The Angel Passive Acoustic Soundhole Pickup Review

Passive Pickup Bliss

I purchased The Angel a few weeks ago and it arrive yesterday, I was so thrilled. So I own a 1980's Fender Newporter Acoustic, and was using a wooden pickup with a cable that got in my way, and was also a nuisance. So I went shopping for a new Pickup in a no-frills, no battery, just a Passive Pickup I could install in my Fender and leave it there permanently, without worries… read more of a dead battery when I most needed to play live. My guitar instructor suggested Sweetwater, so I ordered "The Angel" online from Sweetwater and waited a reasonable amount of time for a non-stock item. Sweetwater even called me to ask if something else in stock would fit my needs, but nothing Passive with a Turtle Shell finish was available. Here I did have a bias as I took the "aesthetic" decision to have a Turtle Shell finish that matched my Fender Pick Guard, and it looks like a factory option to me (you be the judge). The installation was simple, but it required that I drill-out the existing Strap Peg hole. And taking any drill to any musical instrument is a bit unnerving. But after laying my Fender on a towel on the floor, I was able to kneel down, and get into a safe position to hold my guitar and drill. I used two sharp drill bits on my Fender. The first bit to open the existing perforation a was 3/8" Bit. The final correct Bit for the Audio Jack was a 1/2" Bit to allow the larger threaded diameter of the 1/4" Guitar Jack receptacle a precise snug fit. After fishing the jack through the hole with a solid #24 gauge wire, I mounted the 1/4" Guitar Receptacle Jack with some adjustment of the bottom stop screw after securing the Pickup. It was all done in less than 30 min, it even took me longer to gather my tools. When I plugged my Fender into my amp and plucked the strings, I had reached my goal, Passive Pickup Bliss So far, I am using "The Angel" in the factory setting of the magnet adjustments. Once I play for a few weeks I can try to tweak this, so far the music is great with the unit as calibrated. The Angel is connected through a Boss Equalizer Pedal, and this gives the the battery-free, active free operation I so desired. My next purchase will be a pedal to control Swell, but I am always looking for battery free accessories, as they have a way to stop working when the stores are closed. Highly Recommended for Darker Guitars and Passive Operation. The notes are crisp but smooth.

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DiMarzio Black Angel

I installed a DiMarzio Black Angel into my Martin CEO-7 and have performed through a Schertler Unico as well as a full PA, the latter using an UltraSound MAX DI pre-amp before the mixing board.The installation was a piece of cake. I removed the LR Baggs Lyric, which is nice but gets too thin and needs too much EQ at bigger concert volumes, and had the Angel in its place with 15… read more minutes.After reducing the height of the B-string pole to 0 (screwing it all the way down), and reducing the height of the high E-string pole to perhaps 20% above 0, the sound is very acceptable. No quack exhibited by undersaddle pickups, and no nasal hollow-honk of soundboard piezo pickups. The electric string issue that most people (myself included) fear from old school magnetic soundhole pickups is barely there, and actually translates well in a full band situation that includes a bass.For a little extra polish, when possible I blend in a small amount of microphone sound (about 30%), via a dynamic supercardioid about 5 inches from the neck/body joint. But this is just me being picky.

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