Dean Markley Sweet Spot

Pickup features: Under the saddle
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Larriv?e Parlour
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: None
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Folk, blues, ragtime
Reason for pickup change: No pickup in this guitar previously, read good reports on this forum so bought one.

Perceived output level: None... It doesn't work. Installed by a professional luthier!
Tone: None... It doesn't work. Installed by a professional luthier!
Sonic evaluation: Sucks... It doesn't work. Installed by a professional luthier!

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

Comments: I would NEVER but another. My luthier waster an hour and a half trying to get the thing to work. This is not the first time he's had serious problems with the MArkley Swwet Spot.
I've been playing for 30+ years. I own Martin, Talor and Larriv?e acoustics and acoustic electrics. The Fishman ALWAYS work and work well. That's what's going into this little Larriv?e as soon as I get to the store to return this piece of garbage.
There's nothing to love. It doesn't work, so I hate it... period.
Avoid the Sweet Spot at all costs! They are unreliable!!!

Pickup features: Under-the-bridge acoustic P/U
Impedence or other specs: Pretty high,I'd guess

Model of guitar or bass: Guild JF-4, Taylor 655
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Lawrence FT-145,DiMarzio "Elemental",Don Lace "Bronze Sensor"
Other pickups on guitar: None at present
Artists using this pickup: Don't Know
You musical style(s): Contemporary Acoustic
Reason for pickup change: Many of the places I perform have poor wiring,thus magnetic P/Us pick up the hum from neon lights.This P/U doesn't.

Perceived output level: Pretty Loud....used to set volume on my PA equal for vocal mike and P/U channels,now P/U's channel volume can be set slightly more than 1/2 of vocal's.channel
Tone: Very bright (harsh) without EQ,etc. Vastly improved by first plugging into my MXR EQ-6,then my Counrtyman DI.
Sonic evaluation: Prefer plugging directly into my Ross and Carvin PAs....sounds pretty good thru Crate CA-60,too.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Folky rock,blues,jazz,etc.

Comments: Only complaint is that Dean Markley is somewhat misleading about this P/U not needing pre-amp...volume is great,but a pre-amp(or an active direct box-I use a Countryman DI) makes it much less harsh,tonewise.In fact,through a DI,this is every bit as "natural-sounding" as a good guitar microphone,with a lot less feed-back hassles!
I plan to put these in all my other acoustic guitars ASAP,because in 25 years of making a living as a "troubador",this is the first P/U I've been totally happy with,other than the impedence problem I mentioned.

Pickup features: Under-The-Saddle Piezo Transducer
Impedence or other specs: N/A

Model of guitar or bass: Guild J-40 Jumbo Acoustic (Maple)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Soundboard Transducer (which replaced a Dean Markley ProMag)
Other pickups on guitar: None now
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Acoustic-based Rock (Eagles/Jackson Browne/etc.)
Reason for pickup change: I initially changed from the ProMag soundhole p/u to obtain
more volume. Playing in a band withg drums and solid body
electric guitars, I was unable to obtain sufficient volume.
Due to a horrible experience with a Martin Thinline (which
was so harsh that it was unlistenable), I was reluctant to
even try another passive saddle transducer. So I decided to
try a soundboard transducer, and I attached it to the
underside of the top. The tone and volume were great, but
feedback was a really serious and frequent problem. This
is pretty common with a solid top guitar, whose attractive
feature (a resonant top) is unfortunately also what
virtually assures you of getting feedback from this type of
pick-up.
After spending money on a Feedback Buster (a rubber
soundhole plug), I found that it had minimal effect on
reducing feedback, but removed most of the bottom end of the
tone.
I then spent more money (nobody said I was brilliant) on a
pre-amp pedal, which didn't do anything for the problem
except give me a way to cut the volume when feedback occurred.
At this point, I was out 150% of what the Sweet Spot costs,
and still unsatisfied. So I did what I should have done
initially: I bought a Sweet Spot.

Perceived output level: Plenty of output for playing with a full electric rock band (with drums). Absolutely no need for a pre-amp.
Tone: A LITTLE brighter than I'd prefer, but perfectly acceptable "flat". By making VERY minor tone control adjustments on the amp, I obtained exactly the tone I was looking for. Keep in mind that my guitar is a jumbo maple body -- not the FAR more common rosewood or maple dreadnaught. So my guitar has a built-in tendency toward brightness, caused by the maple body.
Sonic evaluation: I'm playing my Guild F-40 Jumbo w/maple body (it's like a Gibson J-200)
plugged directly into the PA. The PA has a 9-band EQ, which is set to
the preference of the vocals (the typical "V" setting: boosted lows and
highs, slightly cut mids). Individual channels have only two tone
controls (high and low), which is plenty to obtain desired tone.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rock/Acoustic-based Rock (Eagles/Jackson Browne/etc.) I can't imagine any style for which this pick-up is unsuitable, other than heavy metal (for which you wouldn't use an acoustic anyway!)

Comments: If it were destroyed or stolen, would you buy it again? ABSOLUTELY
How long have you been playing? 30+ Years
What other gear do you own? Bass Guitars
What do you love about it? Very Good-Excellent Tone/Excellent Value
What do you hate? That I didn't buy it first!!!
Did you compare it to other products? Yes (see above)
Which ones? (See above - but most direct comparison would be a Martin
Thinline, which it BLOWS AWAY!)
Why did you choose this one? (See above)
Anything you wish it had? Hey, it's an Under-The-Saddle pick-up! It
has everything it's supposed to have -- nothing more/nothing less!
Are you satisfied with this pickup? EXTREMELY SATISFIED
Anything else you'd like to share? Don't waste your money on a
soundboard transducer! The installation is very easy, and if you
can file straight and flat, the saddle height reduction is easy.
Just go slow, taking a little off, restring, test action, and then
take more off. It's not hard -- don't scare yourself into thinking
that it is. The absolute WORST that you can do is take too much off
the saddle, and then you spend $5-10 on a new one. If you do it
yourself, you'll be able to take pride in your accomplishment. At
most, it'll take 2 hours TOTAL (much less if you already have an end-
pin jack).