Dean Markley SC-1 Pro Mag

Pickup features: Single Coil, magnetic, passive acoustic soundhole pickup
Impedence or other specs: How the hell am i supposed to know that?? I don't go fishing on their website for hours of my spare time looking for how many ohms of impedance this thing has

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez Concord Acoustic - incidentally one of the best acoustic instruments ever made
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: there's only one soundhole....
Artists using this pickup: no one who has lots of money, self respect, or the desire to record anything
You musical style(s): Whatever sounds cool (rock, metal, grunge, acoustic stuff, NOT country or pop or rap)
Reason for pickup change: I'm not changing...i'm adding

Perceived output level: cold
Tone: bassy. extremely bassy. in fact, at times it sounds more like a bass guitar ( which is cool). However, the top strings are so weak they are drowned out by their bigger cousins. A real pain if you try to play solos.... The mid-high sound is really great, though. REALLY great. I would play blues or jazz with this if i had enough skill to play blues or jazz. That's what it would sound best at.
Sonic evaluation: As a disclaimer before i say all of this, this review will be extremely misleading for one simple reason. I did not get this pickup to get an amplified acoustic sound. i got this pickup to get an electric sound. If i wanted an acoustic sound i'd get a friggin' microphone. I just wanted to get an electric sound out of my acoustic guitar (because i don't HAVE an electric guitar). Now that we have that out of the way...
I use an Ibanez concord - Dean Markley Pro Mag Pickup - Ibanez IBZ-10 amplifier (small, but very cheap and very worth all 40 dollars that were paid for it) I wanted to get an amplified sound so i could raise hell with my friends (you wouldn't think that you could raise much hell with a 10 watt amplifier and an acoustic guitar but i sure as hell can - it was in a small room anyway.) To simplify exactly what i want to sound like, i'll say i have two "tone idols".
1. Mark Tremonti for the raw distorted sound
2. Carlos Santana for a sweet lead sound and

On the Mark Tremonti, it comes close. It rips up pretty durn well. Except for the extremely low output. It never quite saturates. i know my amplifier has enough gain (i've played it with other guitars), it's the pickups fault.
For the Santana sound, it is awesome. You wouldn't expect a solid state amplifier to sound this sweet, but it does. I could just about perfectly copy the tone Santana gets on "put your lights on"
the clean sound? Not very acoustic at all. The clean sound is even more bassy than the overdriven sound. I actually like it a lot once i have the gain and volume cranked all the way. The sound is good except for the low output problem. Hook up a distortion pedal and it would be great. The real problem is that this sucker hums like a pickup posessed. One time i got so desparate (this will sound pathetic but it's true) to get rid of the hum that i wrapped it in tinfoil. that didn't do a thing. However, since it's a single coil pickup, some hum is to be expected. But this was ridiculous. DO NOT RECORD WITH THIS PICKUP. I suppose a noise gate may help, but they cost about as much as a HUMBUCKING acoustic pickup would.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: It's a decent match for my playing style, if only it had more OUTPUT!!. Metalheads need not even buy this pickup. What this would be really cool on would be blues or jazz. It has one of the sweetest sounds ever produced.

Comments: Well, i have a little anecdote for you. One day i picked up my guitar and turned on my amp and began to play but no sound at all would come out of my amp. The End (of this pickup at least). Apparently something shook loose or melted or just quit working and now it won't make any sound. I tried fixing the solderless jack on the included cord, to no avail. I cut the felt of the back of it to see if i could repair the thing but the entire thing is encased in wood and suspended in some sort of clear plastic. Much too hard to be wax. I couldn't do anything to it. I suspect a connection broke somewhere. This thing is unrepairable. Same thing happened to one of my friends who had this, but that was because his dog chewed on it. I don't have a dog. I would love this thing, despite its hum and its low output, just for its sweet sound, but alas it died so all i can do is mourn it. I've been playing for over a year now (so you can feel free to ignore me, you experienced people) and i liked how it sounded so long as it lasted. Well, it HAS been destroyed (hopefully no one is stupid enough to steal it) and i won't buy the same thing. I'll probably get something humbucking with a VOLUME CONTROL so i can TURN UP the VOLUME. I love the tone. i hate the hum. and the feedback. and the LOW OUTPUT. i didn't compare it to anything. i wish it had some way to turn up the volume. i'm searching for a replacement that will have the same sweet sound. I give it a 3 because it sounded good until it broke. It's not higher becausae of the fact that it BROKE and the HUM and the LOW OUTPUT and the FEEDBACK. You want acoustic tone, don't go anywhere near this thing. Get a microphone or a piezo system or something. You want cheap electric tone? Go ahead. Even better, save up for something that is HUMBUCKING and has a VOLUME control. Even better yet, get a frickin' electric guitar.

