[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by dilver

I took a gamble and ordered the Schatten HFN Active for my now Element-less J-45. It’s REALLY good. Here’s a review:

Installation: the provided instructions are adequate. Getting the preamp/jack to the back of the guitar was made easier by passing a small dowel through the endpin hole, meeting and slipping the jack onto the dowel inside the guitar and then pulling it back out the endpin hole. If you’ve ever done this type of install before, it’s pretty easy. I matched the position of the nut on the old Baggs Element preamp jack and it fit perfectly.

Instructions for installing the pickup on the bridgeplate felt a little “random”. You attach the pickup on the bridgeplate directly under the saddle, using either double stick tape or putty (I went with tape). You then have to eyeball the position of the pickup based on feeling where you are in relation to the bridge pins. Luckily my bridge already had two pin holes in the saddle slot from where the stock Baggs Element was installed. With a bright light shining from above, these holes helped me position and line up the pickup under saddle. This seemed to work really well as I got a perfect balance across the strings, first try. I’ve heard some people have to go through trial and error positioning the pickup to get the balance just right, other instances in which they may not have pressed hard enough to make solid contact, and still other instances where the bridge plate wasn’t completely flat, requiring one to sand the feet of the pickup. I had none of these issues. Maybe I just got lucky, but installation was super easy and took about 20 minutes.

I got the active version with volume and tone controls. I was little concerned because in all the photos I’ve seen of this version, you can see the edge of the control plate through the sound hole. Not a good look. But I was able to fit the controls so that just the control wheels show, just like the original Baggs Element VTC. The wheels on the Schatten are a bit larger, but since I just have the very edges visible, it’s not noticeable.

Sound: it sounds awesome - I’m really happy with it. No piezo quack even if I dig in or snap the strings. There’s an airy quality to the tone that sounds very natural and realistic - like a loud acoustic guitar (duh). It can be a bit bright, but this can easily be cut. Interestingly, the volume control acts much like the volume pot in an electric guitar - if you turn it down, you lose some highs. In this instance, it’s helpful. I dial back the volume a touch and keep the tone full up. If I adjust my amp so that I get a good tone with these settings, I then have the ability to increase the volume a bit if I need to, and can cut some highs using the tone control. Between the volume and the tone controls, it’s a bit like having two tone controls. The pickup does pick up finger squeaks when playing fingerstyle. But for strumming it’s really great and it’s exponentially better sounding than the Element.

Volume: I got really good volume levels without feedback. There’s definitely a threshold where you get some howls, but this was only at really high volume and/or when I was right next to the speaker. But I could easily see myself playing a bar gig with this pickup. It’s nice and loud. An eq pedal would probably be really useful to dial out feedback at higher volumes. I don’t know if in a band setting another instrument would make the body resonate and cause feedback.

Value: I’m impressed. I got the active version with volume and tone controls from a Schatten dealer for $145.00 shipped. The K&K Pure Mini (passive) with a volume control runs about the same. I can’t even tell how much the comparable Dazzo is as it looks like the end pin jack is extra. The Schatten is just a good pickup at any price.

Overall Satisfaction: I’m digging this pickup as it meets all of my requirements:
- great sound. That’s really what matters most and this pickup sounds natural, clear and realistic - like a louder acoustic guitar. No quack!
- plug and play - no preamp necessary to sound good
- no supergluing to the bridgeplate
- onboard volume and tone controls
- non UST - I used to think it didn’t make a difference in acoustic tone to have something under the saddle. Once I removed the Element from my J-45, it changed my mind and I couldn’t go back.

The Schatten HFN is a great pickup that I hope others will give a try. I’m a believer!

You were probably wise to opt for the active version. I have a passive Schatten Design Dualie soundboard pickup in my classical, but the signal has to be cranked quite a bit to blend it with the passive Baggs Hex pickup in the same guitar. I’m picking up quite a bit of noise, in a 10’ cable, with the Dualie signal.

Eventually, I’ll either get a Schatten Design preamp for the Dualie or replace it with an active HFN.