Schertler rewls!

campfire

"Michael,

Just wanted to thank you for the pickup. It arrived shortly after I talked to you. It's rare when a product meets my expectations these days, even rarer when it exceeds them. The Schertler sounds even better than I had hoped. Very natural, and plenty of depth. I am very satisfied with it. I like it better than the Schatten or the Bigtone. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to amplify their acoustic guitar. Thanks for all your help, and great service." (quote, from email I sent Michael H. today)

I just wanted to share my recent experience with purchasing a Shertler pickup from Michael, and try to answer any questions about it.

I used this pickup through a Schertler "David" amp, and the pickup was hastily installed on my new Gitane J.J. guitar, just minutes before leaving for my Wednesday night gig. I just put it on the guitar behind the foot of the bridge on the treble side. I didn't have time to experiment with placement.

When I plugged in and played, I was astonished at how good my guitar sounded! Completely natural, clear, and full. And no unwanted noise or feedback. I was very close to the amp, also. I didn't even need to use the "resonance" filter on the amp. Just set everything flat, and played. I only wish I had discovered this pickup 2 years ago, before spending all that money on other systems. With this, I can simply pull it off and put it on another guitar in just a few minutes. It's so easy.

Sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to share this with everybody. Thanks.

Larry Camp

marciero

Larry,

I appreciate your remarks. I have not heard too much about the Schatten in the way of reviews from actual users. Do you have the newer split-design Schatten with two smaller sensors? I have pretty much narrowed it down to Schatten and Schertler. I actually ordered a Schatten but have not installed it. Also, I have two very different sounding gypsy guitars that I may set up differently, so the Schertler is a possibility. I realize that they work best with the Schertler amps... Things start getting expensive pretty quickly.

Another approach I will throw out there: A current trio gig of mine is not gypsy jazz per se, and as the only guitarist, I think something approaching an archtop sound will work well. I always thought my larger body Dell Arte had a sound approaching acoustic archtop. I have ordered a Pickup the World Polymag for this one. This is a magnetic pickup that installs at the end of the fretboard on top of the top floater style. So it does not sit in the soundhole. It attatches by means of a magnet under the top. You run a wire out an endpin jack as per usual, but you can remove it in seconds by unplugging the wire from a minijack and simply pulling it off. To fit under the strings it is very thin. Floaters for jazz boxes take advantage of the room created by neck angle and fretboard height and can be thicker. It is very discrete looking and importantly, won't block the soundhole. This is a new pickup so there are not reviews on it other than from the vendors. But based on that and the other products from this company (the design does borrow in some way from their film transducers) I anticipate something like an archtop-with-floater, but a bit more acoustic, and therefore with some gypsy flavor as well. In oter words, not at all like a Stimer. We shall see.

Mike A

oscar

Hi Larry,

Didn't you recently get a Gallato Daphne as well? How does it compare with the JJ?

Thanks

thrip

campfire wrote:

I used this pickup through a Schertler "David" amp, and the pickup was hastily installed on my new Gitane J.J. guitar, just minutes before leaving for my Wednesday night gig.

Having just taken delivery of a "David" amp I am delighted with the sound, but I'm wondering about the volume of it. I've only done a couple of gigs with it so far, but for an 80 watt amp it seems a little on the quiet side and I'm a bit worried about those noisy pub gigs. Has anybody else noticed this?

campfire

marciero,

I have the newer model Schatten HFN-Artist (with on-board preamp & battery), and yes, it has the split sensors. I really like it, but as with all pickups of this type, once installed, it's there to stay, pretty much. I only know how it sounds through my Gallato. The Schertler, however, is easily transferred from guitar to guitar, and that's a big plus IMO. They both sound really good and natural, but I'm leaning towards the Schertler. I'm not crazy about the sound of the Schertler through my AER, but I found a workable solution using an adaptor and going through the non-XLR channel. The Schertler DYN does sound best through a Schertler amp or pre-amp.

Thanks for the info on the PUTW Polymag! I'll definitely check it out. I want a Stimer, too...just 'cause I like that sound. Phillipe Nedjar...WOW!!! What a great sound.

oscar,

Without a long, drawn-out reply: I like the Gitane J.J. better than the Gallato. It has all the volume, more depth, big, fat, flat neck, and is much better looking. Much less expensive, too. Except for changing strings to Argies, it is bone stock. Don't get me wrong, the Daphne is a nice guitar, and I do like it. I just like the JJ more. Purely subjective.

thrip,

I used the David two Wednesdays in a row at my regular gig, and it had more than enough power. Noisy room, too. It actually has more power than the AER, which I've used for electric archtop gigs with horn piano, drums and bass. IMO, the David has all the power you'll ever need. If you need to play louder than it will produce, somethings wrong with the people you are playing with, or for! Or get a Unico and be done with it.

Larry Camp

dennis

hi larry

can u elaborate on the schertler / AER thing... that kinda scares me.... michael also told me he didn't like the sound too much on the AER..... also when you say "workable" solution... do u mean workable as in "merely ok", or "good"?

have you tried plugging it directly to a PA? any help would be appreciated as I decide on whether to get the schertler preamp as well....

campfire

Dennis,

By workable, I meant "merely ok". Tonight me and Nick (my fellow partner in GJ) A/B'd the two amps ("David" and "AER") side by side with the Schertler. There really is no comparison. I really wanted to like the AER, but it just didn't cut it. My advice: Get the Schertler pre-amp or one of the Schertler amplifiers. Hope that helps.

Larry Camp

dennis

damn that really sucks, how bout straight to the PA? quality? any feedback problems?

thanks

campfire

dennis,

I've never tried it that way, so I can't comment. I played a very large venue tonight, with a large PA & moniters, but I played through the David, and they ran a balanced line out from the amp. I got a lot of feedback, and a terrible sound, but I think it was the fault of the soundman and a vocal mike without an off/on switch.

Larry Camp

djadam

Hi Larry,

I'm curious about your impression of the Schatten pickup in the Compact 60 versus the David... did they both sound good? Did one amp sound better with this pickup?

Thanks,

Adam

campfire

djadam,

I have never played the Schatten through the David amp, that I can recall. Only through my AER. I played the Schertler through the David and AER and it sounded better to me with the David.

I have the Schatten model for Selmer/Mac with built-in preamp. It sounds very bright in the Gallato, through ANY amp. (The Gallato is a very BRIGHT sounding guitar!) I also wish the Schatten had a bit more volume, I have to crank up my AER much louder with the Schatten than with a Bigtone or even the Schertler. I wish I could hear the Schatten through one of my other guitars (JJ or Park or Dunn or Dell 'Arte), but installation is rather difficult.

Tell you what. I'll borrow my friend Nick's David (if I can ) amp when we play on Wed. night, and I'll play my Gallato (with Schatten) through it, and see how it sounds. Keep in mind, this will only tell me what the GALLATO DAPHNE sounds like through the David, not how the Schatten would sound through the David with YOUR guitar.

I'll be posting soon, I hope. Take care.

Larry Camp