ElectroniX ReffleX

Passive 3 element piezo/transducer design pickup in the style of K&K Pure Western. The specs are provided on ebay auction/co's website.

I installed this on my 80's Guild D-25, which is a really lovely sounding guitar. This unit is replacing a Martin Thinline 332 passive under saddle piezo and a Dean Markley maple bar single coil magnetic pickup.

To be honest, these weren't exactly A-list pickups. The Dean Markley was just a matter of convenience, but I developed a certain hatred for the sound of the Martin. My guitar has a very rich midrange that was just raped by the under saddle piezo. It was always a real disappointment plugging in with that thing.

My end pin was already drilled, so that was fine. However, the threading on the jack provided with this pickup was not quite long enough to get through my guitar with the recommended nut/washer setup. Therefore, I did not use the nut designed to fit inside the guitar. This barely left enough room for the jack to protrude far enough outside the guitar. Also, my guitar's bracing did not allow adequate room for placement of the larger middle transducer on the bridge side of the X bracing. I had to move it in front of the X on the soundhole side and it fit fairly well. I have no idea what impact this would have on the sound. It probably took me 10 minutes to install the pickup and the results seem fine.

The output level on this pickup is fine, but a preamp is still recommended. Primarily, I use this to run into my M-Audio BX8 studio monitors for the time being. While not a substitute for a condenser mic, this pickup definitely has a more organic response than the Martin did and much more wood in the sound than the magnetic Markley.

You do get the sound of hand scrapes/pick scratches because the large middle transducer is mounted directly to the bottom of the soundboard. The tone on this is much warmer and more realistic than the Martin. My friend's LR Baggs M1 sounds a little beefier, but he spent 3 times as much on it. I'm not sure the difference in price is justified. Compared to the Refflex, the other two pickups I had were jokes.

Feedback resistance seems to be about par for a standard piezo.

For the money, there probably isn't anything else that compares. It's quite a bargain and I've really enjoyed the results so far. I really think that it's unlikely you'll go wrong considering the investment.

Transducer Type:Three Piezo-elctric pickups
Audio Range: 106db
Noise level: Less than -111db
Output: 1/4" female end pin Jack
Wiring: High quality shielded audio cable
Installation time: About 20 minutes

Johnson California model JD17. You have to drill a hole 7/16" to accommodate the end pin jack. The instructions are simple to follow. This guitar had no previous pickup installed.

The sound of this pickup is the closest to the natural sound I have heard so far. It doe's not sound like all the other under the bridge pickups but gets the sound from inside the guitar. You get that nice round full sound that is so natural. I did not hear the Taylor ES system to compare but for the low price, I find it a rare bargain. The output is a bit lower than most pickups and there is no volume or tone controls but find I don't need them. Musicelectronix.com manufacture the 600QT and the 700QT models with controls if you need them. I use the controls on my amps. This is a similar pickup to the K&K Pure Western. The piezo elements have sticky pads that you just peel the red covers off and stick the two smaller pads under the bridge position and the larger pad closer to the sound hole.Just make sure you position the three element right the first time as they stick like the Dicken's. I had problems to get my arm inside the guitar to install it as I have a large arm but should be easy for most of you.

I'm fifty five years old and been playing guitar for a wile. I own two electric and two acoustic guitars. My main amplifier is a DST 825 by ART and my practice amplifier is a Rolland Cube 30. I do not believe in big names anymore as I find that you can get great bargains out there these days and believe me, this is a bargain. If you want to amplify the sound of your acoustic guitar the way it sound's unamplified, this is the way to go. I'm sticking with this one.