Schertler DYN-G -- Any Users?

[urlkonig]

Anyone using a Schertler DYN-G with their acoustic guitar? I've heard it used on a Mandolin and was astonished. But what few user reviews by guitarists I've been able to find have not been that enthusiastic.

I won't go into the many acoustic transducer systems I've used in the past 15 years - -suffice to say that I've never been all that happy with any of them. In my experience, the ones that sound "natural" are very prone to feedback; the ones that are feedback resistant don't sound very natural to my ear.

I heard the Mandolin version of the DYN used at decent volume at an outdoor show, with no feedback or low-end "whumping". I'm not sure how it would behave with the larger, more flexible soundboard of an acoustic guitar.

[suttree]

i tried the "blue cube"? something like that. i wasn't floored, it sounded pretty zingy (pretty hyped, lots of bass&treble, not a lot of meat) to my ears. but then emmylou harris uses one, and she's pretty interested in good acoustic tone.

[urlkonig]

I know that lots of pros use the "Blue Stick" - -which is a UST. I haven't known anyone who has used it. The DYN-G is something completely different -- Basically a microphone in a sealed container that attaches to the soundboard of whatever instrument you're amplifying. At $395.00 street price, it is a painfully expensive experiment.

I KNOW it works fantastically with mandolins. But how it will behave on a guitar top, I have yet to find out.

[A. Tad Askew]

I have a Schertler Dyn-M that I use with both mandolin and guitar. The key is placement on both instruments. You have to spend some time looking for the "sweet spot". I run mine through a Taylor preamp. Sound great! Good luck...

[urlkonig]

What has been your experience with feedback in a live setting? Do you ever use it on large stages --with a full PA?

[A. Tad Askew]

I use mine in a praise and worship setting in a large church. The "stage" volume is only moderate, so no feedback problems yet. My guess is that really loud stage volumes with a guitar might present some problems. I have a Weber carved top mando, so I don't get a lot of top vibration with that. I think a large flat-topped guitar would be more prone to kicking in some feedback. Again, no expert here, just a best guess.

[urlkonig]

Well, I couldn't stand it any longer... I have acquired a Dyn-G and if I can ever get an hour or two to myself I'll start experimenting with it.

[Robal]

Well, I couldn't stand it any longer... I have acquired a Dyn-G and if I can ever get an hour or two to myself I'll start experimenting with it.

Please let us know what you think. I have been wondering about this pickup too. I have a BBand mic and under bridge system. The mic feedsback pretty easily and the under bridge system sounds, like, well, an under the bridge pickup -- kinda thin with the "quack".

I like the idea that you can move the Dyn-G from guitar to guitar, too.

[urlkonig]

OK, I'm going to temper my excitement here.... I spent most of the evening in my garage experimenting with the DYN-G tonight, running it straight into a channel of my Mackie 808.

I started off all wrong, of course -- half-way hooked up my PA, angled a speaker up at me, fiddled with the DYN element placement and got horrid feedback for my trouble.

Then I got online and found this page:
http://www.fingerpick.com/pickups.htm

I then headed back to the garage and set up a bit more carefully, put the DNY-G directly on the treble side of my bridge as demonstrated in the video clips, and got gorgeous results.

I have a 15-yr-old Taylor Jumbo (815), and with such a huge soundboard, placement is critical for this pickup. I suspect that placement is going to be critical on every guitar, for that matter, to produce the optimal tone. Still, I was getting a jaw-dropping sound at a the overall volume level I use in small clubs -- with next to no feedback. I also tried it on my '43 Epi Triumph -- this might be the ONLY pickup to capture the true sound of an archtop guitar. WOW.

I'm going to get a D-Tar Solstice or Equinox unit to fine tune this thing....a parametric EQ to zero in on low feedback frequencies would be very useful. (I tried running it into a Baggs Para Acoustic DI tonight, but no matter how low I set the gain I still got distortion.)

I have an outdoor show tomorrow -- that'll be the acid test. We'll see how it performs in the real world and report back on that.

[urlkonig]

OK -- it's a keeper. The dang thing actually works. I've got a lot to learn about using it live, but I'll have plenty of chances to to get used its quirks. I AM going to get a D-TAR preamp or parametric EQ (here's where I should have keep my pendullum audio unit instead of eBaying it years ago...) to help notch out feedback, but I had this thing KICKING today with no issues whatsoever. Yes, it's horribly expensive - -but I've spent many times its cost on other pickup systems that ended up in a tangle of wires in a box somewhere.