Shadow SH SV1 Single Disc Violin Pickup

The Shadow SH SV1 is a single disc electrical pickup, designed to be used with a regular acoustic violin. The transducer disc in 12mm in diameter, and it is made of piezoelectric material, and creates electrical signals from vibrations. The disc is placed inside one of the slots in the bridge, and depending on your bridge, you may need to either file the bridge or insert a copper metal spacer (which comes with the pickup). This can be annoying, but I found the transducer disc to fit perfectly and tightly in my violin bridge, and it stays in place no matter where I place or move the instrument. It can also be removed without extreme force or any special tools.

The transducer disc is a little ugly and it seems to be a little too large, but it functions just fine. There is a short cable running from the transducer disc to the external connector, which is a 1/4" cable, similar to guitar cable. I do with the connector was an 1/8" connector, as the guitar cables tend to be very heavy, and they can pull on the cabling too much. The connector also comes with velcro and adhesive, which can be attached to the side of the violin. This is absolutely necessary, but I do hope the adhesive does not damage my violin. I've read and heard that the adhesive is safe on the violin material, however.

The sound from this relatively low-end pickup is surprisingly good: The EQ seems balanced, it's not too trebly, lots of warms, and sounds very realistic. I was expected much worse, seeing how acoustic guitar pickups can differ greatly from mic-ing the guitar. But the sound here really does sound like the instrument is being mic-ed, and the pickup picks up everything. In fact, at times it can be too sensitive, picking up various noises, bumps, and movements. The cable itself can make loud popping sounds when pressed or touched, so you have to be careful where that cable lays. The noise produced from touching the cable can be excessively loud as well.