Schatten Design M-06 Pro Mandolin Pickup

I needed a pickup for my mandolin to play in my church band. The pickup arrived promptly from Thomann and so far I have been very pleased with it. I have a hand-made mandolin with carved top and back and adjustable bridge. I needed the longer 'legs' which came supplied but the carpenter clamp has remained secure since installation (I slipped some paper behind the legs while fitting it to avoid any scratches to the mandolin). I have moved it once to allow the mandolin to sit in an instrument stand. Removal is easy and despite the legs being firmly tightened, there was no marking of the mandolin finish thanks to the cork protection on the clamping surfaces.

Attaching the pickup is easy but placement is critical for a good sound. If it is attached high on the bridge (near the strings), it results in a harsh tone with a lot of pick noise but moving it down to about halfway gives a much warmer, cleaner sound with negligible pick noise though at the loss of a little volume. I plug in to a sound-desk via a DI box so any loss of volume due to pickup-position can be compensated for. I used sticky putty to attach the pick up and this works very well and cleans off easily. It seems a little pointless to have a removable device and use the permanent sticky pads provided, especially as the the little wire is soldered into the Schetten's body (a mini jack would have been sensible).

Although the Schetten is mostly well made, I gave only 3 stars for quality because, in addition to the lack of a mini jack for the pickup wire, the felt back is peeling away a little exposing the soldering. This can be solved by a little glue but, although not critical to the functioning of the device, I had expected a better finish.

Overall I consider this product good value for money, but some experimentation with pickup position is essential to fine the best sound (so do not attach the pickup permenantly until you are sure of the best position). In some situations a pre-amp may be advisable.