Playing unamplified is a great experience – the sound that you are making comes from your guitar and not a box somewhere remote from you, to play quieter you play softer, to play louder you play harder and all the members of the band can hear each other. However in the real world of strange venue acoustics and non-concert conditions amplification is a necessary evil. What is the best method of amplifying gypsy jazz guitars?

Microphones - if you have a full PA system with main speakers pointed away from you, plenty of monitor speakers facing you and preferably a sound engineer then using an external microphone for amplification is possible. There are still problems – you mustn’t move in relation to the microphone (not too much of a problem when seated) and it can be difficult to get sufficient volume without feedback. There is also the problem of transporting a big PA around – until you reach superstar status and festival organisers do everything for you.

Magnetic pickups - not a good solution for most players as the sound becomes too much like an electric guitar, some older players did use the Stimer pickup which fitted in the soundhole but the sound was an acquired taste and interfered with picking techniques.

Contact pickups – these are pickups that acquire and transmit the vibrations from the guitar itself (rather than the air around it) and are much less prone to feedback. They are usually based on a piezo crystal system, sometimes with pre-amplifiers in the guitar, sometimes without. They are often mounted in the bridge but can be a tape which is stuck onto the body of the guitar (cosmetically better on the inside). These pickups tend to produce a crisp quite trebly sound which is very good for projection but which might lose some of the mid-range mellowness of the guitar.

Combination Microphone/Contact pickup systems - The guitars had two separate pickups in the bridge and the body of the guitar and the sound from these could be mixed using the on-board preamplifier (they were Yamaha APX models). We then had a condenser microphone on a small boom stand pointed at the upper end of the fretboard at get the ‘air’ sound of the guitar. Most of the volume came from the contact pickups but the microphone input definitely enhanced the sound. Some use guitars with Big Tone pIckups in the bridge or a slightly different system with a small clip-on condenser microphone fitted to the edge of the soundhole. This has the advantage of not requiring heavy microphone stands and you don’t have to worry about moving away from the microphone.

Babik listening to Django circa 1950 with early pickup and foot on amplifier

I'm a Dutch guitar player, mainly Djanjo style jazz ballads on an archtop, (chord melody) and Bossa Nova on an nylon strung guitar. For some years i have followed JWC Guitars keeping in touch with Tony in order to stay informed about the development of these guitars. Some time ago I played a JWC D-hole in the Belgian Dealer's Shop and was very enthusiastic. I notice that the top is more bent and that a thinner skin is used. I am looking for a more open sound which I hope to find in a good D-hole so I await the new series. I struggle with amplification for the acoustic guitar. Many Gypsies use the Big Tone., but serious Luthier's know that these pick-ups are passive, cheap, loud and as it is simple to install, it is very popular among Gypsy Jazz Players. With a critical ear BigTone does not amplify the full sound spectrum from a good guitar. There are pick-ups that will amplify the resonance of the top soundboard ( B-band, Shadow, Schatten etc., Can you give me an advice? - Louis Frederix.

As regards Pickups – as you say most acoustic guitars can be fitted with Piezo Biggertone Pickups under the bridge.
http://www.jwc-guitars.com/accessories/bigtoneUK.htm

Stimer pickups are still available – and can be adapted for D-Holes but are dated and a question of taste.
http://www.paulvernonchester.com/Django_&_Stimer.htm

this link may be of interest
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Acoustic+Guitar+Pickup

Saddle pickups are very good these days but...still take only the string vibrations, not the soundboard. Only Highlander has a saddle pick-up that claims to be also sensitive for vibrations of the downside. Very good sound reproduction, much more tonal spread than the Bigtones, which are only favourite in the gypsy-community, If the client wants to copy the bad taste of Gypsy Performers, so be it.

Highlander Pickups Intallation.htm

www.Biggertone.com
The Biggertone is an active bigtone pickup for Selmer style Oval-Hole & D-Hole guitars: -delivering a realistic tonal spectrum with a steady and powerfull output . -not only loud but also perfectly string-to-string balanced without feedback . -it can be connected to almost any type of acoustic or electric amp, recording desk or PA system. -installation is easy and only demands a good study of the included detailed manual. Biggertone pickups are handmade of quality components and individually tested . They are the result of a long time research with the best bigtone-performance possible today. There are 3 standard bridge heights available : 19mm - 21mm - 23 mm Other heights can be made on simple request !
Biggertone Pick-Ups - Video
Closing title sequence features Duet by Paul Vernon Chester and Nick Mellor Stimer playing 'Djangology'

The Micro Chevalet is an ingenious pickup solution built in France by Patrick Inghilleri.

This pickup allows one to amplify a Selmer type guitar without having to do any drilling whatsoever. Just place this bridge on your guitar like any other and connect the cable to the cleverly mounted mini-jack on the bass side of the bridge.

A larger 1/4" adapter is attached to the tailpiece with a piece of velcro. This system is very easy to remove so it is attractive to anyone who doesn't want to modify their guitar and/or wants the flexibility of changing bridges.

