SOME INSTALLATION REQUIRED
In order to eliminate any problems in the Sonic Doubleplay’s performance due to improper installation, I requested that Shadow send it mounted in an instrument. I received the unit in an Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500M dreadnought with a spruce top and mahogany back and sides.
Like most undersaddle pickups, the Nanoflex requires a small (about 3/32 inch) hole drilled through the saddle slot. As is the case with most pickup elements that have a flexible design, this hole has to be drilled at an angle, and care must be taken to not hit any braces in the process. Even though the Nanoflex is very thin, the saddle height requires adjustment to compensate for the pickup’s added thickness. And although some guitars already feature an endpin jack–size hole in the end block, many instruments still require drilling to bring the dimensions to proper spec. Neither job should be attempted at home if you’re not 100 percent comfortable with taking a drill to your guitar.
The good news is that the remaining parts of the Sonic Doubleplay system attach to the instrument via simple double-sided tape. The Nanomag attaches to the end of the fretboard (though on guitars with a curved or slanted fretboard end, it may not fit), and the control unit mounts inside the bass side of the soundhole. All that’s left to do is to secure the wires inside the body with the supplied clamps, and voilà!—you’re ready to go. IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE AND VERSATILITYAuditioning the Shadow-equipped Epiphone through AER Alpha and Fishman Loudbox 100 amps, I was immediately impressed. Two aspects of the unit’s performance stood out as I put the Sonic Doubleplay through its paces: the system is exceptionally quiet (only the faintest touch of hum was audible from the Nanomag, and the Nanoflex introduced no audible noise of its own), and the Nanoflex is one of the most top-sensitive undersaddle pickups I’ve encountered. As such, percussive slaps on the guitar’s body were easily reproduced with an immediacy more akin to a soundboard transducer or an internal mic. The drawback to such sensitivity is a much lower feedback threshold, and some players find that a transducer as “alive” as the Nanoflex can result in the pickup also amplifying the sounds caused by hands or arms rubbing against the body. However, the overall sonic character of the Nanoflex alone was very natural and full-range, with only a hint of undersaddle compression when I hit the strings hard with a flatpick. Fortunately, blending in the Nanomag allows you to control the amount of top sensitivity to suit your style. Like most magnetic pickups, the unit is very feedback resistant and virtually immune to taps on the body. When used as the sole source, the Nanomag possesses the typical, slightly “electric”-sounding quality that’s inherent in most magnetic pickups (and which increases as you play further up the neck). But it was also able to capture great low end, which is one reason why magnetic pickups are often favored by players who use low alternate tunings. THE WRAPUltimately, I found the Shadow Sonic Doubleplay to be a fine-sounding, exceptionally flexible system, suitable for a wide range of styles. It must be said that undersaddle pickups, in particular, can perform very differently from one guitar to the next, making it impossible to predict exactly how the system would sound in another instrument. Guitarists who need to play very loudly may find themselves using more of the Nanomag than the Nanoflex side of the system and should be sure that a magnetic sound suits their ideal of pleasing amplified tone. But given the flexibility of this system as a whole—and the ample opportunities for tone shaping afforded by two uniquely flavored pickups—you’ll likely find a great tone that suits your style.
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