New Artec pre-amp = MAGIC!

[Guitr777]

I just installed a new Artec preamp in my Takamine EG-230 and baby, what a difference! My Tak had passive electronics with only one tone control and volume. I've always been impressed with this guitar's acoustic sound, but when I would plug in it just plain sucked.

 

I bought the Artec that has a built in microphone and a piezo pickup. On the active preamp there are controls to blend the mic and piezo as well as a 3 band EQ. All for only $89.00! I also installed a new Tusq saddle and put on new DR strings.

 

When I played it in church yesterday, all where amazed at the great tone I was getting. The sound man always had to cut my highs way down and boost my bass to get rid of the brassiness of my tone. Yesterday he had my running "flat" on the sound board and the tone was excellent. Smooth and rich.

 

Although this was a great investment, I did learn something about cutting holes on your guitar for adding a pre-amp. The shape of the preamp is such that it will fit almost any acoustic guitar, but before you install you have to move it around until you find where it fits the curve of your guitar. When you mark this place, make sure that you mark the guitar at the place UNDERNEATH the preamp where the guts fit into the guitar. I made the mistake of marking the guitar at the very bottom edge of the unit looking down from the top. This ended up making my hole about 1/8" to far "south" (towards the bottom of my guitar). This resulted in my preamp not being flush with the curvature. Although it doesn't look bad by any means, it could look better. I can't go back and fix it because of the big honkin' hole I cut into my guitar. I thought I was doing all of the right things by cutting out a template and using a square to make sure my hole was even - but it was that one little mistake that caused the installation to be less than perfect. Duh!

 

So, if you have been thinking about ways to get better sound out of your acoustic/electric, or just turning your acoustic model into an acoustic/electric, I highly recommend the Artec preamp. It sounds great and the price is right.

 

And no, I am not affiliated with Artec...