Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can you use B-Band pickups with other brand preamps?
A: No. Using any B-Band pickups with another brand preamp will not work well or sound good.
B-Band is the only brand that uses Emfit(R) material in the pickups. Emfit material has very different properties from other material used (mostly Piezo material). These properties let the instruments natural, unique, voice character come through. These special properties and specifications need a special designed B-Band preamp to perform best.
Please only use B-Band pickups with B-Band preamps.
Q: Can you use B-Band preamps with other brand pickups?
A: No. See first question and answer- for the same reason.
Q: Can you use B-Band pickups without a B-Band preamp?
A: No. B-Band pickups always need a B-Band preamp to work.
Q: Which B-Band guitar related pickup and preamp models work with classical or nylon string guitars?
A: All B-Band guitar related pickup and preamp models basically work with any classical, nylon string, and steel string guitars.
Q: Which pickup should I use in my guitar?
A: The B-Band UST (undersaddle) and AST (soundboard) acoustic guitar pickups can basically be used in any situation and guitar. The best result is using both pickups with a dual input preamp (B-Band A2.2 or A6T XOM(R) preamps currently available at the time of this writing) because of the wide variety of complex tone that can be had. But if you want to go with a more basic setup, for example, one pickup, then read on.
Overall, the B-Band UST undersaddle pickup, used alone, can produce a sound that will closely rival many dual systems or mics, and works best in more performance situations from quiet solo settings to loud stage band rock. Because of the special properties of the Emfit material in used in the pickup, the UST has a very wide frequency and dynamic response and very good at rejecting feedback.
The AST soundboard pickup is relatively easy to install. The AST by itself, sounds quite close to a small to medium diaphragm studio condenser mic. The AST pickup is fairly small but when added to the soundboard or bridge plate of the guitar the pickup pattern bigger and more sensitive to sound, and because of this makes the AST somewhat sensitive to feedback. In general, the AST, used alone, is suitable for low to medium loud performances.
The preamps that are most used with the AST, the A1.2N, A2.2 and A6T, have circuits that help the AST in more lively situations. The A1.2N has a "notch" in the midrange tone to smooth the sound and save the AST sound from the sensitive mid-range feedback levels.
The A2.2 and A6T, both with the exclusive XOM mix circuit, combine the mid to high frequencies AST sound with the low to mid tones of UST sound.
Q: Which preamp will the AG-MIC guitar soundhole condenser microphone work with?
A: The AG-MIC microphone will only work at the #2 channel of the model A2 preamp. The AG-MIC will not work with any other preamp. It will not work with A1.2; A1.2N; A2.2; A3; A3T; A5T; A6T; A11; T35. It will not work with older preamp models A4.2; A6; A6.2; A7; A8; A9; A10. The AG-MIC does not work with XOM models.