Fishman Neo-Buster Review

Today, I'd like to my make my first attempt at a review. I recently found myself in need of a pickup for my acoustic. I have an inexpensive Epiphone acoustic guitar that lacks a built in pickup and a preamp. Because of this I had been using a Dean Markley Artist Series Transducer pickup. I started developing a short somewhere in the cable or pickup itself. In addition to this, I have been unhappy with the residue that was left from the adhesive used to adhere the pickup to my bridge. For those that are unfamiliar with the Dean Markley Artist Series, this is a small transducer pickup that adheres to your guitar using a gum-like adhesive substance. For the price, it's a decent sounding pickup. But, the adhesive is cumbersome and messy. Because of this, I have been looking at the Fishman Neo-Buster. This is an acoustic pickup that is available exclusively through Guitar Center and Musician's Friend. The unique thing about this particular pickup is that it integrates a single coil pickup with a feedback reducer. To my knowledge, this is the first product of its kind and I'm sort of surprised that nobody has thought of this before.

The installation of the Neo-Buster was extremely easy. I didn't even have to remove the strings. Despite the fact that it would have been easier, I decided to slide the device underneath the strings and push it into the soundhole of my Epiphone acoustic. It required a tiny bit of force. But, it was definitely not a herculean effort by any means. The whole process took me less than thirty seconds. It fit snugly. But it didn't require me to force it in. If I have to remove it, I can simply pull the pickup out just as quickly and easily. It didn't negatively affect the aesthetics of the guitar. Only time will tell if removal of the pickup mars the finish in any way. The best part is that I didn't have to modify the guitar in any way.

Unfortunately, I don't have a pa system, at home. So, I tested it two ways. I plugged it directly into my computer via a tube preamp and my audio interface and I also plugged it into my Fender Texas Special Hot Rod Deluxe. After a short while, I felt that I had to turn my ISP Decimator (noise reducer) on. The noise was bothering me that much. It was the level of an inexpensive single coil Which I probably should have expected. It is about as noisy as my Squier Affinity Telecaster. The sound to noise ratio is not that great. I have never been satisfied with magnetic acoustic pickups, in the past. To me, they always make the guitar sound too much like an electric. They tend to lose the subtle harmonics of an acoustic. Of course, this is a personal preference. This is one area of the Neo-Buster that I did like. It was a good compromise between acoustic and electric. It doesn't sound like a mic'ed acoustic or piezo pickup. But, it still retains enough of the acoustic timbre to be recognizable as an acoustic. I was able to play the guitar at higher volumes without any feedback. That was not the case with my previous pickup.

To summarize, I am pleased with the Fishman Neo-Buster. It isn't the best pickup out there. But, for the price it should be a welcome to addition for a frugal musician that needs a pickup for their acoustic guitar. I expect to see more of these in future open mics.

Pros

-inexpensive ($69.99 at Guitar Center or Musicians Friend)

-integrated feedback reducer. First time that I've ever seen that

-accurately reproduces an acoustic timbre (as close as a magnetic pickup can get)

-no modifications to guitar

-aesthetically pleasing. This is obviously a subjective thing.

Cons

-noisy. Sound to noise ratio isn't very good. Noisier than expected. Comparable to a cheap single coil

-Cord is too short

-cord feels slightly flimsy and fragile

-sometimes interferes with my strumming, since the pickup protrudes slightly. Not really a big issue, though. I had change my right hand technique slightly.

-sound is more bass and mid heavy than a piezo. This is only a problem if you prefer the sound of a piezo.

-only available at Guitar Center or Musician's Friend. I like to support the local mom and pop music shops as much as possible. I was disappointed when I found out that I couldn't order this through my local music shop.

-muffles acoustic sound. Because of the feedback reducer, you have to remove this to play acoustically. This isn't a big deal if you're only using the guitar to play in amplified situations. But, it does muffle the sound when playing acoustically. This is obviously to be expected and a characteristic of any type of feedback reducer.