Anyone have experience with Dazzo SBTs?

DupleMeter · #1 10-10-2015, 06:58 PM

Found a few incredible live sounds that I really liked...and in each case the Dazzo was a part of the signal chain.

http://www.dazzopickups.com/www.dazz...m/Welcome.html

Seems similar to the k&k philosophy...just wondering if any had any experience with the company. To be honest the website is just crappy enough to make me wonder about the company. But I'm intrigued by what I heard.

Thanks.

Br1ck · #2 10-11-2015, 01:23 AM

Rest assured, Teddy Randazzo makes really good pickups. He is a mad scientist type, not a businessman, hence the nature of his web site.

I have the good fortune to live very close to him and have had him put his pickups in two guitars. I'm taking a third to him this week. While similar to K & Ks, they sound better to me. They pick up sound not only from the top, but the sides too. They also come in various flavors. I have his 100s in a parlor, 90s in a 00, and may go to 70s for a dread. 100s have more bass. An experienced tech should do the installation. Teddy answers his phone.

I run my guitars into a RedEye, Teddy's recommended pre.

If they are good enough for Kottke, they are good enough for me,

bayoubengal · #3 10-11-2015, 01:27 AM

There are people on here who have high praise for them. I just bought a used one from a forum member that I plan to have installed in my Martin Tweedy 00-DB. I'm thinking I'm going to be happy with the results. I'll find out soon. I agree with you about the company website. Pretty cheesy.

Br1ck · #4 10-11-2015, 10:20 AM

Guys, the company is one person.

Petty1818 · #5 10-11-2015, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Guys, the company is one person.

True, but he has been marketing his pickups for quite some time now, I think a simple website update would be beneficial. I know I was turned off from trying his pickups due to the terrible website and the fact that his SBT numbers/versions are confusing.

One question though, how exactly does his SBT pickup the sides of the body as well? I am not trying to argue, I just don't understand how a bridge mounted pickup can also get the sides.

bayoubengal · #6 10-11-2015, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Guys, the company is one person.

I get that, but so am I! I'm not trying to be snarky here, but image on the internet is important to a business. I'm really excited about getting his pick up in my guitar and I want him to succeed. Perhaps a friend could help him with his website?

Br1ck · #7 10-11-2015, 10:40 AM

I didn't take your comment as snark, and agree his web site needs help.

Be advised you may not have the pickups that would be best for your guitar. You can call him directly. I don't know if he identifies his pickups...just want you to have a good experience, as I'm sure Teddy does.

I once asked my mason if he had a business card. He replied why does he need one, he is always busy. Maybe Teddy is selling all he can make, and I'm sure he doesn't trust someone else to do the job.

bayoubengal · #8 10-11-2015, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Br1ck

I didn't take your comment as snark, and agree his web site needs help.

Be advised you may not have the pickups that would be best for your guitar. You can call him directly. I don't know if he identifies his pickups...just want you to have a good experience, as I'm sure Teddy does.

I once asked my mason if he had a business card. He replied why does he need one, he is always busy. Maybe Teddy is selling all he can make, and I'm sure he doesn't trust someone else to do the job.

I hope he does sell them all as he makes them! Yeah, I knew I was taking a bit of a risk buying a one used. The price was good, and I decided to give it a shot based on the guitar the seller had it in. I will definitely give Teddy a call to get his opinion if things don't work out. I could keep this one for another guitar down the line. I would be fine with buying a new one if it need be.

sam.spoons · #9 10-11-2015, 11:42 AM

I like his website, sure it's not the most stylish but nor does it have lots of infuriating menus, popups, flash animations oar the rest of the paraphernalia your modern internet junkie demands. Simple and to the point.... I like that.

Doug Young · #10 10-11-2015, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petty1818

One question though, how exactly does his SBT pickup the sides of the body as well? I am not trying to argue, I just don't understand how a bridge mounted pickup can also get the sides.

