GuhlMustafa
Oud Lover
Posts: 12
Registered: 3-30-2006
Location: North Carolina, USA
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Shadow nanoflex pickup
Anyone ever tried one of these?
http://musiciansfriend.com/product/Shadow-Nanoflex-Oud-Pickup-System-?sku=300139
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Aymara
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1162
Registered: 10-14-2009
Location: Germany / Ruhr Region
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Hi,
this question isn't new ... look HERE 
And Luttgutt reported his experience with this pickup HERE.
Just ask the oracle 
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1865
Registered: 7-25-2009
Location: San Francisco, California
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Shadow makes another that uses a pickup that goes in the string loops. In spite if some confusion in luttgutt's post, it's the through the strings
model that works with less feedback if you play loud. Tom Chandler manages with a soundboard piezo and a parametric EQ, but he doesn't play
rock-loud.
For studio work, the little K&K twin spot sounds surprisingly great and is all you need, as you have pre-amps and EQ in the mixer.
http://www.kksound.com/findpickup/oud.html
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GuhlMustafa
Oud Lover
Posts: 12
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Location: North Carolina, USA
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Sorry for the duplicate post lads, but thanks for the info/links. I'll have a look.
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Aymara
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1162
Registered: 10-14-2009
Location: Germany / Ruhr Region
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No problem.
Keep us informed. It would be interesting how you decide and how satisfied you will be.
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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frankmoon
Oud Admirer
Posts: 6
Registered: 9-8-2010
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My appraisal of the Shadow SH 700 NFX pickup:
This pickup goes through the string loops on the bridge - so it must be a fixed bridge, not floating.
I've used it in quite a loud band with loud monitors for 6 months now and never had any feedback problems. The sound is very good, and pretty even
across the strings, something that was not the case in my other oud with a soundboard mounted pickup. It's not a very traditional arabic tone, but
you'll never find this with a pickup (The best sound is always a good condenser mic for the front of house PA, possibly mixed with the pickup sound,
and only the pickup signal for your monitors, unless the band isn't very loud).
There are some problems in the design of this pickup however:
1. The small preamp is designed to mount on the join between the bowl of the oud and the soundboard, behind the bridge, and the rigid plastic shape of
the preamp mounting system is 90 degrees (right angle). Neither of my ouds are a right angle here and I haven't seen one that is... so the velcro
system of mounting the preamp is very shaky. I have had to cover it with sticky tape to stop it falling off, you would NOT want this if your varnish
is delicate!
2. The preamp is not good quality, you are better off investing in a higher end preamp to give you more control over your tone and a stronger signal.
However, the pickup ends in a micro jack (smaller than standard mini jack) so I have ended up still needing to mount the provided preamp purely to
convert the signal into a standard 1/4" jack (guitar cable).
3. The micro jack lead is permanently attached to the pickup, so if you are playing acoustically you will always have a lead dangling out of the
bridge. (The pickup is removable but this involves slackening all the strings off and allowing time for the tuning to settle again). It would make
much more sense to have the lead attached to the preamp, which is more removable.
4. The volume produced on the bass string is less than the other strings. This is probably because there is less tension on this string, so this end
of the pickup recieives a weaker signal due to less tension in the string loop and therefore a weaker contact with the bridge. If you use a single
string on the bass as usual, then this problem is heightened. This is a shame and I haven't found a great solution to this yet.
5. Attaching anything to the bridge will slightly mute your acoustic sound. This is the case with all instruments and pickup systems of course, but
this pickup is quite big, so you will definately notice a reduction in your acoustic volume/tone. Shadow recommend attaching it to the front of the
bridge but it's too big for this - in most fixed oud bridges the string holes are near the top, so the pickup contact with the bridge is on the
corner, which feels clumsy, and it will interfere with the action and intonation. On the top of the bridge is the strongest pickup sound, but also the
quietest acoustic sound (severly muted - imagine a violin or cello mute - it sits on top of the bridge). I mount the pickup on the back of the bridge
after some experimentation.
Overall - the design of the pickup has some annoying things, and I wish Shadow were better at responding to customers, as some of these things would
be easy to improve. But overall the pickup is very realiable and sounds very good, so I would definately recommend it to anyone who plays with loud
bands or big PA systems. A soundboard pickup might give you a more natural sound, but you can also spend a lot of money on a permantly fixed
soundboard pickup and not be happy. The shadow pickup is removable without trace, therefore easily transferable to another oud if you spend time
slackening strings.
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fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1865
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Location: San Francisco, California
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Frank, what's most unexpected is the strong muting of the acoustic sound. I'm also puzzled how you mount the pickup itself, given, as you say, that
most ouds have the bridge holes so near the top. I don't see how it would quite fit in the loops on the back. Is it circular in cross-section, or
flattened? What sort of oud is it? Do you think you could post a close-up photo? Do you get much acoustic muting by mounting on the back of the
bridge?
re: 3, the problem is that a piezo assembly is generally too flimsy to mount a jack, so the lead is soldered on. I suppose they could mount a
micro-jack on a short pigtail, or maybe even in that "bulb", but any additional junctions would be more prone to noise. Is the hanging lead really a
big nuisance?
When you play like this, do you play standing up? Full size bowl? If you use a strap, how do you best attach it to the oud?
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frankmoon
Oud Admirer
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Registered: 9-8-2010
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Hi fernand.
Yes you're right, the holes in the bridge are so near the top that I can't figure out why shadow would suggest this. The pickup cross section is
round, with a diameter of 5mm, so the back seems the most convenient. There is less muting on the back than on the top of the bridge. When the string
appears from the hole at the back of the bridge it travels downwards then round the pickup, keeping the top of the pickup level with the top of the
bridge.
You're right about the flimsyness of the piezo system. The lead is only annoying when you want to play a more classical gig with no amp.
Full size bowl yes, and I sometimes play standing up with a classical guitar neck strap that goes under the bowl and hooks into the lower soundhole.
Feels like this might stress the soundboard so I try not to do it too much, but I don't have another system. I was looking at the Neotech acoustic
guitar harness, but you can't get it in the uk...
http://www.neotechstraps.com/product/detail/?PRODUCT_ID=19&PROD...
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frankmoon
Oud Admirer
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Registered: 9-8-2010
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here's the pic
Attachment: phpyavjQX (81kB)
This file has been downloaded 976 times
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Sazi
Oud Junkie
Posts: 786
Registered: 9-17-2007
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 looks like some hi-tech explosive device and detonator to me!
Sure spoils the view of that nicely carved bridge...
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