Pre-amp for a McIntire Feather dobro pickup

Lincoln Goertzen · Post by **Lincoln Goertzen** » 7 Jul 2002 3:45 pm

I just got a Melobro, and had it ordered with a McIntire Feather pickup. (spelling of McIntire?)

What are my options of pre-amps that are good for this pickup?

Are there any that are cheaper? Better in terms of sound?

The Fishman Pro EQ comes to mind. Can anyone tell me about this one?

Thanks in advance, Lincoln

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 7 Jul 2002 10:08 pm

There are two that seem to work really well. The first is the Baggs Para-DI. It's got an input trim, phase switch, 5 bands of EQ (2 sweepable), phantom power, etc. It's very versatile and can tame most any acoustic pickup.

Next, my current favorite, is the SansAmp acoustic DI. It's got simpler eq but it has it's unique "SansAmp" sound that you can blend in. It takes all the brittleness of acoustic pickups and creates some very warm natural harmonics and subtle compresson. With the right setting of the blend knob, I get a great tone out of my mandolin which uses a very similar pickup to the "feather" you describe.

Brad Sarno
St. Louis, MO

Michael Brebes · Post by **Michael Brebes** » 8 Jul 2002 8:09 am

I have the Baggs Para DI as well and it is an excellent preamp. I've used it for the McIntyre pickups, regular piezo and I-beam pickups on acoustics mandolins. I haven't found anything that it can't handle.