[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

I think if I had it all to do again with my passive pickups, I would consider Dazzos.

As of now, they’re all very settled in with the K&K. The Dazzo sounds like a semi-pre equalized K&K to me. The mids are reduced to a more normal level and the highs are stronger. Evidently the size of the set determines the bass response. It’s certainly a smart way to do it.

That said we are both enjoying the benefits of a passive system. I was sharing with Aaron today my thoughts on Anthem and Anthem SL. I was commenting that artists like Trey Hensley have standardized on the Anthem SL and get a great sound. My concern with any of those systems is the amount of stuff inside the guitar. I can hear it in the acoustic tone. It always seems to suffer when I install those system. However, if you’re a performing artist, who cares? It’s your bread and butter and the guitar is a tool. What’s a 10-20% change in tone? Nothing.

But if you’re like me and have a few (precious to you) instruments that you need to play out with occasionally, you want to do everything you can to get every “iota” of acoustic tone from your investment. In this case the passive sound board transducers accomplish exactly that, not to mention they sound very good at modest stage volumes.

My thoughts: As a mostly solo singer/guitarist over many years, I've always depended on having a strong but clear alternating bass register with a clear midrange and clear treble but it all has to sound warm too in that I combine bass, chords, and melodies within my playing style. Artists who reach the pinnacles of their genre usually have bands to back them--and with excellent musicians too!--so they don't have to depend on their amplified acoustic guitar tone as much as a solo performer with no soundman or band to help them out. Then again, if an artist identifies as being an excellent guitarist they'll also have an excellent amplified acoustic guitar setup, and that's icing on their cake as long as the soundman can make it consistently happen for them within a band and large-venue format.