iSolo Acoustic Guitar Pickup System

[Tone Disciple]

So I got this beautiful Kinnaird Westcoast guitar with a sinker redwood top and African blackwood back and sides. I want to put an acoustic pickup system in it and I have been looking at my current options and I would like your opinions.

I have become intrigued with the features of the iSolo Acoustic Guitar Pickup system and the opportunities it presents to be combined easily with other acoustic pickups. Before we go further, check out this video -



Here is what I like about the iSolo pickup/acoustic mic.

1. Its is a non-invasive installation requiring no internal wiring or cable jack to use.

2. One pickup can so easily be swapped in and out of a guitar that just one pickup could be purchased to use with all 5 of my acoustic guitars.

3. The opportunity to use it in combo with the other existing pickups in my guitars is very interesting. Check this strategy out in the video above.

Because the iSolo is wireless you can easily plug the receiver into a different input on the amp or PA.. Blending pickups then gives more dynamic range to your sound.

I have an Amulet in my Lowden, and K&K Pure Minis in my 2 R Taylors. My Collings and my new Kinnaird do not currently have a pickup system installed. So I like the idea that on iSolo could be used in any of these guitars.

4. The bracket shown in the video for use in the sound hole below demonstrates how easy it would be to swap the iSolo out from one guitar to another.



Cost seems to be $349. Here are my concerns with this product.

1. Made in Taiwan - how durable and reliable can we expect it to be?

2. How easy and accessible is the company for repair and service?

3. What issues does the use of bluetooth/wireless do to limit its use in certain venues or situations?

I think this looks very cool, but I would like to hear your thoughts. Anyone have much experience with the iSolo here?

[Doug Young]

I reviewed it for AG a while back, it was a pretty impressive system, seemed well made, sounded good. I did not try the soundhole mount, the version I had attached to the top with a static cling kind of thing. I only had it briefly for the review, so I can't comment on support or durability. It doesn't use Bluetooth if I recall, they had their own wireless protocol, which is good, I think, based on my experience with bluetooth elsewhere. Seems worth checking out if a mic will work for you. Keep in mind that it is a mic, so all pros and cons associated with using mics for live performance will apply - more realistic sound than most pickups, but potential issues with feedback and bleed.You probably want a decent PA system to take full advantage of any mic.

[Tone Disciple]

Great comments! Thanks Doug.

I thought one of the innovations in this product was the position so close to the top that reduces the opportunity for feedback and the tuning of the mic so it reflected back the tones the can make internal pickups sound boxy and create feedback.

Did you not feel like it worked better than other internal pics in that regards?

[Tone Disciple]

So my choices for a pickup system for the Kinnaird are really between the iSolo and the LR Baggs Lyric. My saddle on the Kinnaird is pretty thick bone and John Kinnaird said he did not think it would take a piezo undersaddle pickup too well.

Doug - I saw your video demo of the Baggs Anthem system, but if that is not an option due to the piezo what do you think of the Lyric?

[jkilgour2000]

I'm also very interested in this .. but have yet to pull the trigger on a purchase. It seems like an awesome product.

[Tone Disciple]

The demos are really well done. It looks very versatile and between the bracket for using it in the sound hole location and the 'magic carpet' for mounting it on the instrument itself it looks like it is easy to use with different instruments.

But I am concerned because it looks like a relatively new product from a company I am not that familiar with.

The other option I was looking at was the LR Baggs Lyric system which has also gotten good reviews and sound great in the demos, but I would have to get one Lyric for each guitar that needed a pickup. True, I would only need one DI box/preamp and I have been looking at the Baggs Venue for that.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by Tone Disciple

Great comments! Thanks Doug.

I thought one of the innovations in this product was the position so close to the top that reduces the opportunity for feedback and the tuning of the mic so it reflected back the tones the can make internal pickups sound boxy and create feedback.

Did you not feel like it worked better than other internal pics in that regards?

I didn't have a chance to try the iSolo in a live setting, but predicting feedback behavior is tricky, since it depends on so many factors. Agreed that one of the ideas of all these mic attachments is the mic is closer to the guitar, so you can use less gain, reducing both feedback and bleed, but it's all relative. At some volume level any mic (any pickup for that matter), will feedback. If you play solo, at modest levels, with a good sound system, in a room with good acoustics, etc, etc, then a mic works great. All things being equal, you probably get a bit better feedback control with one of these guitar-mounted mics than a mic on a stand, just because you probably can't maintain a distance of a few inches with a stand-mounted mic.

Internal pickups are another issue - a UST should have less feedback than an external mic. Very generally speaking, what you have is:

"Natural" sound quality, best to worst:
mic -> SBT -> UST -> Mag

Feedback rejection, best to worst:
Mag -> UST -> SBT -> mic

But with huge variations on this due to individual situations. One approach is to go dal source, so something like a UST+mic (internal or external). Then, depending on the situation, you use more or less of the mic.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by Tone Disciple

So my choices for a pickup system for the Kinnaird are really between the iSolo and the LR Baggs Lyric. My saddle on the Kinnaird is pretty thick bone and John Kinnaird said he did not think it would take a piezo undersaddle pickup too well.

Doug - I saw your video demo of the Baggs Anthem system, but if that is not an option due to the piezo what do you think of the Lyric?

There are other choices besides USTs, of course. John probably knows his guitars best, but I don't see why a thick saddle would impact a UST. (Not that I'm a an of USTs in general...)

