Shadow SH 141

Excellent price / sound. When searching pickups remember: sound comes from the guitar's resonance as a hole system, proper string setup height is mandatory, in a pickup string selection carry mostly all the sound, choose wisely, bridge, nut, etc. but again remember: the guitar is a system as a whole! and the player completes the closed circuit.

Being said that this pickup complements my guitars and technique splendid. I play american primitive, bluegrass, Appalachian fingerstyles, and ambient both acoustic and electric processed with pedals and modular synths. Reasons why I love to have a minimal active pickup system than can be easily taken on and off and mixed with mics, preamps, effects, modulars, etc. Not having knobs and controls is a bless, come on, is better to have pure raw sound and then shape it with pedals, DAW, etc.

I'm around studios and controlled situations more than live venues, so this is more than enough and sounds awesome. If you think you need a more expensive pickup invest in a proper mic and stand. Nothing beats a mic in most cases but, blending the two signals in any situation is the way to go.

First of all this is proving to be a good investment in turning my Epiphone DR-100 into an electro-acoustic guitar.

Fitting is not too difficult but is easier if you use the provided extension cable as a feed through for the jack, my hand wouldn't fit that far into the soundhole so i fitted the extension cable through the guitar first and then fed the jack through the soundhole end until it was in place, then used a pair of needle nose pliers to hold it there while i screwed the washers on, all i need for this was a 13mm wood flat bit to make the hole bigger for the jack and loosened the strings.

The sound is a lot 'bassier' when comparing it to some true electro-acoustic guitars which sound tinny in comparison it was a little quieter as there is no volume control but providing you use a good quality cable you wont get hiss when you turn the amp up.

The only thing i don't know yet is the battery life but the pick up sounds very clean and could possibly be affected by the action of your strings.

Very convenient way to add a pickup to an acoustic, without messing around trying to get an under-saddle piezo balanced. (I have tried this, and ended up with a nice hole in the side of my guitar ...)

It's easy to fit - just slide it in to the sound-hole and tighten the screws. I fitted this to a small parlour sized guitar - it reproduces the sound very well. If I'm honest, it sounds ever so slightly processed - i.e. the high and low end are slightly accentuated, so it's not quite as natural as a good microphone or piezo. Having said that, it's better sounding than most other magnetic sound-hole pickups I've tried, with the exception of the LR Baggs M1a, which costs a great deal more! Sits in the mix very nicely. Probably better suited for adding acoustic to a pop, rock or acoustic band than a serious solo fingersyle player!

It's also quiet - the only time I experienced noise is when I was on stage on a small trailer - packed right next to the mixer, lighting and laptops - then it seemed to pick up some interference, but this was an extreme case.

Batteries have lasted a good few months with semi-regular use.

All in all, yes, I would recommend this!