Pickup features: single coil
Impedence or other specs: soundhole pickup with long cord

Model of guitar or bass: '77 Alvarez/Yairi dreadnaught
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: barcus berry custom shop mounted in cross bracing
Other pickups on guitar: n/a
Artists using this pickup: probably not many
You musical style(s): acoustic funk/jazz/bluegrass/folk
Reason for pickup change: very old barcus berry didn't work anymore, guitar was given to me after family acoustic was stolen from my tent at a bluegrass fest. Needed to be able to jam with drums and bass

Perceived output level: very fuzzy when input directly into PA, not enough power plugged into Fender Acoustisonic amp and cranked all the way...too much distortion
Tone: slightly on the treble side but not too much, perfect for solo acoustic performances in semi-quiet atmospheres
Sonic evaluation: plugged into fender acoustisonic and had to crank it up all of the way to hear over the drums and was very fuzzy

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: funky jazz/flatpicking/folk.........NO! need replacemnt, that's why I am on this website...

Comments: Would never pay money for one of these, it was given to me. i'm in the process of replacing it.....the cord is very irritating and the pickup itself is very bulky and gets in the way. I cut the cord short and wired it into an endpin jack and it is still getting on my nerves....DO NOT BUY UNLESS YOU ARE A SOLO PERFORMER IN SMALL CLUBS!
I've been playing acoustic guitar for 7 years and have jsut recently decided to start playing in bands, so I'm going through the whole trial and error phase right now and I havn't gotten off to a very good start.

Pickup features: single
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Yamaha FG-180
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: Barkus Berry (not used - mounted inside under bridge...)
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Jazz for the most part
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: see "Overall Rating"
Tone: see "Overall Rating"
Sonic evaluation: see "Overall Rating"

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: see "Overall Rating"

Comments: Okay - the pick-up has worked great the two times I plugged it in...
The solderless jack - absolutely sucks! Tried to fix it 3 times per the directions... How many more times should I try to fix it before I
throw it out the window? Tech responses appreciated.

Pickup features: single coil, passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: '76 Takamine something
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: i dunno
You musical style(s): acoustic rock, blues, jazz, alternative,
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: normal
Tone: you can turn it however you want to pick up more bass or treble..really bright though
Sonic evaluation: i have a 100 watt acoustic peavey stage amp, everything sounds pretty good through it, but this is really good

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: for the acousticrock stuff i play it works real good

Comments: if it were stolen i would buy another on and be really upset. i have been playing for about 3 years. i love how this doesnt really affect the sound too much and it still sounds pretty natural.

Pickup features: Single coil, passive, magnetic sound hole pickup
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: FG-432S
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: Probably...somewhere
You musical style(s): Alt rock
Reason for pickup change: Wanted to add acoustic guitar to our little punk band. Bought this on a whim but now that I think about it, I should've spent the money towards a good condenser mic.

Perceived output level: Fairly loud, a little on the softer side
Tone: The lows are muddy and almost undistinct when strumming; B and high E comes through too high
Sonic evaluation: Used every input I could think of. Tried everything from a vintage 300 watt or so Rickenbacker guitar amp with a blown speaker to using a converter to record through my sound card (wouldn't recommend it). I'll admit that I used mainly electric guitar amps, so maybe my judgment is a little biased in that way.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Alt rock, mainly. Not a strong candidate - playing with the Pro Mag makes my acoustic sound so much better after I unplug the damn thing

Comments: If it were destroyed or stolen, I'd probably lament that I didn't sell it sooner. I think it's somewhere back home in my room. I've been playing for about 2 years. Okay, I'm not going to complain completely about it, because it sounds okay after you adjust the tone knobs on your amp/guitar. Unmistakable hum. To tell you the truth, it sounds like this really bad Gremlin electric guitar I had, except with foggier tone. I mean, Dean Markley really sold this pickup off as a natural sounding pickup and winner of all these Best Pickup awards, and I buy it and bring it home and I'm disappointed. When you strum, you hear this muddled wall of low tone with the highs just overpowering. No, it definitely did not give the sound I was looking for. In fact, I finally found the right sound - unplugged and mic'ed.

Pickup features: Single coil, sound-hole mount
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Washburn DC10 Dreadnought
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: N/A
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: probably lots
You musical style(s): jazz, folk, classical, blues
Reason for pickup change: Needed better light/bright rhythm tones

Perceived output level: Not terribly high, gives a nice, natural output that won't force an amp to distort at low volume
Tone: nice high end, perfect as a backing guitar
Sonic evaluation: Using it largely through a Matchless, but also been used through Sunn heads. Dreamy and swirly with the matchless, like an Ovation, but the MAtchless allegedly does much better with a Cedar-top guitar, which is what I want to switch to. Through the Sunn, it was very sparkly. What really impressed me with this pickup is that it retains a distinctly 'acoustic' tone, even with some distortion or effects, as opposed to some transducers I've used that make it sound like it could just be an electric. People said its trebbly, but I found that made it Ovation-sounding, and sweat for playing under a solo, as well as for sparkly travis-picking. SOunded good on direct-recording, too, but benefits from having some tubes between the guitar and the console, but then doesn't every guitar?

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great for backing chords, or for sparkly finger-picking. Not suitable if you like really dark sounds.

