Innovative new technology creates the most natural acoustic sound ever.
Complete, modular systems for every guitar and every sound.

EMG has invented a totally new pickup system for acoustic guitars that has the most natural sound that you've ever heard. Since the 1960's, acoustic guitar pickups have used ceramic crystals which have two inherent drawbacks. First, they have an annoying audible resonance which results in a harsh tone. Second, the output impedance is too high for normal amplifiers, compromising the natural tone.

In the AT93 and AT125 pickups, EMG mounts a durable, thin piezo film under the bridge saddle. Free of crystal resonances, the pickup is so sensitive you can literally hear the difference between plastic or bone bridges! The installation is clean and invisible, and, because the film runs the entire length of the bridge, you get great results with custom string spacing, 12-string, or even nylon-string guitars.

The APA-2 preamp was designed to complement these pickups. It mounts completely and unobtrusively inside the guitar body including a battery holder. If you've ever heard a piezo pickup that had a thin, scratchy, bassless sound you've heard the negative effect of improper impedance matching. With the APA-2, you will hear rich, full, natural sound. Its 2000 ohm output impedance and adjustable gain are a perfect match for any amp or mixer and delivers great natural tone.

If you need to tweak your sound, you can install the AEQ-3 3-band equalization system which features independent treble, mid, and bass controls right on your instrument.

Our newest model, the EMG-ACS, gives you great tone with minimal mods to the instrument. This compact pickup fits in the sound hole and features EMG's Quick Connect cable for quick and easy removal. The ACS includes a built-in internal preamp specially tuned for a beautiful transient acoustic tone, adjustable polepieces, and a fingertip volume control, mounted on the pickup.

EMG's piezo film pickup captures the true natural sound of your guitar with a purity unmatched by any other acoustic pickup. Located under the bridge saddle, the EMG-AT93 captures rich sound of the guitar while reducing the top noise endemic to top-mounted pickups. All our under-saddle pickups use EMG's "bimorph" piezo film design for which EMG has been granted two U.S. Patents (Nos. 5123325 and 5204487). This unique design combines two piezo film layers using much less adhesive for purer sound while increasing the pickup output level. The entire installation is invisible (including the preamp, which mounts internally in the guitar body) so there are no wires or obstructions on the exterior of the guitar. No adhesives or damping materials are used in the installation of the pickup to prevent resonances as well as to preserve the acoustic sound of the guitar. The AT93 pickup element is 3/32" (0.93"/2.3mm) which is perfect for most Martins. The AT93L element is the same width but comes in a two-part design for use on guitars that have a split bridge saddle.

The EMG-AT125 is the same great design as the AT93, but the pickup element is 1/8" (.125"/3.1mm) for better fit on guitars with a slightly wider bridge saddle. Choose the AT125 whenever the saddle width is greater than .115" (2.9mm). If it's less, use the AT93 instead.

The EMG-APA-2 Acoustic Preamp has been designed with the needs of acoustic players in mind and is the perfect complement the AT93 and AT125 pickups. It combines a miniature, low-current draw preamp and a 9 volt battery holder in a single package that attaches to your guitar's front block (at the internal joint between body and neck) with two screws. The natural output impedance of a film or crystal pickup element is much higher than that of a traditional magnetic pickup. If you plug the output of a piezo directly into a conventional amp input, the impedance mismatch causes a loss of signal output along with a huge loss of bass - you get a brittle and unpleasant sound (sound familiar?). The APA-2 features a very high input impedance (2 Megohm) to allow the piezo pickup to deliver powerful, natural sound across the entire frequency range. In addition to the piezo input, the APA-2 also includes an input for our ACS magnetic soundhole pickup which gives you the best of both pickup worlds. Since you might require different EQ settings for each pickup, we include our exclusive stereo UltraJak end pin jack which delivers each pickup's output separately. The UltraJak also includes a switch that disconnects the battery when unplugged to extend battery life. You can assign the pickups to the ring and tip contacts for complete customizability. Our low-current circuitry should give you 2900 hours of battery life between changes. When you do need to change the 9V battery, our specially-designed battery clip makes it easy to change the battery through the soundhole. There's also a convenient trimpot that allows you to vary the output level to match the device that you're connecting to.