It doesn't pick up the side of your guitar. Teddy's claim is that the pickup senses vibration in all 3 dimensions - something many pickups claim, so I think he means the sides of the *pickup* also sense motion. The guitar's vibrations are complex, so to the extent that it can be detected by a sensor on the bridge-plate, then I guess everything plays a role. But I don't think he's claiming he directly picks up the motion of the sides of the guitar. Essentially, the pickup is detecting motion/vibrations on the bridge-plate.

The Dazzo's can sound very good. Teddy says he's made some improvements since I last checked them out, and I hope to find time to drop by and get an update one of these days.

But here's 2 samples from my pickup tests, these are pretty old, with his #52 and #60 versions

A normal mono install:

http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/picku..._Dazzo_EQd.mp3

Here's my favorite, where I wired 2 dazzo's to a stereo jack, so I get a stereo effect:

http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/picku...Dazzos_EQd.mp3

El Conquistador · #11 10-11-2015, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Br1ck

I have the good fortune to live very close to him and have had him put his pickups in two guitars.

To the OP,
I do not enjoy criticizing peoples products, but, I do feel I need to at least offer my perspective here.

From all that I have read, the Dazzo pickups CAN be very good indeed, however, element placement is both crucial and quite tricky. Br1ck is lucky enough to have Mr. Randazzo's unique element placement knowledge available to him to futz around with the placement in his guitars until they achieve tone optimlzation.

It is becasue I have nobody near me who understands the intricacies of this crucial placement, that I have lost interest in this pickup.

Steve

Doug Young · #12 10-11-2015, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by El Conquistador

To the OP,
I do not enjoy criticizing peoples products, but, I do feel I need to at least offer my perspective here.

From all that I have read, the Dazzo pickups CAN be very good indeed, however, element placement is both crucial and quite tricky. Br1ck is lucky enough to have Mr. Randazzo's unique element placement knowledge available to him to futz around with the placement in his guitars until they achieve tone optimlzation.

It is becasue I have nobody near me who understands the intricacies of this crucial placement, that I have lost interest in this pickup.

Steve

That has been my past experience with Teddy's installs. I've spent the bulk of the afternoon with him several times installing a pickup, trying different once, moving them around, and so on. It's actually rather cool in many ways that you can fine tune the sound so well, and you could certainly do it yourself. It's also worth noting that this isn't unique to Dazzo's. Most SBTs are like this. You aren't told to do with this K&Ks, and the install process, with superglue that sticks the moment you make contact prevents it, but it could well be that even K&Ks could be dialed in with positioning. Certainly Trance is another that is known to be placement sensitive, as is every other SBT I know of.

There's also an element of Teddy being a "mad scientist" type, and if you wanted to try an early Dazzo, you're being part of an experimental/custom kind of thing.

BUT, in the conversation I had with Teddy a couple of weeks ago, he said he no longer does that, and actually has a jig he uses to place the pickups, and he said they now simply go in the same place every time, no tweaking necessary. I have yet to get over there to see a demo, but it sounds like the lengthy custom placement may be a thing of the past.

El Conquistador · #13 10-11-2015, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug Young

BUT, in the conversation I had with Teddy a couple of weeks ago, he said he no longer does that, and actually has a jig he uses to place the pickups, and he said they now simply go in the same place every time, no tweaking necessary. I have yet to get over there to see a demo, but it sounds like the lengthy custom placement may be a thing of the past.

This, IMHO, is a giant step forward for these pickups.

Steve

Doug Young · #14 10-11-2015, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by El Conquistador

This, IMHO, is a giant step forward for these pickups.

Steve

I think it's a huge step for Teddy, there's no way he could make money with the amount of personal attention he provides. For customers, maybe, maybe not. It depends on if you like things custom and personalized, like in a hand-built guitar, where you can dial in something 100% for you, or prefer to just buy stuff that's mostly right for most people. The good thing is that I suspect you can still do either with the Dazzos.

Vancebo · #15 10-11-2015, 01:57 PM

Just had a conversation this week with Teddy over email. One question I asked him was about dual sourcing it with a microphone. His response was that would be unnecessary since the pickup itself was already mic like. Using Dougs pickup test as example I would come to that conclusion as well. I agree he could probably stand to have an upgrade to his website.