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Shadow SH-145 Prestige

Summary
Similar Products Shadow SH 145 Prestige Active Soundhole Humbucker @ Musician's Friend
Shadow SH145 Prestige Active Sound Hole Humbucker @ Musician's Friend
Manufacturer URL http://www.shadow-electronics.com/
Sound 10.0 (1 response)
Overall Rating 10.0 (1 response)
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Product: Shadow SH-145 Prestige
Price Paid: Euros 140
Submitted 06/20/2008 at 09:40pm by David Cambrin

Features :
Active soundhole magnetic humbucking acoustic guitar pickup, comes with long cable if you don't want to put in the shorter (included, if I remember) cable with female jack for mounting in the strap pin. Volume control. Unlike Rare Earth and others, the short internal cable/jack unplugs from the pickup so you could, like I did, order a couple of extra cable/jacks, mount them in other guitars and shift a single pickup between axes. Pickup just clamps in soundhole nicely with a Phillips screwdriver, no guitar alteration neccessary, sits well, tighten the screws once and a while. Comes in silver and black. They sent me the silver one by mistake at first, I put it in anyway, hated the look, got the black model. The pickup is a bit big and clunky but looks symmetrical and unobtrusive enough in the soundhole. Battery lasts a long long time.


Instrument :
I use it in a Martin D-28 and a Martin DX1 Tawny Satinwood (great guitar!).
The D-28 came with the Fishman Prefix system which I really disliked although it's supposed to be or was their flagship rig.
In the Tawny the SH145 sounds fabulous to me, an arrived, perfect sound- you might plunk in other pickups for their own virtues but the SH 145- I dig it in a final way. I recently put it in the D-28 as well, disconnecting the Fishman. Beeyuuteefull.
I also use the Fishman Rare Earth Humbucker in an Epiphone acoustic. I find the Rare Earth good but kind of synthetic sounding. The SH is much cheaper and I like it way more than the Rare Earth.

Sound : 10
Strong output, well defined bass, needs a titch more treble added but not much (in comparison to the Rare Earth). The SH seems to get the right amount of string scratch and wood vibe compared to the Rare Earth, which is kind of crystalline and detatched- it's like the SH is a piano and the Rare Earth is a harpsichord.
I run things (vocals too) through a Marshall AS50D Acoustic Git Amp which is also a 10 for me.
Should I get emphatic? Okay- this pickup is FABULOUSSSS!!! Swell!! *******!! Mint!! Very likeable.
I can believe that a B-Band etc system would get more hifi out of the guitar and sound more acoustically authentic but the SH in this configuration is comparable to a Shure SM57- there's finer stuff out there but some pieces of gear are just immaculate and perfect in themselves, finitp.

Overall Rating : 10
Yeah, I would get it again. In fact, as I write, a second one is rumbling down the Autobahn to me cuz I would rather just pick up either axe for gigging without shifting the pickup from one to another.
I'm 54 and I've been fulltime since I was 19. I'm Canadian, I live in Germany where I now have a long term house gig in a hotel playing piano and guitar and singing.
Irresistible sensual SONIC BEAUTY is half the battle in charming people that come into a bar or lounge and morphing them into being an audience- Martin guitars, this Shadow pickup and the Marshall amp- well, people FEEL good sound as much as they hear it with their ears.
But?- well, I wish the pickup was narrower and lighter and more invisible like the Rare Earth but that's minor. It can eat crackers in my bed anytime.
For me, this setup is a perfect live sound and one that goes for hours without getting tiresome. You could rig up other setups to switch to for variety but this one is THERE and complete and perfect unto itself. I say this after more than a year of gigging four nights a week with it.
Back to the Sonic Beauty thing- musicians generally don't pay enough attention to the audience's physical (hearing and visual) perception of what they are presenting. Give people sounds that make them feel good like sun on your face or a warm wind or feeling welcome and at ease somewhere or with someone. Please yourself for sure but please them too.

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