Dean Markley Artist Pickup

mje · #1 03-21-2003, 06:17 PM

Just bought a Dean Markely Artist pickup for $39 from Music123.com. I bought it to see how well it worked on bass, thinking if it didn't work out I could use in on banjo or perhaps guitar.

It's a wooden disk, about the size o a quarter but perhaps 5/8" thick. INside is a piezo element and a lead disk, which turns it into an accelerometer. It attaches with the usual putty you find with many contact pickups.

How did it work? Very well. I experimented with various positions on the table above and below the bridge, and found a spot a few inches above the bridge where I got an excellent tone- much better than my Fishman or the K&K I've also used.

I used it without a preamp, running direct into my AI amp which has a 10Megohm input impedance. I think I'm going to shorten the cable, making it just ling enough to run to the tailpiece where I'll mount a connector and optionally a preamp.

If you're looking for an inexpensive pickup... do check this one out. Dimarzio makes a very similar model that sells for about $10 more.

Bijoux · #2 03-22-2003, 12:44 AM

how about volume? I tried one of those before and I really liked the tone but I coudn't get enough volume out of it.

mje · #3 03-22-2003, 02:02 PM

It does have a relatively low output compared to some pickups, but a preamp takes care of that. I had no problem with my 300 watt amp getting it loud enough ;-)

In a way I preferred the lower output to some pickups that overloaded the input of my Clarus and drove it into clipping too easily.