Comments: I was impressed with its ability to make a Washburn sound like an Ovation, and for the retention of acoustic sound qualities, even when recording direct. Sound was sparkly and warm, unlike many others.

Pickup features: Doesn't jump around alot...must be passive....
Impedence or other specs: Impedes me reaching into the sound hole...

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez "Performance Series"
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: n/a
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: A student of life and beginning guitarist, five months experience
You musical style(s): Play blues, originals and folksy stuff
Reason for pickup change: This is my first (virgin) acoustic pickup experience.

Perceived output level: Nice and bright, using a Marshall VS30R amp. Limited output on clean channel.
Tone: Rich tone with some reverb cranked in. Can be a little trebly when stummed hard.
Sonic evaluation: I had to write this because I just got this Marshall amp, and thought since I had the pickup and the acoustic, I would try them. What a surprise! I have read some poor reports of the Pro Mag, and do not concur! I love my acoustic guitar so much more now that I have this combination, and find myself playing more and enjoying the sounds emanating my this inexpensive little guitar. I tried this Pro Mag running it through a 150W Peavey PA and it sounded terrible, tinny and twangy. I had put it away for several months prior to getting this new little 30W amp. Now I look forward to coming home and plinking on it every day. Although the volume is limited on the clean channel, I imagine by miking the amp I could easily overcome that limitation...

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Its a soundhole mic. I haven't really experimented with angling it in different ways, just leave it in a neutral position, set close to the body.

Comments: If I lost or had stolen this pickup, I would probably go to the next model up Dean Markley. The acoustic guitar I own is so cheap, that it would seem a little silly to go out and get a Hilander or that type pickup, since that component would probably cost more that my guitar! I get surprisingly great tones from this little Ibanez, although using this pickup really brings out the sound where you can hear the quality.

Pickup features: Single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Yamaha FG-412S
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: external mic
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Rock, hip-hop, blues, punk
Reason for pickup change: I wanted to be able to play through an amp and be heard

Perceived output level: This is Hot but has lots of treble which is easily adjusted with the amp
Tone: Trebly, controlable though
Sonic evaluation: Yamaha FG-412S through a Fender Acoustisonic Jr.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play rythym in my band and lead on some stuff, the strumming is ok, but lead playing sounds pretty good up high

Comments: I've been playing about 2 years and just got a Martin Backpacker
This p/u is good for now (I'm 14), but later I'll probably get a transducer

Pickup features: Single Coil pickup.
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Yamaha fg-75
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Metal, blues, Jazz, rock and roll.
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: The output is pretty low, I have to turn up my amp to get a good loud sound that I want.
Tone: Very nice tone, I like it a lot, sounds even better with chorus.
Sonic evaluation: I am using a samick rc-60 amp and It really sounds nice with it.

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

Comments: If this pickup were stolen I would be upset, I would buy this pickup again though. I have been playing for 2 years, going on three this summer, I also own a epiphone Les Paul Special, and a Profiles distortion pedal. Very nice pickup, the first acoustic pickup that I have tried and I like it.

Pickup features: Single coil
Impedence or other specs: Unsure

Model of guitar or bass: Magnum accoustic
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: N/A
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: Not sure
You musical style(s): A little hard to say sometimes!
Reason for pickup change: I bought this pickup becouse I had a accoustic for years and could not plug it in.

Perceived output level: Clean but not very loud
Tone: The tone is a little towards the trebley side but it is nowhere near as bad as cheap peizo pickups. The treble is not hard to deal with though becouse it dont thin out the sound and you can always roll of your treble on your amp.
Sonic evaluation: I`m running this into my stack (200 watt Traynor). I would not bother running it into a practice amp though becouse the out put is low. One thing wich amazed me was the fact that I never got any unwanted harmonics or echo (typically found with sound hole pickups). The sound is clean and clear and I would have no trouble using this in a live situation. One thing that I do not like. The damn 1/4" jack on the cord. It can be so easy to lose connection if the little screw comes loose or if the end of the cord in not cut perfectly square. I plan to but a strap butten/input jack anyhow becouse I hate the idea of the cord being always in the way and if you want to move the cord (such as putting your guitar in its case), you have to take the pickup out and that means scraping your guitar up around the sound hole (I have it done already.
Other than that, the pickup is not that bad if you want a clean, clear sounding pickup and if your not thay worryed about having a loud pickup (better quiet and clear than loud and not clear. I need not mention the feedback problem with high output accoustic pickups).

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I`m not sure if there is anything on the market that would totally suit me. I kinda have my own style of playing (combining everything that I like)(Picture contemperary music with a crunchy distortion that would rival Metallicas sound !!!). The pickup would be the thing for country and well about anything I guess. Another way to say this is that the pickup is good for anything that your guitar is good for. It sounds freaky when you put lots of delay on it and harmonize your notes with delayed notes. Interesting sounds!!!

Comments: I would get this pickup again if I could get it cheaper. Like I said before, its clear and clean. Low output. I like it better than anything I`ve heard with regards to sound hole pickups (not sure how it would compare to peizo`s).
One more thing, it looks great on a normal finnish guitar.