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Dorothy
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2014
This pickup has the most natural cello sound so you won't regret buying this product. I'm a freelance pro cellist so I am picky. The pickup doesn't hurt any part of the cello, including the bridge, to gently clamp to the side of it. Fast and easy setup at the gig. What's not to love? It's great on stage in a band but another plus is that you will NEVER AGAIN have to endure the utter misery of over pressing with your throbbing bow hand again at that hours long gig where you are just in the background while people are drinking and carrying on loudly.
Alan deLespinasse
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2014
I've had this pickup and preamp combo for a very long time. I think I bought it in 1999, when I needed to amplify for a piece by George Crumb. It's showing no signs of wear (I don't use it all that much).The preamp in particular seems indestructible in its all-metal enclosure. It's probably heavier than it needs to be. I think it was mainly designed for double bass; the instructions say to put it behind the tailpiece, but it's way too big. I strap it upside down to the front of the tailpiece with a rectangle of foam in between to avoid scratches and rattles. The foam actually came in the box with it; I just had to cut out a piece of the right shape. And when I pack it back into the box, I just put the pieces back in place and it works fine.The pickup itself is embedded in a single seamless piece of plastic, with two small Philips-head screws to hold it on. The screws do leave permanent dents in the bridge, but I don't mind; it won't affect the sound at all. I find I can get the screws tight enough with just my fingers, although I think I'd suggest using a screwdriver the first few times. You might need an angle screwdriver.The sound quality is pretty good, although I haven't really tried anything else except microphones (which do provide much better sound, especially for studio recording, obviously). The sound is naturally very bright, but there's a treble control right there on the preamp, so I keep it almost all the way down and it's fine. Feedback is possible, but the amplification needs to be pretty loud before it starts. I remove the pickup for acoustic playing, because it acts like a mute.Really my only complaints are about the preamp: (1) It's too big to leave on the cello; I have to remove it to fit the cello in its case. (2) Replacing the battery requires a Philips head screwdriver. But it's hard to complain about over-engineering; I'm pretty sure this thing will last forever.
John Milton
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2012
I finally have a pickup for my cello that allows me to play live and get a beautiful sound, with no feedback worries, even when playing with a band. There are caveats. I have to turn the tone all the way down on the pre-amp, volume all the way up, then I run into an RV-5 digital reverb, also with tone down (these are designed for guitar). From there, to a DI to the mix board, where again, it's important to adjust the treble end of the spectrum down as far as necessary to get the sweet, natural tone. The bottom line is that it's better to have your sound established well at the source, before it gets to the mix board.
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