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News - Page 217
By Ed Enright
Published in Downbeat Magazine, April 2002
Schertler Audio Transducers of Switzerland has put an end to the nightmare of miking pianos. Schertler’s DYN-P piano transducer mounts onto any piano’s soundboard. It sounds infinitely better than the piezo pickups typically used in live situations and approaches the supersensitive quality of high-end studio mics.
The transducer itself works kind of like stethoscope, picking up the acoustic vibrations of the instrument’s body via direct contact. As a result, you get a very natural sound with virtually no feedback or bleeding, no matter where you are in the studio or on stage. This gives musicians and engineers a surprising amount of freedom. You can put the piano as close as you want to the rhythm section or horn players and still achieve total signal separation. You can even keep the lid completely open if you choose so your fellow musicians can hear you acoustically on stage-just make sure the piano isn’t bleeding into somebody else’s microphone for a change.
In essence, the DYN-P is a no-brainer. The only real “work” required is to secure the pickup properly (using a small amount of provided putty) and to locate the best placement on the soundboard. You’ll need to do a little experimentation, trying various positions until you locate a hot or sweet spot that gives you the balance you’re looking for. The DYN-P works best when mounted close to the soundboard’s walls or borders. A grand piano version, the DYN-GP, uses two pickups to achieve a stereo effect that’s even richer.
The DYN-P/GP has a flat frequency response and requires little or no equalization (the owner’s manual notes that some gentle parametric tweaking can add transparency to the sound). The pickup operates on low impedence, reducing the potential for hum and interference. And it plugs directly into any mixer, amp or PA with balanced XLR inputs.
The DYN-GP sounded great on a friend’s well-maintained grand, responding flawlessly to a wide range of dynamics. But, because it’s so sensitive, it can reveal the flaws of a piano itself. On my old console, for example, the sound was slightly clangy, seemingly the result of hammer noise and poor string quality.
The DYN-P/GP should be kept clean and handled with extreme care (a welldesigned carrying case helps protect it). After all, once you try it, you’ll come to rely on it like your best friend.
By Steven Stone
February 2004, Stereophile’s Guide to Home Theater
About nine months ago I reviewed a new Martin D-16RE with a built-in Schertler Bluestick pickup system. Since I play a lot more mandolin than guitar, after the review I asked Schertler to send me their DYN-M pick-up which is made specifically for mandolins. I’ve been meaning to do a short review for several months now, but kept putting it off, primarily because once I finish the review I must either send the pick-up back or buy it. The DYN-M pickup system is decep-tively easy to use. Merely attach it to your mandolin and plug its XLR output jack into either a Schertler’s Pre-A II pream-plifier, onstage DI box, or directly into a mixing board microphone input. It attaches to the top of a mandolin with special putty that leaves no residue, but stays put.
The pickup is a miniature moving-coil condenser microphone that works just like any microphone – it picks up sound waves. The trick is that the putty cre-ates a seal around the DYN-M so it is isolated from extraneous sounds; it only hears your mandolin. The DYN-M’s physical de-sign makes it very resistant to airborne feedback.
Finding the right placement spot requires a bit of trial and error, but with most mandos somewhere slightly below and behind the bridge works nicely. In the last couple of months, I’ve only had one chance to actually use the DYN-M on stage. Since my group plays using a single-mic setup, most times I haven’t needed to have a direct feed for my mando, yet when I did use the DYN-M onstage, it worked great. I plugged into a DI box, which ran into the mixer. The sound man had no problem getting ad-equate gain, and the final result was I sounded like I usually do, only louder. I’ve used the DYN-M at home on several high-end mandolins including my Gib-son F5 fern, Hilburn F, and Weins F5. In every case, the resulting sound was very close to the way the instrument sounds without a pickup, and when I removed the DYN-M there were no signs of its presence on the mandolins’ finishes.
You could use the Schertler DYN-M on an acoustic guitar, but Schertler has a special version called the DYN-G specifically designed for guitars. The DYN-G looks identical to the DYN-M, and the principle is certainly the same; perhaps only the name has been changed to protect the innocent.
The retail price for the DYN-M mando pickup is $395. While not inexpensive, it accomplishes what no other mandolin pickup can – supply good sound along with easily installation and clean re-moval. With a DYN-M, mando players can be assured they’ll be heard in any stage situation. And unlike other fine pickups (i.e. the Pick Up The World), one DYN-M will suffice for any number of mandolins, as long as you only play one at a time!
My personal debate is whether I need a DYN-M enough to spend $395 for some-thing I’ll only use once in a blue moon. I’ll probably buy one, just because when I do need a mandolin (or guitar) pickup, the DYN-M can do the job so elegantly.
