The Prismatone Story

Prismatone USA

Prismatone USA is famous for its one-of-a-kind piezo-electric pickups and preamps for acoustic nylon string guitars. Prismatone USA also designs and manufactures high-end pickups for steel string acoustics, semi-hollow body guitars and solid-body electric guitars. Our growing lineup of quality gear and accessories also includes solid-state and tube amplifiers and a new series of acoustic and electric guitars that push the bounds of six string instruments -- all proudly designed and manufactured in the USA of the highest quality materials and workmanship to amplify your sound and elevate your guitar playing. #PlayPrismatone

About the Prismatone

The Prismatone™ Pickup has its roots in the 1960’s American Folk, Country and Bluegrass guitar playing scenes. Utilizing what at the time was an evolutionary approach to acoustic guitar amplification, piezoelectric sensors became one of the earliest and still preferred pickup technologies to amplify nylon string acoustic guitars. In many ways the Prismatone™ design is superior to other available pickup systems on the market that are more prone to feedback and clarity and coloration issues. Yes, the Prismatone is special.

The problem was that, since very few original Prismatones were made in the 1960s before production stopped, they were hard to find and often way too expensive for most guitarists. And so we set out to change that by reinventing Prismatone™ Pickups to be accessible to today's players and we didn't skimp on anything when it came to designing our new Prismatone™ Classic Pickup to be as genuine and true to the original pickup as humanly possible in terms of appearance, performance and especially sound.

In fact it took us three years of research and development to get the Prismatone Pickup right. We conducted test after test against original versions and original preamps using period amps and many prototype evolutions to get the authentic Prismatone sound right for a new generation of guitar players.

From legendary guitar players of yesteryear like Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed to today's greatest players including Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Chris Stapleton and many others, there’s a reason why the Prismatone™ is such a sought after pickup and an essential part of many musicians' gear setup and sound.

#PlayPrismatone

Photograph by Wyatt McSpadden

Research and Development

Prismatone™ Classic Pickup

Piezoelectric pickups work by harnessing the power of the guitar gods and piezoelectric sensors to electrify guitar strings and channel the sound of guitars through amplifiers, creating that one of a kind Prismatone sound.

Our piezoelectric pickup systems are unlike others on the market. The design and physics operate differently than most acoustic pickups because the piezoelectric sensors are built into a unique housing that is incorporated into the bridge of the guitar, thus eliminating sound frequency loss, increasing output and creating a more authentic sound from the strings. There is a reason why people have clambered for the elusive, legendary Prismatone sound since the 1960s and we're excited to have reinvented the Prismatone pickup for current and future generations of guitar players.

In fact it took us three years of research and development to get the Prismatone Pickup accurate. We conducted test after test against original versions and original preamps using period amps and many prototypes to get the authentic Prismatone sound right for a new generation of guitar players. From legendary guitar players of yesteryear like Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed to today's greatest players like Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Chris Stapleton and many others, there’s a reason why the Prismatone™ is such a sought after part of many guitar players' setup. #PlayPrismatone

External Battery Box and Preamp

The job of a preamp, essentially, is to boost the output of a guitar pickup and lower impedance so that a mixer can see it. Most performing musicians and stage players require a preamp because they’re running long cables to their amps and signals fade as they travel further and further through lengths of cable, so they need a boost.

If you want to be able to play and hear the purest Prismatone sound, and you’re not going to be playing on stage anytime soon, or you already have your own preamp, consider choosing the Prismatone Pickup in Passive Configuration without an internal preamp, then you can still use our external battery box preamp if or when you need it.

Alternatively if you’re always playing on stage, or are just a purist who wants the most authentic Prismatone set-up with an internal preamp inspired by the original, then go with our vintage-style preamp either with a sidejack or endjack and external battery box or you can use phantom power and a stereo cable without the battery box to power your pre-amp'd Prismatone.

Bridges

In an effort to make it as easy as possible for guitar players to get the legendary Prismatone sound, we’ve developed five different hand-shaped rosewood bridge styles that will fit the most popular guitar models with Prismatone Pickups: Skinny Willie, Baldwin, Martin Classical, Traditional Classical and Harmony.

Every Prismatone bridge is precision-shaped in the USA from beautiful quarter sawn rosewood blanks offered in three rosewood species that we’ve hand selected and graded so that you can choose what’s best for your specific guitar.

Modify your bridge

As an alternative to replacing your existing guitar bridge with one of our custom rosewood Prismatone bridges, we’ve developed a technique that allows us to modify the original bridge on some guitar models to install a Prismatone Pickup. This is a simpler installation process that may be a good approach for some, but not all, guitars.

We offer this installation option as part of our lutherie services and we’re always happy to talk with you to help determine if bridge modification or bridge replacement is the best choice for your guitar.

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