There's no doubt that the best way to record an acoustic guitar is to mic it up using a top-notch capacitor microphone in an acoustically sympathetic room, but if you don't have a suitable microphone, you may find that one of the better contact pickup systems will produce a better result. Furthermore, if you perform live, then you'll find such a system invaluable in getting your guitar heard above the rest of the backline.

Some guitars come with piezoelectric pickups already positioned beneath the bridge saddles, but when it comes to to DIY installation, this kind of system can be quite tricky. The SA2 system avoids this complexity by using a small surface-mounting transducer that can be held in place by means of double-sided tape. Also included is a battery-powered preamp which fits inside the guitar and a combined output jack and end pin which replaces the existing strap peg.

Installation is relatively simple but requires care. The first step is to find a good-sounding spot to mount the pickup and the manual suggests trying either just in front or just behind the bridge between the G and D strings. These checks can be done with the pickup mounted on the outside of the guitar body using double-sided carpet tape, the idea being that when you do find a sweet spot, you move the pickup to the inside of the guitar body as close to the ideal place as possible. Final fixing is done using a gap-filling epoxy adhesive or Superglue.

The sensor itself is very small and Seymour Duncan are a little cagey about its exact mode of operation. They describe it as a low-mass, hybrid device based on a patented spring mass system — so now you know. It has a very wide frequency response which exceeds the range of human hearing at both ends of the spectrum.

Mounting the preamp board is a little trickier; it's suggested that this should be screwed to the end of the neck block with the screws provided. This involves getting your hand inside the guitar and you may find it helpful to use Blu Tak to hold the screws onto the end of your screwdriver. The board has an integral battery clip and two preset pots which adjust the upper mid and presence response of the system, allowing the tone to be tailored to personal preference.

To fit the socket/strap pin, it is first necessary to remove the old peg and drill the hole out to half an inch in diameter. The new socket screws into the hole and cuts its own thread, after which it can be plugged into the preamp board by means of the connector provided. All that remains is to use the self-adhesive cable clamps supplied to ensure that there is no loose cable rattling around in the guitar body. Particular care must be taken to secure the pickup cable as this is quite sensitive to vibration.

I tested the system on my trusty Washburn acoustic, though I didn't do anything too permanent, such as drilling out my strap peg. In practice, the pickup was easy to fit and the suggested spot directly behind the bridge gave a loud, clean tone with plenty of brightness. The circuitry is reassuringly quiet, and providing the cable is properly secured, there's none of that annoying low-frequency thump that you get with some systems. Without changing the factory EQ settings, the result was a slightly brighter-than-life tone that recorded very well, especially when used for pop music. More traditional players may wish to reduce the presence setting a touch, or use a little EQ on the mixing desk. To sum it up in one line, the system is very convenient, it sounds convincing both live and in the studio, and it costs less than a decent capacitor microphone.

Further Information
Seymour Duncan SA2 pickups £129 including VAT.

Aria UK Ltd, (Contact Details).