Best Cheap Acoustic Guitar Pickup - Woody SA3SC & AXL Acoustic Guitar Pickups Review
- 8 yıl önce
In todays video we review two of the best acoustic guitar pickups, the Seymour Duncan SA3SC Woody SC acoustic guitar pickup and the AXL Transducer. Both products have one thing in common: they are cheap, or I should rather say inexpensive I guess, and they are or remarkable quality considering the price-tag. Also, I thoroughly tested these two acoustic pickups and Im still surprised by how much bang I got for the buck.
Lets start with the Woody SC. I am ashamed and embarrassed, but its a funny story. I was actually looking for an acoustic pickup for my Yamaha C40 Classical guitar. I did some research but I was totally uneducated and while the product description clearly stated that the Woody is made exclusively for guitars with steel strings, I somehow overlooked this important piece of information. Based on a number of different and independent acoustic guitar pickup reviews, I went ahead and ordered my Woody SC. However, my plan didnt really work out, for two reasons: first of all, the Woody didnt work on my Yamaha guitar, because this model obviously has nylon strings. Secondly, the product didnt even fit the soundhole. So, at this point I didnt even know that the Woody wont work with nylon strings and therefore I was only focused on the issue regarding the size -- so I cut off a little piece in the back of the accessory to make it fit on the Yamaha. Only after that, I realized that this particular pickup for acoustic guitar wont work at all on my classical instrument. Well, after that rather sobering episode I tried the Woody on my Takamine EG100, which is a Western Guitar. Thankfully, despite my manual modifications the Woody still fit perfectly on the Takamine and I was really positively surprised by the sound quality. Actually, this model is an acoustic guitar with pickup built-in, so theoretically, I wouldnt need an external one. However, the fact of the matter is, the Woody sounds better than the integrated pickup, which is quite remarkable. The lessons learned here: be aware of the different acoustic guitar pickup types. Some work on all types of guitars, others dont. Of course, in hindsight I realize what an idiot I was, but okay, you learn from your mistakes (well, hopefully). The Woody comes with a 14 foot long cable and is available for just under $40.
Now, lets talk a little bit about candidate number 2, the AXL Transducer. This could possibly be the best acoustic pickup out there. Why? Because of the ridiculously low price. For a sale price of $14, this little thing is absolutely phenomenal. By the way, did you notice I referred to the AXL as an acoustic pickup, not acoustic guitar pickup. There is a reason for that, because you can actually put the AXL Transducer on pretty much anything that produces a sound. Now, I will say this: if you are planning on gigging Carnegie Hall, you might want to look into more of a sophisticated acoustic guitar pickup system. However, for something that is so cheap, its really a no brainer. The AXL is installed within a few seconds and as far as my purposes are concerned, I am more than satisfied with the quality. I know that people are complaining about the suction cup not sticking -- I absolutely have no issues with that at all. Just moisten it a little bit and then give it a firm push. If anything, Im sometimes a little afraid that this transducer acoustic guitar microphone pickup works a little bit too well as far as the suction cup is concerned -- at times I feel its glued to the guitar.
Okay in sum: either one of the devices is the best acoustic guitar pickup in its on category. So if you are looking for low-price but decent quality pickups for acoustic guitars, I strongly encourage you to but these two devices on your list.
If you have any questions, post a comment below of head over to
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Lets start with the Woody SC. I am ashamed and embarrassed, but its a funny story. I was actually looking for an acoustic pickup for my Yamaha C40 Classical guitar. I did some research but I was totally uneducated and while the product description clearly stated that the Woody is made exclusively for guitars with steel strings, I somehow overlooked this important piece of information. Based on a number of different and independent acoustic guitar pickup reviews, I went ahead and ordered my Woody SC. However, my plan didnt really work out, for two reasons: first of all, the Woody didnt work on my Yamaha guitar, because this model obviously has nylon strings. Secondly, the product didnt even fit the soundhole. So, at this point I didnt even know that the Woody wont work with nylon strings and therefore I was only focused on the issue regarding the size -- so I cut off a little piece in the back of the accessory to make it fit on the Yamaha. Only after that, I realized that this particular pickup for acoustic guitar wont work at all on my classical instrument. Well, after that rather sobering episode I tried the Woody on my Takamine EG100, which is a Western Guitar. Thankfully, despite my manual modifications the Woody still fit perfectly on the Takamine and I was really positively surprised by the sound quality. Actually, this model is an acoustic guitar with pickup built-in, so theoretically, I wouldnt need an external one. However, the fact of the matter is, the Woody sounds better than the integrated pickup, which is quite remarkable. The lessons learned here: be aware of the different acoustic guitar pickup types. Some work on all types of guitars, others dont. Of course, in hindsight I realize what an idiot I was, but okay, you learn from your mistakes (well, hopefully). The Woody comes with a 14 foot long cable and is available for just under $40.
Now, lets talk a little bit about candidate number 2, the AXL Transducer. This could possibly be the best acoustic pickup out there. Why? Because of the ridiculously low price. For a sale price of $14, this little thing is absolutely phenomenal. By the way, did you notice I referred to the AXL as an acoustic pickup, not acoustic guitar pickup. There is a reason for that, because you can actually put the AXL Transducer on pretty much anything that produces a sound. Now, I will say this: if you are planning on gigging Carnegie Hall, you might want to look into more of a sophisticated acoustic guitar pickup system. However, for something that is so cheap, its really a no brainer. The AXL is installed within a few seconds and as far as my purposes are concerned, I am more than satisfied with the quality. I know that people are complaining about the suction cup not sticking -- I absolutely have no issues with that at all. Just moisten it a little bit and then give it a firm push. If anything, Im sometimes a little afraid that this transducer acoustic guitar microphone pickup works a little bit too well as far as the suction cup is concerned -- at times I feel its glued to the guitar.
Okay in sum: either one of the devices is the best acoustic guitar pickup in its on category. So if you are looking for low-price but decent quality pickups for acoustic guitars, I strongly encourage you to but these two devices on your list.
If you have any questions, post a comment below of head over to
Subscribe today and get FREE access to all the tools you need to learn to play guitar online. Yes, it is FREE -- all you need to do is create an account. For more details, click below: