NPUD - Schatten HFN Active

[lmacmil]

I was looking for something different than the K&K I have in two other guitars. I wanted an active pickup but not the sound hole type. Was considering a UST until I learned about the Schatten HFN (http://www.schattendesign.com/index.htm). This is a piezo pickup mounted on a rosewood “bridge” that is mounted on the bridge plate under the saddle. I got the active model with an endpin preamp and tone & volume controls. Installed it (my first pickup installation) in a grand auditorium size Walden G640 (solid spruce top, laminated mahogany back/sides.) The Walden is, imo, a good but not great sounding guitar and a very good value.

In order to mount it directly under the saddle as recommended, I made a fixture from a piece of cardboard which was held in place by the two E string bridge pins. The fixture was cut so that when I put the pickup against it, it was aligned directly under the saddle. It seemed to work.

I have a Gibson Gospel reissue and a Larrivee OM-03 with K&K PWMs which I generally run thru the Pure preamp. Both sound quite good in my opinion and I have gotten compliments on the sound of both. I also have EG-series Tak which sounds to me, like the typical Tak, i.e., not bad but kind of “metallic” sounding. I generally find the Taylor plugged in sound to be my favorite amplified acoustic sound based on the open mics I attend.

After 15-20 minutes of playing (plugged directly into my mixer), I like Walden/Schatten sound. Although the only review I read said it was a bright pickup, I did not find that to be the case. In fact, it seemed to emphasize the bass and made the guitar sound bassier than it is acoustically. Not a bad thing since the smaller bodies typically give up some bass vs the dreads. The tone control rolls off the highs though it sounded fine all the way up. The volume control was linear until about 75% of the way up, then it was almost like a boost kicked in.

My personal playing experience with acoustic electrics is limited to the models I mentioned above. I am not a connoisseur of amplified acoustic tone but I know what I like and I like the Schatten a lot. I would not hesitate to recommend it as an alternative to the K&K based on my limited experience. I’ll also throw in a plug for Bluestar Music. http://www.bluestarmusic.com/Default.aspx I bought the pickup from them via their Ebay listing. I purchased it on a Thursday and had it on Saturday (free shipping). California to Indiana in 2 days!

[philjs]

Glad this worked for you, Lee. As you know, I'm a big fan of the Schatten HFN pickups...great sound and easy to install.

Phil