Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2016 8:04:36 GMT -5
I picked up the Woody soundhole pickup in order to use on a solo gig where I needed amplification with an acoustic-only 12-string guitar that I'd just picked up -- I didn't have time to have my luthier install a more permanent solution. I found it to be, well, a less-than-ideal choice. The advantages to such a soundhole pickup are the fact that they're relatively inexpensive (I found this version of the Woody online for $36) and non-permanent. You can put on the pickup in order to plug in your instrument, and just take it off afterward. And hey, on a spruce-top guitar, the maple version of the Woody blends in nicely. But...
Unless you have a soundhole that is a full 4" in diameter, you'll have to file down the bottom (wooden) flanges of the pickup in order to easily mount the Woody. On my Seagull Performer 6-string, the soundhole is slightly smaller at 3 7/8", and the Woody was a very tight and difficult fit, though I did manage to get it attached. The twelve string for which the Woody was intended is a Guild GAD F212, and its soundhole is even smaller at 3 11/16" -- I had to do some significant shaving of the bottom flanges in order for the pickup to fit at all.
The cord coming out from the pickup is long enough for most stage work (about 13') and has a solid and well-built 1/4" plug at the end. I tried it first on the Performer six-string just to see how it sounded (even though my Performer has the far superior Quantum QII system built-in). It worked fairly well -- the sound was clean and adequate, though since it's a passive pickup, when I plugged it into a mixer and ran it through my PA system, I had to crank that channel somewhat, and there was some mild hum in the signal (despite the name). The sound, though, was acceptable: a bit-midrange heavy, but some tweaking of the EQ on that channel helped.
However, when I shaved down the lower flanges enough to fit it on the 12-string, the wider spacing of the strings revealed a problem. Both the upper and lower courses (the high E and low E sets of strings -- well, "D" actually in my case, since I have the guitar tuned down a full step) were weaker in volume than the middle courses. This was especially pronounced on the lowest course, where the low E-strings were barely audible in comparison to the A-string course.
Not an ideal set-up by any means...
Bottom line: as a solution for when you have a rare need to amplify a six-string guitar that doesn't have on-board electronics and you don't want to go to the trouble of installing a permanent system, this pickup would serve. Just make sure your soundhole is 4" or very close to 4" in diameter. However, for a 12-string, or for a guitar with a soundhole significantly smaller that 4" in diameter, this isn't for you.
Unless you have a soundhole that is a full 4" in diameter, you'll have to file down the bottom (wooden) flanges of the pickup in order to easily mount the Woody. On my Seagull Performer 6-string, the soundhole is slightly smaller at 3 7/8", and the Woody was a very tight and difficult fit, though I did manage to get it attached. The twelve string for which the Woody was intended is a Guild GAD F212, and its soundhole is even smaller at 3 11/16" -- I had to do some significant shaving of the bottom flanges in order for the pickup to fit at all.
The cord coming out from the pickup is long enough for most stage work (about 13') and has a solid and well-built 1/4" plug at the end. I tried it first on the Performer six-string just to see how it sounded (even though my Performer has the far superior Quantum QII system built-in). It worked fairly well -- the sound was clean and adequate, though since it's a passive pickup, when I plugged it into a mixer and ran it through my PA system, I had to crank that channel somewhat, and there was some mild hum in the signal (despite the name). The sound, though, was acceptable: a bit-midrange heavy, but some tweaking of the EQ on that channel helped.
However, when I shaved down the lower flanges enough to fit it on the 12-string, the wider spacing of the strings revealed a problem. Both the upper and lower courses (the high E and low E sets of strings -- well, "D" actually in my case, since I have the guitar tuned down a full step) were weaker in volume than the middle courses. This was especially pronounced on the lowest course, where the low E-strings were barely audible in comparison to the A-string course.
Not an ideal set-up by any means...
Bottom line: as a solution for when you have a rare need to amplify a six-string guitar that doesn't have on-board electronics and you don't want to go to the trouble of installing a permanent system, this pickup would serve. Just make sure your soundhole is 4" or very close to 4" in diameter. However, for a 12-string, or for a guitar with a soundhole significantly smaller that 4" in diameter, this isn't for you.
