The Amulet Ultra is a modular system that combines the Acoustic Lens pickups with the most flexible onboard preamp offerings available anywhere.
I find amplification to be a very subjective experience. We all hear something different. Our preferences are shaped by many factors. My "Pickups" articles share my own impressions of and experiences with the named products. Currently, there are no A / B sound comparisons or recordings. A few articles share installation tips.
Trance Audio has extended their Amulet product line, with an impressive array of onboard preamp configurations dubbed "Ultra".
What stays the same from previous versions of the Amulet are the two separate triple shielded polyplanar transducers, Trance's well-respected “Acoustic Lens™” pickups. If you are unfamiliar with the Amulet, I would suggest that you read my article titled » Trance Amulet M-VT Phantom. There are a few guitar designs for which this pickup would not be well suited, and I identify them in that article.
Let's look at what has changed. To start with, the pickups are straightforward to install, as they are now attached using E6000 adhesive. Previous versions used a powerful double-sided tape.
Unlike the previous generation systems, where the two pickups were plugged into an integrated preamp/endpin (strap) jack (which meant the whole unit became inaccessible deep inside the body of your guitar), the Amulet Ultra system is now fully modular, and separates the preamp from the strap jack. The preamp, with its two thumbwheels, is now able to be positioned at the soundhole.
Going further, the cable that attaches the strap jack to the preamp now includes a clip for a 9V battery. Not only is the system able to be powered via 48V Phantom power, but the player can elect to make use of on onboard battery in the absence of Phantom power with a mere flick of a switch!
Trance Audio offers three versions of its preamp, each available in one four configurations. Actually, one of the three versions is available in one of eight configurations, for a total of 16 configurations. That alone is amazing, but the almost unbelievable part is that Trance made these preamps so they could be used with most any pickup system you want - you don't have to use their pickups if you don't want to!
For this to even begin to make sense, let me show you an illustration of the Amulet Ultra preamp.
All 16 configurations include what you see in the illustration, above. Two discreet signal paths are provided. You can simply install Trance's Acoustic Lens pickups and have a selectable Phantom powered/9V battery system.
Individual gain trimmers, one for each pickup, are easily accessible. The two thumbwheels are assigned their task, be it Volume and Tone, Dual Volume, Blend, or Panorama.
You control the mix of the two pickups at the preamp, and send the combined signal to endpin jack. But this "Dual Mono" version of the preamp only covers four of the 16 configurations.
Four more configurations are available using the "True Stereo" version. Using this preamp with a stereo cable, you open some serious possibilities.
But it doesn't stop there. The Ultra "Multi" version is available in four "Mono" configurations AND four more "Stereo" configurations. As its name suggests, the "Multi" preamp is designed to accommodate up to three pickups! And you only need a single guitar cable! You choose: USTs, SBTs, Magnetic, even Mics are supported.
The combinations have been well thought out, engineered, and described in detail on the Trance Audio website. If, for some reason, none of the 16 configurations quite fit your particular needs, you can always reach out to the Trance Audio Custom Shop.
I have only begun to plumb the depths of Trance Audio's newest offerings. Based on my experience with the company, their previous versions of the pickup, and the Ultra systems I have now installed, I heartily recommend the new Trance Amulet Ultra with the Acoustic Lens pickups to any acoustic guitarist seeking a pickup system on the basis of its ability to more accurately reproduce their guitar's tone.
If you want to try the Amulet system, but aren't sure where to start, I like the Amulet Ultra True Stereo VT. A stereo cable is used with this configuration. On the preamp, the A thumbwheel is the master volume control for both pickups. The B thumbwheel is a "Tone control" that lets you roll off the top end, as desired.
The Amulet remains in a league of its own, in this regard. With the addition of the mix-n-match, low noise, high headroom pre-amplifiers, this flexible offering is hard to beat. You can read more about the Trance Amulet pickup on their website » Trance Audio.
I design and build acoustic guitars. Each instrument is created to be a unique visual and sonic experience.Where a factory may faithfully produce a given model thousands of times, every guitar I make is intentionally distinct. I have written several articles that acknowledge, explore, challenge, and at times defy traditional steel-string acoustic guitar convention.
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