This pickup has a fantastic sound and has become popular with some of the top young French players such as Adrien Moignard and Mathieu Chatelain.

The pickup also comes with a beautiful hand made wood box which you can use to store the pickup when not in use.

The highest quality, no-compromise range of signature jazz guitar pickups available anywhere. All Benedetto pickups are handmade in Seymour Duncan’s Santa Barbara, California workshop. They’re each fully shielded and include detailed wiring and installation instructions. According to Bob Benedetto, this pickup is “the best sounding jazz pickup I’ve ever heard. There isn’t even a close second.”

Schatten HFN-S2 Pickups for Selmer/Maccaferri Instruments

The HFN-S2 is designed to give you a full, rich sound and will reproduce exactly what your guitar sounds like. These pickups utilize an elegant combination of materials: rosewood for its main structure and arching with a light weight brass shell for its noise shielded piezo unit. Total weight of the pickup is a very light 0.2 ounces (7 grams). It will not affect the acoustic sound of the instrument when not in use.

The HFN-S2 will fit virtually all Selmer/Maccaferri instruments with standard Selmer style bracing. For more information on fit and bracing,

HFN-S2 Artist models are available with either one or two thumbwheel volume controls. These thumbwheel controls simply stick to the underside of the lip of the sound hole. A single thumbwheel control would be used to control the volume of the pickup. The second thumbwheel control would be used if you wish to add a secondary pickup magnetic pickup. Having two thumbwheel volume controls allows you to mix and blend both pickups as you like.

Installation is quick and simple and takes about 20 to 40 minutes depending upon pickup model. All HFN-S2's come fully wired, complete and ready to install. The Artist models also include a self adhesive velcro mount cordura nylon battery bag. Neat and tidy.

Audio-Technica PRO 70 Lavalier Microphone

In the quest for the smallest and lightest amplification setup take a look at small microphones that could be attached to your guitars. On Bireli Lagrene’s Live Jazz A Vienne DVD that most of the guitars are amplified using a small microphone taped just below the soundhole.

The Microphone used on all of the guitars on the Lagrene DVD is the Shure Beta 98/s, it is a miniature super cardoid.

The PRO 70 is also cardoid condenser microphone that comes with a small metal box (with a belt clip) which contains a single AA battery as power supply (though phantom power can also be used) and interfaces it to an XLR microphone cable.

It is supplied with a lapel clip and the instrument clip shown on the right of the photograph which is designed to fit it to acoustic guitars.

Experiment with using the clip to mount the microphone on the outside (left) and inside (right) of the guitar. The first thing to notice it that the clip is quite bulky and will only fit a D hole gypsy guitar, it touches the strings if you try to fit it to an oval hole (though you could discard the clip tape it on an oval hole). Although it looks bulky when mounted on the outside it doesn’t get in the way because most picking is nearer to the bridge than the fretboard. It seems to work better when mounted inside because there is much less feedback and the sound stays the same.

How does it sound? It gives a good clear sound with plenty of middle. It isn’t ideal as a single source of amplification because it is difficult to get the top end punch that you need for gypsy jazz and it is hard to get it up to sufficient volume at gigs in large or noisy rooms without feedback. However when combined with the Bigtone Piezo pickup it is ideal - the Bigtone provides the punch and high end and the microphone fills out the mid range and gives the sound some ‘air’.

The Bigtone reproduced the percussive plectrum upstrokes when playing rhythm so there doesn’t appear to be any need for an external microphone around the soundhole.

This is a good combination with the Bigtone pickup - and everything fits into your guitar cases or the gig bags which the AER amplifiers are supplied in, - no more big heavy bags filled with microphone stands (Use a wireless microphone for announcements to avoid any).

B-Band Acoustic Soundboard Transducer (AST 1470)

The B-Band AST is made of the same exclusive Emfit film material found in the UST but designed to fit at the bridge plate or soundboard of an instrument. The AST has a very wide frequency response and dynamic range to capture all the tone details of an acoustic instrument. AST has all the advantages of a microphone without the positioning and feedback issues that are usually associated with mics.

The AST is very thin, lightweight and compact. Because of it size and the adhesive on the back, it is easy to navigate to fit anywhere inside an instrument without critical positioning. The construction of the AST is a long consistent structure that ends with a connector for easy plug-in fitting to a B-Band preamp without soldering.

Compatible with all B-Band preamps, the AST can be used as a stand-alone source or in combination with a UST with a B-Band dual source preamp. AST can be used with any acoustic instrument with good access to the surface that it will be mounted.

