Timber-Line Acoustic Pickup Gains a Voltage Booster Circuit
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(Click for a close-up) |
December 31, 2004D-TAR, the new
company that joins acoustic pickup designer Rick Turner with Seymour Duncan
Pickups, has released an enhanced version of the Timber-Line, their
coaxial under-saddle transducer ("UST"). Unlike other USTs, Timber-Line's
preamp operates with an 18-volt power supply, which effectively doubles the
headroom of lower-powered 9-volt on-board preamps; allowing for a wider
dynamic range and harder strumming without piezo "quack." However, until
now, users had to rely on a pair of bulky 9-volt batteries to derive the 18
volts.
D-TAR will now ship their Timber-Line with
an 18-volt power supply that derives 18 volts from two standard AA
batteries. The secret is a proprietary voltage converter circuit that mounts
next to the battery clip. It's fully shielded and it's around the size of a
postage stamp.
The new battery booster has several
advantages over the old double 9-volt system. It's smaller and lighter,
taking up less space and adding less weight to the instrument. AA batteries
are less expensive than 9 volts, resulting in lower operating cost to the
end user. The new Timber-Line will also deliver 250 hours of continuous usage from a pair of AAs.
For more information, visit their web site at www.d-tar.com. | 