If you need more control over the tone of your instrument, consider the EMG-AEQ-3 On Board Equalization System for acoustic guitars. Mountable in the top shoulder of your guitar, it feature two concentric stack pots with bass+treble and volume+midrange combinations. The tone controls each have a wide 12db boost and cut range. Even better, the treble EQ center frequency can be selected via a mini-DIP switch to give you an even wider range of control (8.5/10/13.5/15.5KHz selectable). The AEQ-3 also includes a battery clip that mounts inside via the neck block for easy access and our new UltraJak to complete the installation. The AEQ-3 is the perfect match for the AT93 or AT125 acoustic pickups but works great with ANY piezo pickup system.

All EMG Acoustic products are available individually or in pre-packaged systems. Kits include either the AT93, AT93L, or AT125 pickup, the APA-1 or AEQ-EQ-3 preamp, the EMG UltraJak, a custom strap endpin that incorporates our 360° full-contact output jack and battery switch, and any other parts required to complete the installation. Due to the complexities of working inside acoustic guitars, professional installation is recommended. See the Price List for a full listing of all prepackaged systems.

The EMG-ACS Acoustic Sound Hole Pickup gives you great amplified acoustic sound with a simpler, less involved installation procedure. Using a specially designed mounting adapter, the pickup perches in the sound hole. Six individual polepieces allow you to simply modify the string balance. The ACS features EMG's Quick Connect cable so it's a breeze to remove and reconnect the pickup. An internal preamp, optimized for acoustic sounds, is mounted inside the pickup and a fingertip volume control is conveniently located on the edge of the pickup.

The UltraJak is the ultimate output jack for acoustic guitar. Designed and manufactured by EMG, it features a number of revolutionary features that improve both functionality and reliability. The most important addition is our exclusive 360° spring contact system, used on each of the jack terminals. A conventional jack's contacts are flat, touching your cord's plug at a single point. As the jack and contacts wear, you'll get intermittent contact that makes those very loud popping noises when you jiggle the cord. Even when it's not worn, the weight of the plug and cord sticking straight out of the endpin causes uneven pressure on the different contacts - again leading to pops and noise. The UltraJak's custom contacts surround the plug terminals so you get a strong mechanical connection with no noise, regardless of the orientation of the jack. The unique design of the UltraJak has been awarded US Patent No. 5809136. For more sophisticated setups, the UltraJak features true stereo output (tip/ring/sleeve) to support either a stereo pickup or letting you run both a magnetic soundhole pickup and a piezo bridge pickup with a single cord! Nobody else has this feature in a conventional endpin jack. Finally, there's a separate battery switch that preserves battery life while allowing stereo output. It's all here in a tiny package that combines the best features with the bulletproof reliability that you expect from EMG.

Life can be complicated and difficult. Your guitar's pickup system doesn't have to be. We created the AmpJak to sound and work great with minimal modifications to your guitar. It's simple and straightforward - the system consists of the same, high-quality piezo film pickups as our AT93 or AT125 models combined with a clean and accurate preamp mounted in a special housing based on our proprietary UltraJak endpin plug. With the electronics mounted on the jack, you don't need to drill holes to mount an amplifier module, and no exterior drilling is required for knobs. The output level is set to an optimal level at the factory, but there's also a trimpot that lets you adjust the level for your specific needs. The AmpJak is available in kits with either the AT93 or AT125 pickup depending on the bridge width of your guitar. If you need to mix piezo and magnetic pickups on the same guitar or require a sophisticated EQ system, our other models are more appropriate. But if you're looking for great sound while maintaining the stock appearance of your guitar, you can't beat the AmpJak.

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