[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

In my experience, from standard installation procedures for the two, the Trance has more bass response and a more complex overall tone, and does so without EQing the living heck out of the system. There must be a reason that Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, and Sheryl Crow use Trance systems, and it sure can't be that they get cash for endorsing Trance products because I get the feeling that Trance is the best-kept secret in acoustic-guitar amplification.

The Schatten HFN Artist Plus 2, which I have installed in my Martin D-18, needs significant +Bass EQing to sound decent. This HFN, top-of-the-line system has a soundhole-module with two Volume controls, Channel 1 for the as-supplied HFN, and Channel 2 for an additional pickup source of some sort, which I feel is necessary to get a really good amplified tone from the system.

Jackson, Neil and Paul are three of the most notorious tone-chasers in the trade. They demand perfection. I first heard the Trance at a JB solo show in 2007 and it turned my head around. Haven't looked back since....

scott memmer