Dean Markley Artist

Pickup features: coin shaped soundboard transducer
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Handmade classical guitar from the Philippines
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): all types of acoustic guitar styles
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: a little on the light side, but acceptable. It tends to get a humbucker sound at times, and doesnt replicate the orignial acoustic sound extremely well, but for $40, its a pretty good deal
Tone: When placed on the saddle by the low E string, its pretty balanced, and warm sounding. However, tone/treble needs to be raised a little bit
Sonic evaluation: I'm using a dreadnaught steel-type bodied guitar which utilizes nylon/silk strings. the setup is a simple raw portable PA amp/bare speaker combination. I think that a preamp with adjustable EQ's would be a good addition.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: For hard strumming, and finger picking, this pickup is suitable for small live functions. However, hard strumming often causes a thump to be picked up by the speakers. So, palm muting is sometimes difficult.

Comments: For its price, its a decent pickup; very warm, and not harsh like some other piezo-style pickups. I've been playing for 7 years, and have owned quite a few different guitars, from fender dreadnaughts, to takamine flamenco guitars. This pickup is a nice cheap and affordable pickup for those wishing to just amplify their guitar without necessarily having THE exact acoustic sound.

Pickup features: Stick it on and wire it up
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Jasmine S38S
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Strummin' chords
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: Pretty low output, needs a preamp
Tone: Balanced, natural sound
Sonic evaluation: Jasmine S38S, Fishman Pro EQ II preamp, Crate CA30 amp. Other reviews have touched on a few of the same problems I have noticed also. Mainly, this pickup is very feedback prone, and it picks up every bump and squeak you make on the guitar. I could never get very much volume without feedback from this pickup, regardless of a great preamp and a feedback buster. On the positive side, it is a good sounding pickup and it's pretty easy to install (this is the permanent mount transducer kit, by the way). For me though, the negatives outweighed the positives. I just couldn't get enough sound without feedback out of my stage amp to even hear myself playing. I think this pickup would be better suited to a solo player or someone in a small group, maybe sitting in a coffeehouse playing Croce songs. I have since replaced the transducer with a Markley Sweet Spot, which has it's own negative characteristics but puts out a lot of volume, which is what I need.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Not a good pickup if you're in a large band with lots of stage volume.

Comments: I would consider putting this pickup in a different guitar, such as a parlour style, if I needed to because it does sound good under certain conditions. But I don't have any other acoustic guitars, so it's not happening.
I've been playing guitar for three years, trumpet for seventeen. I play in a nine piece horn band, and the guitar gives me something to do on a few songs the horns don't play on. I also have a Yamaha AEX520 electric and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp. I doubt anyone wants to hear me brag about my trumpets...
I loved the sound of the transducer, but I hated the feedback and the volume limitations. I chose this pickup based on a personal recomendation and based on what I read on Markley's site. I wish that pickup manufacturers would be honest enough to say what limitations a particular type of pickup has, rather than just how kick ass it sounds. It would have saved me some money and frustration had I known that a transducer was not the right way for me to go given the environments I tried to use it in and the expectations I had. Live and learn. I will say that the Markley company has good custoer service, though. I called with a question and they were helpful and nice.

Pickup features: Simple transducer
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Flinthill Squareneck dobro
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: N/A
Other pickups on guitar: N/A
Artists using this pickup: I'm thinking about it, but with reservations
You musical style(s): General dobro backing country and/or folk-pop
Reason for pickup change: No original on instrument

Perceived output level: Seems pretty hot through my Peavy Special 130- Been afraid to try through PA(see below)
Tone: I can get a fairly balanced tone with experimentation of body placement (but NOT on cover plate!)
Sonic evaluation: Peavy Special 130

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: My BIG problem, as someone else mentioned about this PU, is the INCREDIBLE amount of noise the stiff cable makes. If you barely touch it with 3 feet of the PU it thumps! Makes it impossible to do anything but stand stock-still while playing. If anyone has a way to avoid this I'd love to know, because the next level up for a dobro-type instrument is probably going to get expensive.

Pickup features: Passive Transducer
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ovation Deluxe Balladeer (Large Bowl)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: N/A
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Celtic to Rock
Reason for pickup change: Guitar had no pickup previously which was the problem...

Perceived output level: Loud if placed on bridge, otherwise you will need a good preamp or amp
Tone: depends on placement so one must compromise...I mounted mine internally (inside body of guitar)
Sonic evaluation: I have played this through a couple of SWR acoustic amps and it sounds very good, but it really needs a preamp. I use a Boss Paramentric EQ pedal for this pedal which also notches out unwanted frequencies.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Windham-Hill'ish' and Worship Music

Comments: This pickup has some really good and really bad features about it without too much inbetween. It has a great frequency response (ability to pickup highs and lows), but depending upon placement you need to decide which you like best - you can't have your cake and eat it too...
Taking it on and off again with the 'plutonic' bubblegum gets real old real fast and causes the wire to short out (trust me on this) The good side is that Dean Markley is excellent about servicing their pickups. They aim to help the customer as much as possible. There is a lot to be said for that. I finally mounted the pickup internally and put an end pin jack in. I placed the pickup directly under the middle of the bridge which has worked out pretty good.
The pickup has a very natural sound and again great frequency response. It makes your guitar sound like your guitar which could be good or bad. I'm not a fan of soundhole pickups because there a bit too electric sounding (unless that is what you want of course)
If you don't want to drill a hole under the bridge, this is a good pickup to consider. I do recommend using something as a preamp however to get a good signal.

Pickup features: stick-on soundboard pickup
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Martin J-40
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: moderate, highly subject to feedback if soundboard exposed to loudspeaker
Tone: balanced, natural acoustics sound, better than piezo under-saddle
Sonic evaluation: into Peavey KB60 keyboard amp (less distortion) and thru powered mixers in house systems

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: solo acoustic, fingerstyle blues, ragtime, folk

Comments: good sound, good price, but fragile. Mine died within two days. Dealer replaced it, next one died within a week. Good thing I didn't mount it permanently to inside of guitar as planned. Also, a lot of rubbing noise from fairly heavy shielded cable - needs a more supple wire. Really wants to be internally mounted. At this point, I gave up.

Pickup features:
Impedance or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: acoustic / classical guitar
Position: sound board
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
Your musical style(s): blues/jazz/classical
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level:
Tone: depends on where you
put it. can be: high bass response, high treble response, very bright
Sonic evaluation: This piezo-electric pickup picks up the
body vibrations of your guitar, so it produces a warm sound, but does
not have that "punch" that a humbucking coil would produce. But since
I had a classical guitar (nylon strings) a humbucking pickup would've
been useless (except for the 3 steel wound bass strings, maybe). When
I used this pickup on an acoustic steel string, I was very disappointed
at how poor the output was. It was very "muddy", but a chorus pedal
improved the sound.
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: The one major problem I've had with this pickup
was it's life span. It lasted about 3-6 months and then died for no
apparent reason. After going through two of them, I decided to switch.
Another thing I dislike is the little flecks of putty this transducer
left behind on my guitar (it mounts by a wad of putty on the face of
the transducer).