Shadow Electronics Acoustic Guitar Pickups Pickup Descriptions
SH EC 22 - Preamp with Condenser Microphone & Pickup

Shadow`s soundhole fitted preamps for acoustic & classical guitar are designed for sonic clarity, ease of installation and preservation of your instrument. The SH EC 22 Megasonic is an easy-to-fit preamp system for acoustic and classical guitar. With the pre-amp control pots and separate volume controls for condenser microphone and piezo under saddle pickup that will be able to reproduce the sound of your instrument faithfully. Because Sonic pre-amps are installed into the soundhole there is no need to cut a hole in the bout/frame of the guitar. It only touches your guitar in two spots: the rubber coated clip which slides over the edge of the sound hole and a velcro pad under the soundboard.

adjustable high quality condenser microphone
undersaddle piezo bridge pickup with 2.5mm plug
feedback suppression switch
piezo volume, bass, midrange (via trim pot) and treble controls
microphone volume control
endpin connector and cable
incorporated 9-volt battery compartment
controls are easily readable from the lip of the sound hole
velcro stickers for simple mounting
measurement pickup: height: 2mm; width: 2.2mm; length: 70.2mm

Installation Manual

Shadow SH NMG-EP

Shadow`s SH NMG-EP endpin preamps are designed to fit specific sounds of different types of instruments. Their easy installation and low power consumption make these products very user-friendly and popular.

NanoMAG is a small size magnetic pickup that fits at the end of the fingerboard. It is the only pickup of this kind on the market which provides an acoustic sound, but can also produce a sweet blues or jazz sound. It is very resistant to feedback and has incredible dynamics. NanoMAG is a breakthrough in magnetic pickup technology that outperforms all the rest.

The Shadow pick-up with the small black bar, will surely produce good quality, but as is has to be put on the end of the fretboard: that is where the problem arises: normal acoustic guitars have a straight end to the fretboard, in the neighbourhood of the soundhole. With Django guitars its a different story: the oval holes have no straight end to the fretboard and the D-hole models have a much longer fretboard ,extending over the hole. Where does one place this black bar pick-up? So I'm afraid that this pick-up should not be mentioned here as a possibility for such guitars as it cannot be installed. - Louis

Nanoflex Pickup for the Django Reinhardt Guitar
SH NFX-MAC
It is the first time that a Selmer Maccaferri style guitar is amplified with a pickup that reproduces that special sound truly. You will hear the gypsy soul and the fantasy of their jazz music with every touch of the pickup faithfully reproduced by Shadow’s SH NFX-MAC. The pickups mount under the bridge and connect to the detachable preamp unit with volume and tone control, input and output sockets. No modification on instrument needed!

The Shadow Nanomag pickup will surely be a good product, these people know what they are doing. I have a Shadow pick-up, also with Nano-technology it consists of 2 small pads that are put under the feet of the ebony bridge, so taking the vibrations of the top of the guitar which of course gives the broadest tonal spectrum of the whole soundboard. The less attractive thing is that the small wires of the pick-up are visible; going to a small pre-amp that is put at the end of the tailpiece: but It's a construction that does no harm to the guitar: no holes to be drilled, no internal pre-amp with difficult battery-switching. - Louis

The "pêche à la mouche" pick-up

Inspired from the Stimer model used by the famous Django Reinhardt, this new model built for the 100th anniversary of Django's birthday features considerable technical improvements.
It is now possible to play "magnetic" on gypsy strings without volume difference between plain cords (E B) and wound cords (G D A E)
The pick-up is specially designed for the type of strings used on gypsy guitars. (for gypsy strings only!)
The mounting system works with a leaf spring and is easily fixed on the instrument with the volume potentiometer towards the top or bottom (as for left handed, here is an example)

A second spring of different length is supplied and can use the same pick-up on a "Grande Bouche" guitar.

B-6 (6-string)
Magnet Alnico V Bar
Cable 4-Conductor shielded. Allows multiple wiring options.
DC resistance 12.10 K Ohms
Inductance 7.10 H
Resonant Frequency
Series - 4.29 KHz
Split - 7.93 KHz
Body Measurements 2.74 x 1.49 x .70
Centres of Mounting Legs - 3.062"
Part No. - 11601-03

Schatten HFN-S2 Pickups for Selmer/Maccaferri Instruments

Audio-Technica PRO 70 Lavalier Microphone

B-Band Acoustic Soundboard Transducer (AST 1470)

Shadow Electronics Acoustic Guitar Pickups Pickup Descriptions
SH EC 22 - Preamp with Condenser Microphone & Pickup

Installation Manual

Shadow SH NMG-EP

The "pêche à la mouche" pick-up

Mail jazzmaster@jazzeddie.f2s.com with questions or comments about the format of this web site.
Last modified: 25/08/2010

Schatten HFN-S2 Pickups for Selmer/Maccaferri Instruments

Audio-Technica PRO 70 Lavalier Microphone

B-Band Acoustic Soundboard Transducer (AST 1470)

Shadow Electronics Acoustic Guitar Pickups Pickup Descriptions SH EC 22 - Preamp with Condenser Microphone & Pickup

Installation Manual

Shadow SH NMG-EP

The "pêche à la mouche" pick-up

Mail jazzmaster@jazzeddie.f2s.com with questions or comments about the format of this web site. Last modified: 25/08/2010

Shadow Electronics Acoustic Guitar Pickups Pickup Descriptions
SH EC 22 - Preamp with Condenser Microphone & Pickup

Mail jazzmaster@jazzeddie.f2s.com with questions or comments about the format of this web site.
Last modified: 25/08/2010