Seymour Duncan SA-1 Acoustic Pickup 

Comments about Seymour Duncan SA-1 Acoustic Pickup:

I was getting 60 cycle hum with my Duncan Performer Maverick soundhole pickup in one venue where I play frequently, so was looking for a humbucking pickup. This one had great reviews, so I bought it. It sounds great is is dead quiet.

Comments about Seymour Duncan SA-1 Acoustic Pickup:

Fit the sound hole of my Epiphone DR-212 snugly. Cord is long enough to reach the end pin and stay out of the way while playing. Volume knob mounted ot the top of the PUP is easy to work with the thumb and the indicator numbers on it are easy enough to read even with my old eyes!
No frills add-on acoustic pickup. Volume control, external cable and ability to keep the cord attached via the strap pin on the back of the guitar. What more do you really need?
It's a Seymour Duncan! That says it all!
Quality pickup at a fair price.

Comments about Seymour Duncan SA-1 Acoustic Pickup:

Since I have an acoustic guitar which needs amplification, and mikeing it is a real pain, this seemed like a good solution. I go right into the board on the PA. It's quiet, there is no feedback, and it's pretty simple to use. What more could you need to know?
Well there are some things that need mentioning. You need some kind of preamp. The output is low, not enough by itself to allow use. I have one of Boss's parametric eq pedals, PQ 4. Small, no noise, and very wide tonal range, it's perfect for this application. I guess there are many things that would be adequate, but I had this anyway. I didn't like Boss's graphic eq. not as good range, and noisier.
Next, it was a little cumbersome to insert into the guitar hole, but it fit solidly. I didn't have any rattling issues, and it was easy to remove.
Finally,if you play vigorously, you might have interference with the pickup, and particularly the cable.
None of these things were an issue for me. I've had it for 10 years or so, and have never experienced a problem. You can get a very rich robust tone, or thin it out, what ever you prefer with the eq. If you have a guitar with a standard hole, this would be worthy of consideration.
Looking at the variety of pickups out there, I'd say that this seems like a good value.

Comments about Seymour Duncan SA-1 Acoustic Pickup:

I just saw a review on another soundhole pickup that mentioned feedback. When I first got this (and my Roland Jazz Chorus) I didn't even realize that one could get feedback through an amp'd guitar.

But it didn't matter because I NEVER had ANY feedback problem at all with this pickup and my amp... or even a mid 1990's Randall Tube Pro that I picked up early in the 2000's.

I never could find anything musically even marginal about this pickup. Just a little tricky to get in the hole until you get used to it. But that has to be true of any soundhole pickup. And, fwiw, I feel like the soundhole pickup is the most realistic amplification of an acoustic guitar. I had a higher level (Legend, I think) mid 1980's Ovation 12-string with built in electronics. And while good... it wasn't quite as good as this pickup imho.

Comments about Seymour Duncan SA-1 Acoustic Pickup:

I bought this in 1986 for my 1972 Martin D-18. I ran it through my Roland Jazz Chorus 50W and it sounded like... well... EXACTLY... like my guitar. It was awesome and dead accurate as far as I could discern.

The volume always worked for me. At the time, I wasn't aware enough with amplification to tell if it was volume or gain (as one reviewer said) but it did what I wanted... louder. Didn't sound outrageously distorted to me, but I used the amplifier mostly for volume change.
It is easily removable for those offended by its looks when not running amplified. It is a bit of a pain to get in there though, comes out much easier. And the cord is a little awkard. I used to use black electrician's tape to tape it to the (black) pickguard of my guitar.
I never had a lick of trouble with it almost 20 years.
A little pricy, but there's nothing better out there imho.

Comments about Seymour Duncan SA-1 Acoustic Pickup:

This pickup was a christmas gift I received several years ago. It fit perfectly into my 1985 Takamini 12 String guitar. I had tried other pickups in the past but this one has given me the best natural sound out of them all. The only drawbacks are two things. The only place I could find for the cord was outside the guitar sound hole and sometimes I do bump the volume knob when I am playing. I had to turn the pickup upside down to bump it less often. I do have an Alvarez 6 string and it wouldn't fit in that sound hole, so make sure your mearure yours before buying. All in all it's a great pickup and it's true, it doesn't make any feedback.

Comments about Seymour Duncan SA-1 Acoustic Pickup:

I bought one of these a while back, decided I liked it so much I had it permanently installed. I recorded with it as well as played live, after selling that guitar a while back (with the pick-up) I have yet to find anything I like as much. The only drawback I ever saw was the volume knob wasn't very responsve as others stated it was pretty much on or off. It worked from 7 to 10 (I used 7 to sound check, then rolled it up to 10 because so many audio engineers had no clue what to do with an acoustic in a live mix) I will be buyng a new one for upcoming acoustic shows.

Comments about Seymour Duncan SA-1 Acoustic Pickup:

I bought this when I bought my Taylor 310. I thought it would hold me until I could get a system installed. Come to find out I don't need any other system. This works great. I have not had nothing but raves for the sound.The volume switch is useless, it doesn't ajust volume just gain, so I suggest a pre-amp for volume control without having to go to your amp for adjusting while playing. For the money this can't be beat.I am buying another for my older guitars.

Comments about Seymour Duncan SA-1 Acoustic Pickup:

I bought the very first release of this pickup, it used to be called the SoundTube Humbucker, this one seems like a more stripped down hum cancelling version. They sound near the same, the volume knob is kind of a waste because there's not much range, just off and max. I had mine installed into a Takimine & Co. 12 string and I've heard nothing but raves about it since 1997.

Comments about Seymour Duncan SA-1 Acoustic Pickup:

I have tried several different acoustic pickups and or mics, but I could never get the sound I wanted until I bought the SA-1. It was very easy to install and I was playing in just a few seconds. I would recommend this unit if you are looking for a quick and easy way to amplify your acoustic guitar and sound good.