I use MSP with my double bass, and my friend plays classical guitar. For double bass, I compare MSP with two leading-brand double bass piezo bridge pickups. I am familiar with other piezo pickups for double bass, but those I have used on borrowed instruments. I have to say, speaking about piezo pickups, MSP surpassed them all.
So far I preffered a pickup that installs under the bridge's foot, which worked fine in loud situations, but would start to compress sound after a certain level of input - this limited dynamic range led me to search for other solutions. Also, on some recordings it would sound close to electric bass, but that is due to where the pickup is positioned - I feel it mostly brings out the sound of strings and the bridge, not the whole instrument. A pickup that installs under the bridge's wings goes even further here, and some musicians actually go for that sound.
I first used MSP on a rehearsal with my jazz quartet, and while I immediately noticed greater dynamic range (compared to a pickup that installs under the bridge's foot), the rest of the ensemble exclaimed how much more natural the amplified signal sounded. I also had great response from other musicians, and one of my friends (cello player) will be ordering MSP soon - if she has not already!
On the other hand, I find MSP very, very sensitive to the positioning. This is of course great, but can also be really unstable, as just a tiny movement of the cable can result with a significant change in sound. Naturally, I am still making adjustments, and I test different positions, with different magnets, and I am also learning how to apply EQ to MSP.
All in all, I am very happy with the purchase.
- The comments and photos from Vedran Mutić in Luxembourg Nov. 2015 -
I have to point out that I do not keep MSP on my instrument always, I use it only when I need my double bass amplified, and the position always varies. But in general it is positioned where you can see it on attached photos, in the area of 5cm diameter maybe.
My friend tried it for the first time on her classical guitar yesterday on the rehearsal, and it was plug-and-play: instant satisfaction, zero feedback problems, great sound with flat eq settings on the mixing board. We will continue to tell our colleagues about MSP.
- The comments from Vedran Mutić in Luxembourg Dec. 2015 -