Steven Stone is a contributing editor to Stereophile’s Guide to Home Theater.
Tested by Art Thompson
Guitar Player May 2004
Schertler-a Swiss manufacturer of high-quality acoustic pickups since 1988- recently unveiled a new version of its Unico acoustic amplifier, which now features a bi-amped output stage (one amp delivers 150 watts to the bass speaker, and another pumps 35 watts into the dome tweeter). A compact wonder with four independent channels, the Unico resembles a small P.A. speaker. It has a laminated wood cabinet, a scuff-resistant textured finish, and a recep-tacle for stand mounting. All of the controls and I/O are top mounted, and a recessed, spring-loaded handle is located on one side. Thanks to its relatively light weight and centrally located handle, the Unico is easy to carry-although you have to be careful when picking it up, as the cabinet can swing around and bonk you on the shin. The Unico’s control panel is equipped to accommodate a variety of input sources: dynamic and condenser microphones, pick-up- equipped guitars (and other stringed instruments), and such high-output devices as CD players, effects processors, keyboards, etc. Here is a summary of each channel’s features:
Mic:
XLR input; High, Mid, Low con-trols;
48-volt phantom power; Reverb and
Volume.Dyn: XLR and q ” inputs; High, Low, Resonance controls; 10-volt phantom power; Reverb and Volume.
Stat: q ” input; High and Low controls; Warm switch; Reverb and Volume.
Line: q ” input; High, Mid, Low controls; Reverb and Volume.
In addition, the Unico has a Master sec-tion with an XLR direct out, a q ” line out, a q ” stereo (TRS) insert jack (distributes signal from an external processor to all outputs), a q ” aux out with level control, a Low Cut switch (attenuates frequencies below 150Hz, while maintaining full band-width at the outputs), and Master Reverb and Volume knobs. Having all the controls and I/O laid out mixer-style on the top of unit is very convenient, as it allows you to easily make adjustments and/or change connections while seated by or standing above the unit.
With its 35 additional watts and more efficient power distribution, the new Unico sounds even better than its predecessor. Tested with a Martin D-28 fitted with a Sunrise soundhole pickup, a Takamine EAN16C (equipped with Tak’s new Cool Tube electronics), and a Hamer Improv, the Unico delivered clear, focused tones with minimal fuss. The Dyn and Stat channels worked well with the acoustic guitars, clearly revealing the attributes of their respective pickup systems with little added coloration. The EQ power on these channels is consid-erable- in particular, the Dyn channel’s Resonance control offers dramatic midrange shaping-and while I didn’t need to activate the Warm switch with any of my test guitars, this low-pass filter (which nukes high-frequency content) could be useful for smoothing out the plasticky tones that plague many piezo-equipped instruments. The Dyn and Stat channels can be pushed into distortion by high-output active elec-tronics, and if your instrument is so equipped, you can always plug into the Line channel, which, handily, features its own 3-band EQ. The well-implemented reverb is spacious sounding and surprisingly non-sproingy for a spring design. Even when dimed, it adds only a miniscule amount of noise to this already quiet amp.
Compared with a Fishman Loudbox (reviewed March, ’04), the Unico sounded somewhat more pristine and hi-fi, but couldn’t get as loud or muster the midrange muscle of the Loudbox. Putting it another way, the Unico sounded more like a refer-ence monitor while the Loudbox sounded more like a ballsy stage amp. (Not surpris-ing considering the Loudbox’s 250 watts of tri-amped power and dedicated midrange driver.) The Unico also costs nearly twice as much as the Loudbox, but with three more channels, it obviously provides a greater degree of flexibility.
UNICO FOR YOU?
The Unico is a well made and intelligently designed amp for players who desire a compact unit that can accommodate a vari-ety of instruments, outboard gear, and mics. It’s like a miniature P.A. system in this regard, and its power and speaker complement make it ideal for small rooms or as a personal monitor on a big stage. The accuracy of the Unico’s sound ensures that the personality of your instrument comes through loud and clear, and that factor alone makes it a worthy choice for anyone with a high-end guitar and a sophisticated pickup system. The Unico even sounds great for cello and upright bass, so if you need an amp that can deal with a lot of different situations, this little powerhouse is a cool choice.
It is a common misunderstanding that Gypsy rhythm playing relies mostly on 3 note chord voicings. This lesson explains the larger voicings that Django and his Gypsy contemporaries use. It contains 4 musical examples with MP3s: Basic Blues, Modern Blues, Basic Dark Eyes, and Advanced Dark Eyes.
For more info or to download go to: Lessons Online
