Artec MSP50

Submitted at: 19:02, 8/5/2005

Product Info

Pickup features: single coil passive soundhole pickup.
Impedence or other specs:
Price Paid: GBP Ł17
Purchased from: east coast music

Instrument

Model of guitar or bass: Tanglewood TW15fpp
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: Fishman prefix-plus system
Artists using this pickup: none I know of.
You musical style(s): Acoustic,all sorts of stuff, jazzy, rocky, ballady,spanishy country stuff..allsorts!
Reason for pickup change: Just adding another sound to guitar to take the edge of the piezo attack off a little.

Sound

Perceived output level: pretty hot, like the prefix on three quarters or slightly more!
Tone: very balanced once B string polepiece was lowered. Very clear and warm!
Sonic evaluation: I put this into my Tanglewood "working" guitar, with a second jack, so I run the fishman into one channel then this one into another(of whatever P.A., either the house one or my own johnson), and occasionally if I'm in a band situation I'll just run this pickup and not plug in the piezo at all. This was so cheap I expected it to be awful....but it is the best sounding pup I ever heard in an acoustic. I had to lower the B string pole, because at first it overpowered everything else, but now it really is nice and even, much more than the factory fitted fishman undersaddle in my guitar. When used in tadem with my piezo it realy brings out the country style bends and hammer-ons I love so much.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: It is an excellent pick-up,despite the low price, get one!! It totally surprised me!

Overall Rating

Comments: I bought another one today for my other acoustic, a no-name one I found at a car boot sale and sounds lovely. If it was stolen I would be mad,but buy another straight away. I play out 4 nights a week, usually 2 paying gigs, one church group and I run an open mic night. I like this pick-up and I LOVE the price. I'd like to try a rare earth from fishman, but it's literally ten times the price!!

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this pickup a: 10 Fantastic value

Submitted by: Rich <reddragonrecovery@hotmail.com>

Submitted at: 22:28, 8/5/2004

Product Info

Pickup features: Single coil, passive
Impedence or other specs:
Price Paid: US $30
Purchased from:

Instrument

Model of guitar or bass: Alvarez AF60CK
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: Sunrise
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: Not sure, but I'm certain more would if they tried it.
You musical style(s): Fingerstyle jazz/fusion/latin/funk/blues.
Reason for pickup change: Couldn't afford another Sunrise.

Sound

Perceived output level: Not as hot as a Sunrise, but more output than most of the rest.
Tone: Clear and balanced throughout the frequency range of the guitar.
Sonic evaluation: The guitar is an Alvarez AF60CK (concert size koa with cutaway). I took out the under-saddle piezo system because I never liked the way it sounded no matter what I tried. I replaced it with the Artec MSP50 soundhole pickup and volume and tone pots. I don't use typical bronze acoustic guitar strings; I use GHS Semi-Flat Nickel Wrap (a.k.a., Rollerwound) True Mediums. I use this setup through a Fender Princeton 65 in which I replaced the stock speaker with a Jensen C12Q (i.e., my style is more about the guitar playing rather than getting an amp speaker to break up nicely). I mike the amp wherever I go using a Shure SM57. It's a very simple rig, but that's all I need to get the job done.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: The Artec MSP50 captures all my articulation and amplifies it beautifully.

Overall Rating

Comments: I've been playing for over thirty years and have owned a lot of different guitars, pickups, amps, mikes, etc., and have spent literally thousands of hours at home and in studios experimenting with various setups. A few years ago I injured a hand in an accident and was unable to play and support myself for a living. During that time I had to let go of a Taylor acoustic (among other things) that was rigged with a Sunrise pickup system in order to help pay the bills. After I was able to play again, I wasn't in good financial shape, so I had to be very economic about purchasing musical equipment. That's how I gave the Artec MSP50 a try, as well as the other gear I previously mentioned. Now I'm kicking myself for having spent all that money in the past on high end guitars, big name pickups, boutique amps, etc., because I've learned that their added value is minimal. Even the sound engineers I work with say it all sounds as good if not better than the old setup.

If you think about it, even the budget stuff for sale today is higher quality than the pricey stuff we had just twenty years ago. For the most part, everything is engineered better, and the Artec MSP50 is a perfect example of that. And that's right, it's made in Korea like just about everything else nowadays. Who would've thought, huh?

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this pickup a: 10 Fantastic value

Submitted at: 9:23, 3/12/2002

Product Info

Pickup features: Single coil passive soundhole mounted pickup
Impedence or other specs:
Price Paid: Ł 50
Purchased from: Professional Music Technology Oxford

Instrument

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Newporter
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Shadow
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Jon Fletcher
You musical style(s): folk, jazz, soul, all points between
Reason for pickup change: see review of the Shadow Triple Play sound System...

Sound

Perceived output level: pretty high
Tone: balanced
Sonic evaluation: Simplicity itself! I use this on my Fender acoustic either DI'd or into a Laney amp, and usually take the signal from the pickup when recording as well as mic'ing. Either way it sounds fine, nicely balanced, plenty of bottom end, but not boomy. Clear in the mid and high range. Smooth. A good all-round sound.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Overall Rating

Comments: Build quality is fine, fits securely in place, hardly blocks any of the soundhole, it's passive (so no messing about with batteries) and has pole-pieces so you can get a perfect string balance (in fact the balance was perfect straight out of the box). Only criticism is the supplied endpin jack has to be tightened up occasionally (this is easily replaced)

You'd pay twice the price for a Fishman Rare Earth, (to which this pickup bears a resemblance) for no obvious advantage. Highly recommended.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this pickup a: 8