Why didn't I think of this? The Band is easy to attach and remove, does not require making any modifications to your instrument, remains securely in place, and has no small parts to lose. More important than the clever design, however, is the fact that this is one of the most accurate, transparent sounding acoustic pickups I've ever heard. This is an ideal solution for amplifying a violin in a live sound reinforcement situation: Connected to a reasonably intelligible PA system, the amplified sound is virtually indistinguishable from the natural acoustic sound. The Band also offers very good rejection of ambient noise. I tried screaming directly into the piezos at the top of my lungs, and the VU meter on my soundboard barely even quivered; once it was wrapped around a violin, however, the music came through loud and clear. As with any transducer on an acoustic instrument, it will pick up any external noise that happens to resonate within the body of the violin, but it is still superior to any microphone in this regard. This fact (along with the very reasonable price) would make The Band a great choice for home recording enthusiasts or anyone else who has to record in a less than perfect acoustic environment. Although an acoustic preamp is not absolutely necessary, I would strongly recommend using one. My brother (for whom I bought this as a graduation gift) uses his Fishman Pro EQ Platinum which does the job very nicely. I would also recommend using an instrument cable with some good quality, namebrand (like Neutrik) plugs. The jack on The Band is a very tight fit (you'll need to use both hands), and some of those generic plugs aren't machined quite as precisely as they ought to be.

The Band Pickup is amazing. I play the fiddle for a pretty loud punk band, and it's been very difficult finding a pickup that doesn't get outside interference from the sound of the other instruments. The Band System picks up my violin and only my violin, so it's perfect. It also only takes a few seconds to install, so it's pretty idiot-proof (which is a good thing for me) I've been using it for about a month now and I fully recommend it.

I picked this unit up for use in our church. Having never used a violin pickup system I was looking for something that was easy to use and could be switched from one persons instrument to another. This unit is just the ticket. I did also get a pre-amp for it and the sound is excellent. Previously I was using different micro phones trying to get a good sound, but I was always picking up every one else on stage as well.The BAND really does a nice job. Time will tell how it hold up being taken on and off all the time.