Artec MSP-50 Sound Hole Magnetic Pickup for Acoustic Guitar Endpin Jack

Better than I expected for the price and easy to install. Setting the EQ half way up, the bass was full and the treble bright. Now if they could only put easier fitting strap buttons on these types of input jacks, I would be in bliss.

Better than I expected for the price and easy to install. Setting the EQ half way up, the bass was full and the treble bright. Now if they could only put easier fitting strap buttons on these types of input jacks, I would be in bliss.

Was very pleased with the tone and output of this pickup. Installed it in my Epiphone AJ-220S and was pleasantly surprised to find that all of the strings aligned almost perfectly with the respective pickup pole pieces. The pickup is flat black in color and small in profile so it doesn't look too noticeable when installed. The tone is very nice. I plugged it directly into an Ibanez IBZ-10A solid state amp and a Fender Super Champ XD tube amp. The pickup still maintained that "acoustic" tone one desires. Please note that there are no installation instructions that accompany the package. You will have to remove the tail strap button from your guitar and drill a 1/2" hole for the output jack (or drill a hole through the lower bout if you prefer that location). Make sure you use a proper drill bit to avoid damage to your guitar. I used a Dewalt 1/2" Steel Brad Point Drill Bit and protected the hole area with masking tape to avoid chipping the finish. Installing the output jack was by trial and error as to the setting of the jam nuts for proper protrusion of the jack through the body. I used a TV Jones tapered dowel (a must!) to locate and position the jack as my arm is too large to fit through the sound hole. The jack has 2 exterior nuts: a hex nut for installing the jack though the side of the body, and a round nut that serves as a strap button. You use one or the other depending on the installation you choose. They cannot be used together. Make sure that the jack protrudes enough so that your guitar cord pin will snap in place. There are 2 metal plates with double stick tape used to secure the cord in the body so it doesn't flop around. The plates are soft metal and you bend the end over to hold the cord in place.

Pickup worked as advertised. I had installed the same type of pickup in my tenor guitar. This one was for my Baby Taylor. Both had smaller soundholes, so slight modification to the pickup was necessary. Installation went fine and the pickup works well.

Adjustable pole pieces are a real plus compared to other products of this kind. This is a single coil pickup, so there is some noise, but it seems to be well shielded, so the noise is isn't noticeable at performance volumes.