain "mag", but if you're not loving what you're hearing, it just might be a pickup that's not for you. I hear more midrange in the Trance than I do in the K&K but nothing non-musical to my ears. I haven't heard enough Dazzo yet to form an opinion but I think I like that system too.

It's definitely a difficult tone to describe. It almost has that UST, rubber band sound to it. The thing is, I hated the Anthem clips online until I tried it. I have tried the Amulet M once in a Gibson guitar and it was very nice. I am just not sure if it was nicer than the K&K, which to me has more of a woody/natural tone.

[Doubleneck]

Would this be the Trace? It's 2016 but he has a cord?
https://youtu.be/T0tmgmBBm4E

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by Doubleneck

Would this be the Trace? It's 2016 but he has a cord?
https://youtu.be/T0tmgmBBm4E

I don't believe so. That sounds like the Fishman Matrix that Simon has been using for years. Also, according to the Trance Audio Facebook page, it was only within the last month that Simon switched to the Trance Amulet M system.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by MaurysMusic

According to Bill Asher, it looks like ol' "Rhymin' Simon is on-board now. He's using the Amulet M, according to a Facebook post by Trance Audio's Gary Hull. Very cool.

I feel Gary Hull needs to start advertising his Trance Audio Amulet products if they're ever going to gain traction with a large number of players. The pickup of choice amongst AGF'ers seems to be the K&K Pure Mini coupled with a RedEye or K&K preamp and that pretty much adds up to the cost of a Trance Audio Amulet M Dual Mono System. Folks balk at the cost of paying $279 for the basic Trance Amulet M, yet they buy the K&K for $100 and then add an external preamp that costs anywhere from $100 to $1000 to get it to sound good. The other negative leveled at Trance Amulet products is that they have an onboard preamp and people don't seem to want that in their guitars when it's actually beneficial to have it there to maintain signal purity. The Trance systems are pretty much non-invasive whereas the K&K Pure Mini uses transducers slathered-up with superglue. Then there's the great headroom and ultra-low distortion the Trance systems offer. It seems even with Trance usage by several big-name performers, the systems just haven't caught on with the general population of guitarists who seek means of amplification because very few guitarists know Trance products even exist. Trance Amulet systems will never become widely used until Gary Hull leverages the qualities of his systems through advertising.*

P.S. Maybe, Gary Hull doesn't need to advertise because he gets enough orders for Trance products without having to do so? Don't know, maybe.

[bayoubengal]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

Could you post the link to those videos? Thanks!

I think Vancebo is referring to these two videos:

[MaurysMusic]

Originally Posted by bayoubengal

I think Vancebo is referring to these two videos:

That Blackbird Dazzo clip sounds really good!