Guzz Acoustic Pickup Series II (Pre Order - Ships Jan, 2014)

MichaelHorowitz

First reactions after using it on a gig:

-The mounting system is the best I've seen! The clip is rock solid, keeping the pickup perfectly in place.

-The sound is the most acoustic of any magnetic pickup I've tried for Gypsy guitars. Very clear with a lot of definition.

-The string balance is pretty well perfect

-The neutrik cable is bomb proof, and if it does get lost or damaged it's easily replaced.

-Looks awesome!

ihscout

Can't wait to get this pickup!
Sounds like it's exactly what I have been looking for!
Are you going to be shipping these this month,or are they still back ordered?

MichaelHorowitz

@ihscout I have just one demo version now, but the rest have shipped and will be here in a week or so. So I'll be shipping these out by the end of the month.

MichaelHorowitz

To all of you who pre-ordered the Guzz pickups, you'll be happy to know they all shipped out this morning! You're in for a treat, have fun!

travisrayle

Just got mine today! It is a piece of art for the eyes and ears.. LOVE IT!
Michael, do you know what kind of metal the cover is made of?

Gustav Lundgren

this is me with the GUZZ & my old Stimer Amp:

HCQ

Great!!

Al Watsky

The Hot Club de Suede clip sounds great and Gustav gets a great sound here but does anyone else notice the presence of what seems to be a mic attached to the upper bout of his guitar ? Looks like he's got a hyper cardioid on there in addition to the Guzz. Which would in part explain the quality of the sound he's getting.
That is BTW what I do. Electro mag plus DPA. Very clear, best of both worlds. Its a bit complex but layering works very well for acoustic amplification.
I'm hired on occasion to consult with players looking for way to translate the sound they hear in their heads into a reality on stage. Layering is often the way to go.
I have had clients use up to 4 sound sources with individual preamps for each.
E-mag, on board mic, soundboard transducer and under saddle in one case. As long as you don't phase cancel it can sound huge.
Too much for most folks , myself included.
So far on the GJ guitars it looks like e-mag and external hyper cardioid works best for me. Workable in a plug and play situation and flexible enough for a concert situation.
IMO it doesn't much matter what the products used are. Its more about intention and pre amplification , though the brands of the mic's and pickups do effect the color of the sound its more about dedicating a frequency band to each. A matter of splitting things between ,lows, low middle , middle and highs .

shega

I contacted Jorge last year, trying to purchase one of his Series 1 pickups, but he was sold out. He put me on a list, and I was one of the earliest recipients of the new Series II. I also have a beloved Stimer, which is awesome, that I play through an Acoustic Image with a Raezer's Edge 10er cabinet.

The Guzz is heavy compared to the Stimer. Unlike Michael, I am not thrilled by the clip, it has very sharp edges and has not stayed put on my guitar top without lots of putty. In my initial attempts to fit it, I gouged the soundhole, which now has nicks in it that are unsightly. Because of this, I am not happy about the prospect of fitting the pickup to my guitar whenever I want to be amplified. I think I will devise another way to do so. Also, the cord is very stiff and heavy, and it sticks out from the bottom of the pickup nearly to the point where the guitar rests on my right leg. It can get in the way, and any pressure my leg has on the cord pushes against the already precarious placement of the pickup. The weight of the cord has pulled the pickup out of place each time I have used it.

So those are the points I would want everyone to know before ordering one. But that isn't really what anyone want to know about, is it. How does it sound?
Amazing. It sounds amazing! It is completely balanced, warm, rich, and acoustic. It does not sound like a Stimer to me, it sounds like an archtop pickup on a quality instrument. Run directly into the Acoustic Image amp, it requires far more gain to achieve the output of my Stimer, but with a tube pedal (for clean tube boost or a little breakup) the volume was easy to achieve.

It was very expensive: all told, with shipping and duty, it was close to $470, and it may force me to sell my Stimer if I plan to keep it. So far, it is the best sounding pickup I have heard or used. In particular, the possibilities of using this for good sounding rhythm excite me.

I tried it with a tube amp, and also a tube pedal through the AI/RE. Sounds like you would expect: excellent, with however much breakup you dial in.

I would recommend ordering it from Michael. It is more expensive through Jorge, and you have to pay duty in addition to shipping. I enjoyed communicating with Jorge, but had I known Michael was selling them, I would have ordered from him (sorry Michael).

nicksansone

I have just received the Guzz Series 2 pickup and my perception of the product is in between the review from Michael's first post and this last post by Shega. It sounds amazing; really acoustic for a magnetic pickup. The clip I do find to be very stable, though requires a bit of conscious handling when putting into place or removing due to the slightly sharp metal ends near the guitar top. The cable does come out of the pickup directly onto the top of my right leg as well, so it would be preferable to have a right angle mini xlr made at some point down the line.. Lastly the output is a bit weak unless you have super low action on the guitar, requiring full volume at all times. I wish there was a height adjustment or the pickup itself was actually thicker; like the series1. Of course the slim construction is a "feature" of this design, and probably is a selling point for some people. After playing with a stimer reissue for a long time, I find that this is the first pickup I can play both rhythm and lead with and have a satisfactory sound. The stimer is quite quacky in a electric funk sort of way when comping, and the Guzz sounds full and balanced. Really a pretty nice handmade product, it's the most even sounding pickup I've tried.