Dean Markley ProMag Plus Acoustic Guitar Pickup

If you are one of the many acoustic guitarists performing without onboard electronics, you're probably no stranger to feedback. Incorrectly setting a mic up in front of the soundhole is just asking for trouble and usually results in a frazzled performance on your part and some high-pitched unpleasantness for your audience.

A solution is to use an acoustic guitar pickup. There are several types of pickups available to suit your requirements and budget. For those who prefer a removable soundhole pickup, the Dean Markley ProMag Plus provides a great sonic solution and can usually be installed in the soundhole in seconds.

Time to install it
Using a standard Cort dreadnought acoustic, we installed the ProMag pickup without a problem. Its recessed corners (covered with soft felt around the edges) allowed the pickup to be gently placed into the soundhole and rotated without any damage to the soundhole or rosette. Even though the action was set fairly low on the guitar, the ProMag slid under the strings without us having to stretch the strings out of the way. While stretching the strings isn't anything to cry about, it's nice that this pickup can be installed with minimal invasive action.

The ProMag's 15-foot low noise, double-shielded cable (ending with a solderless 1/4-inch jack) also provides a nice feature. Besides giving you freedom of movement with no worry of noise or hum, it assures that you'll always be armed and ready to plug into your amp or PA.

Time for the real test -- tone
One thing to keep in mind is that a soundhole pickup functions like an electric guitar pickup in that it magnetizes the strings. It's meant to pickup string vibrations and not designed to capture the sound of an acoustic guitar's interior. So, it's not fair to expect a soundhole pickup to produce the same sounds as an under-the-saddle system.

Having said that, we were impressed with the pickup power that the ProMag had to offer. Whether we played chords or double stops, we were pleasantly surprised to hear each vibrating string ring with exceptional clarity and "life." Being a single-coil pickup, the ProMag delivered bell-like harmonics and seemed to excel at picking up primarily midrange and treble frequencies.

Suppress that feedback!
The other part of this little package is the Wing Feedback Suppressor. This is a two-piece rubber disk that fits snugly around the pickup to effectively suppress feedback. While it's uncommon to encounter feedback problems with a soundhole pickup, there's always a chance that it can happen. In your acoustic travels, you'll find that it's better to have an anti-feedback device and not need it, than to need one and not have it.

Designed especially for use with the ProMag pickup series, the Wing Feedback Suppressor fits most standard sound holes. In the event that The Wing is too large for your soundhole, Dean Markley has included sandpaper for fifing down The Wing to ensure a perfect fit. Very thoughtful.

Bottom line
If a soundhole pickup seems like the best way to go for you, the Dean Markley Combo Pak is a great way to get good sound without the fear of feedback.