The Lyric has been discussed endlessly here. Some like it, some don't. I think it varies with the guitar. It can sound very natural, but most notice that it has less bass than other pickups, which may actually be "natural" sounding, but isn't the bigger-than-life sound some want from pickups. I used one for a while, but eventually decided I was getting better sounds from other options.

[Doug Young]

BTW, I don't mean to discourage you from the iSolo. If a mic works for you, I thought it was pretty slick. And a mic is my preferred approach, when the venue and setup allow for it. No pickup can beat a good mic on a good guitar.

One issue I recall on the iSolo was the life of the charge. I seem to recall it lasted 3 hours, but could be recharged pretty fast. So if you're doing 5 hour bar gigs, that might be something to be aware of.

[jkilgour2000]

I installed a Lyric in my Taylor 324. I use it for recording, but that's just me hacking around. When i amp'ed it, it was feedback city... but that was just in my basement, and the small room could have contributed to the feedback. Dialing back the bass took it away, but then, the sound seemed very shrill...Too bright!

I have an M36 that I don't want to mess with, like reaming a bigger hole for the 1/4 pickup, so that's why I'm interested in this iSolo. Also, to be able to snap it into any guitar without wires seems pretty cool. I'm sick of wires.

[Tone Disciple]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

There are other choices besides USTs, of course. John probably knows his guitars best, but I don't see why a thick saddle would impact a UST. (Not that I'm a an of USTs in general...)

The Lyric has been discussed endlessly here. Some like it, some don't. I think it varies with the guitar. It can sound very natural, but most notice that it has less bass than other pickups, which may actually be "natural" sounding, but isn't the bigger-than-life sound some want from pickups. I used one for a while, but eventually decided I was getting better sounds from other options.

I think John was talking about piezos mounted under the actual 1/4" bone saddle didn't work to well. He works with K&K mostly. I think those UST types will work okay.

So Doug - You have done a lot of work on this topic! In fact, you wrote the book on it - literally!

So - what pickup system and DI combination are you using now?

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by Tone Disciple

I think John was talking about piezos mounted under the actual 1/4" bone saddle didn't work to well. He works with K&K mostly. I think those UST types will work okay.

Maybe we're talking about the same thing, not sure. I just mean a standard undersaddle pickup, like a Baggs Element, Fishman Matrix, etc. The K&K would be an SBT (soundboard transducer) I dont know John's guitars, but if the saddle is 1/4 inch thick, that's on the fatter side, so maybe he's sayng the pickup won't fill the saddle slot. There are some options for dealing with that I think, but as long as an SBT works for you, it's not important.

So Doug - You have done a lot of work on this topic! In fact, you wrote the book on it - literally!

So - what pickup system and DI combination are you using now?

I have a variety of pickups, I'm probably happiest right now with the Trance Amulet and the Barbera Soloist. K&Ks are OK, too. I have a Dazzo in one guitar that sounds pretty good. I almost always pair the pickup with an internal mic. For preamps, I'm either using the ToneDexter or a Grace Felix. Of course, if the situation allows, and good mic thru a good sound system is my preference.

[Tone Disciple]

Thanks for that response.

You are right about John's concerns over the piezo under a 1/4"saddle. I believe he felt that the fit under the saddle would not allow for even transfer of the sound.

I was doing more homework on this subject and saw your videos on the Tone Dexter where you were using your Hamlin with the Amulet system in it. That setup sounded very good. I like the 'training the mic' aspect of modeling with this system and the resulting sound was very much like the sounds and tone from dual source systems

I was A/B ing the Amulet against the K&K mini systems in my R Taylor guitars. They both sound good though the K&K passive pickups do not have as loud an output as the active Amulet system. But I like the fact that the K&K's need no battery. Couple that with the strategy that K&K can provide UST type amplification that can be combined with various mic systems with good results and there is a real appeal to this idea. I also looked at the James May pickups with the ToneDexter. They use four USTs where the K&K uses three.

The fact that I am also ready to buy a preamp/DI box that will help with eq and some notch filter ability makes this a more complicated decision than just what pickup system to use.

Your comments have been very helpful.

[lkingston]

I just want to point out that the new iSolo system is the same as the old one except that it’s painted black and held in a new sound hole bracket assembly. From reading online reviews, it is quite nice except for the limited battery time of about 2.5 hours play time.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by Tone Disciple

Couple that with the strategy that K&K can provide UST type amplification

I think this is the part that has me confused, tho probably just a naming thing. There basically 3 types of pickups:

Magnetic - often soundhole pickups like the Sunrise, Fishman Rare Earth, etc

UST - Under Saddle Transducers, which are a thin strip of material that goes in the saddle slot, between the saddle and guitar top/bridge. This includes things like the Baggs Element, Fishman Matrix

SBT - Sound Board Transducers - normally installed inside the guitar, usually on the bridge plate. This includes K&K, Trance, etc. Most SBTs and USTs are some form of piezo material.

There are some variations on these, like the Taylor ES2 that places a sensor on the side of the saddle instead of under it, or the Taylor ES1 that has a magnetic sound board pickup (so it is an SBT, or a Mag?) But that's basically it, and other than a few outliers, all current guitar pickups fit into one of these categories.

And there are mics, which includes the iSolo, DPA 4099, as well as any mic on a stand.Mics aren't "pickups", tho they can be used to amplify, and the various attachable mics are trying to provide a bit of the convenience of a pickup with the sound of an external mic.

But in any case the K&K is not a UST at all. It's an SBT. I'm sure there are people who have successfully installed a UST with a 1/4 saddle, but if you're playing a nice guitar in quieter settings and want a less string-oriented sound, more body and warmth, an SBT is a good choice.