Schertler - any feedback?

[David Miller]

Well, the $10,000 question... (o.k. $400) I had my hands on the Schertler pickup today, and was THIS close to taking it out of the store with me.....

BUT

I couldn't actually try it out, since the shop owner didnt want to mess up the container of putty if I wasnt buying it....

So, I would just like to know, from any of you out there, is this thing really as good as they say it is? I believe in going with the best, if it is really the best. I would rather buy once, than get something I end up replacing in a year.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[Yellowmandolin]

I have stood literally within a few inches of the PA and speakers witout any hint of feadback at considerable volume. You just have to make sure that you have the putty sealed all the way around the pickup. As far as it compares to other pickups, I think it blows pizzos out of the water. I am very happy with mine. I would do a search for this pickup too, there have been a few threads about it.

[mandroid]

Better tone than the inbridge piezo that was built into the instrument !


Acoustic instrument is subject to acoustic feedback, if it 'hears' the speaker enough to vibrate the soundboard.

[Lefty&French]

Happy Schertler customer since 2003, I bought my first piezo (Barcus-Berry for fiddle) in 1976...

[PlayerOf8]

Face it $400 is a lot of money, so if you are not a working musician, check your ego at the door and forget it. But, if you play live, this is the tool to have. I have a Mac installed inside two of my mandolins and Schertler on my GA. Light years better than anything else I've ever owned. The sound guys love 'em. They are so easy to dial in.

George

[Lefty&French]

Agree with you, PlayerOf8 : my relationship with sound guys is way better now...

[Michael Wolf]

Sorry, I owned one and have to say that I was a bit disappointed. I found it ok because of the natural dynamic range, but on the other hand I found the sound "boxy" or "nasal". I tried it with my AER-amp (good enough, I think) and mounted it very accurate and on different places. I tried it on: archtop mando, 10-string cittern, flattop guitar. All good, handmade instruments. In my point of view, the Schertler may be ok but overrated and way to expnsive.
I'd recommend the Headway pickup from England. It's not to compare with Fishman bridges or something. There are good sounding piezos that are not that bad like Schertler are making them in their promotion. The Headway similar to the highlander (in concept), but higher quality and especially made for mando. To me it sounded better than the Schertler in comparison and is easier to handle (no feedback at all).
Maybe I'm the first one not to be enthusiastic about the Schertler, but this was my conclusion.

All the Best
Michael

[Tom C]

I like mine. You may spend over $600 on different, less expensive PUs only not to be happy.

[Don Grieser]

AKG makes a contact condenser mic (the C411) that is much like the Schertler in sound. It costs a lot less ($150 to $200). Neither of them sound as good as a decent mic, but it's as good as a pickup can sound.

Don
Raising Cane
http://www.caneraising.com

[Nolan]

I think they are awesome.... #but expensive.
My Mcintyre isn't anywhere close to a Shert, it's garbage compaired to a shertler.

[Mike Bunting]

Once again, the AKG C411 is the best alternative to mic. I run it thru an AER Compact 60 which provides the necessary phantom power with nothing else and have gotten the best amplified sound I've ever had. Don, how do you run your SAKG?
Mike

[Mike Bunting]

Of course that is AKG!
Mike

[siren_20]

I've only had one problem with the schertler feeding back, and that was when the sound guy was ripped and set the monitor levels way too high. The main reason I like it is because it's the most natural sounding pickup out there (I detest piezo pickups) and you can plug it into a PA where a mic goes and have plenty of signal, and use it on multiple mandos, and other instruments, etc, etc. I don't play professionally but it's a good tool for doing gigs, and well worth the investment IMO.
That being said, I will go back on my previous statement about hating piezos to say that the Pick up the World pickup sounds really, really nice... I saw Mike Marshall and Choro Famoso recently and boy did he sound great, he was using a Pick up the World and an external mic, and it was the most natural sounding setup I've ever heard (although I believe that the signal was mostly mic).

[Michael Wolf]

I also own a AKG C411 and compared it directly with the Schertler and the sound was similar, though I was willing, but not able, to come to another conclusion. Only that the AKG has more feedback-problems(it's a condensor mice), but I think that depends also on the whole situation and the setup you play. I played it all through my AER. The difference was hard to tell, sometimes the AKG-sound seems to be slightly better to my ear, but all in all it was very similar.
I made an side by side test of the two pickups with people that are no mando players, only listeners, neither did they knew anything about the price difference between the two PUs. Sometimes this may be better, especially if you are the one who payed for all that stuff.
The conclusion was exactly the same.

One good sounding combination for me is the AKG together with an Barcus Berry Mando-Humbucker that I own (they make them nomore). They compliment each other well. The biggest drawback here are the cables that are hanging around the mando. But I can play with good tone and at quite high levels, even in a Band with a drum set behind me.

Anyway, the best amplified mando sound I've heared so far came from that Headway PU. Though I didn't want to trust in piezos anymore, I had to confess that there are very big differences and new solutions that weren't aviable a few years ago.


Cheers
Michael

[Don Grieser]

I'm running my AKG into an ART Tube Pre-Amp--the small box not the rack unit-- mainly so I can turn it down to tune. From that into the PA board. I've also gone straight into the PA board using the board's phantom power. It sounds good either way.

[Harry H]

Has anybody had any problems with a Schertler
and a Varnish Finish?

Anybody used the Schertler pre-amp along with the pick-up?

Anybody have any other fav pre-amps to use with the Schertler?

Thanks!

[mandroid]

headsup: 2 FS at $270 in the classifieds.

I have a small ETEK powered Notemix, its got(amongst 90+ others) a couple 'wood plate' reverb setting with EFX aux 1 fader to adjust the howmuch.

[Pete Martin]

Check Ebay as you can often find them in the 275 to 300 range.

[dudlebug23]

I like it. I'm not that good, but it reproduces my not so good sound effectively. I don't like the rather short cord that runs from it to my PA. I need to find a better way of connecting, like a preamp clipped to my belt. Only problem....I switch instruments alot (guitar, mando, uke, etc) so I need to find a way to play, connect, disconnect, etc. without all my wires getting crossed. Wireless? Any suggestions?

[mandroid]

Neutrik makes an F XLR end with an on/off switch,a ring around the end piece, switch it off, twist the pickup off the instrument, reshape the mounting putty, a little bit, maybe , and put onto the next instrument , turn it back on, there you go.