Karera Soundhole Pickup
Submitted at: 12:56, 8/31/98
Product Info
Pickup features: Humbucking soundhole pickup with tone and volume controls. One really great feature that allows me to keep the pickup mounted in the S6 at all times is that it's 1/4" plug cable plugs into the pickup with a small stereo-type plug. That way, I can leave the pickup installed and rmeove the cable.
Impedence or other specs:
Price Paid: US $35
Purchased from: Ripper's music (does alot of business on E-BAY)
Instrument
Model of guitar or bass:
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: I would think no artists use Karera gear.
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change: I bought the pickup to amplify my Seagull S6. Since the
Seagull only cost $200, I was reluctant to place an
expensive pickup on it.
Sound
Perceived output level: The pickup has a pre-map and is quite loud, much louder than my old Dean Markley Promag that I used ot have on my old Ovation. With the on-board volume control, I can easily control the volume.
Tone: The tone is pretty evenly balanced with priority give to the upper 4 strings. The pickup wrapper card mentions something along those lines. The tone control is the same as an electric guitar's tone control and is not all that usefull. I run it with the tone set to treble and adjust my amp as needed.
Sonic evaluation: Sound-wise, I am very happy with the pickup. I thought a no-name
Korean brand for $35 would sound junky, but it doesn't. The pre-amp
seems to be the key. The pickup faithfully reproduces the acosutic
guitar sound but adds in a little electric sound as would most any
soundhole pickup. All in all, I am very satisifed wih the sound
considering I play through an electric guitar amp
(Fender 112 Stage SE). The pickup actually fattens up the S6's
thin lead sound which pleased me, since I felt the S6 was only good for strumming
and fingerpicking. I will now revisit playing single string solos on the S6.
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Pickup is used on a Seagull S6, cedar-top acoustic guitar played through a Fender 112 Stage SE amp, playing jazz and simple fingerpicked tunes. The pickup is great for finger-picking, strumming, and single string solos.
Overall Rating
Comments: The only downside to the pickup is it's mounting mechanism. The pickup
has plastic "teeth" to allow it to mount near the neck in the
soundhole, but the rear of the pickup has 2 pieces of metal that
attach to the back of the soundhole. My feeling is that the pickup was too
snug and could cause damage to the soundhole of my S6. I asked the
shop owner about this and he said not to worry (he is the same guy
that sold me the S6).
I like the fact that I can leave the pickup installed and just
remove the cable. I like the pre-amp and the external volume control
as well.
The pickup is black and is unobtrusive - almost invisible - in the
soundhole. It's loud and on my Fender amp, clear as a bell.
Karera manufactures in Korea (and possibly China). They make
amps and pickups. The amps sell for about 30% less than USA
made or branded amps.
This is my first purchase of their equipment. I bought mainly
on price, but amp pleased with the results.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this pickup a: 8
Submitted by: Greg <OASYSCO@aol.com>