Skyinbow Pure Acoustic Power Series Balanced Active Transducer Systems
For Acoustic Ukulele
Full Details Coming Soon!
Prices for Acoustic Ukulele systems will be finalised shortly. If you are interested in purchasing a system, please get in touch with us via the “Contact Us” page on this website and we will let you know as soon as these become available to purchase.
The new Skyinbow Pure Acoustic DUO-POWER IIB Balanced Active Transducer System for Ukulele features an electronically-balanced signal path that runs from the system's hand-built piezo transducer through to the output of its proprietary Pure Acoustic Power Series miniature preamplifier.
The combination of this new circuit design’s active rejection of noise caused by external electrical interference and our highly-effective "Direct To Ground” system shielding means that the DUO-POWER IIB delivers a stronger, clearer audio signal than ever before, an upgrade in performance that further enhances the microphone-like sonic accuracy and tonal fidelity that our Skyinbow Pure Acoustic Active Transducer Systems are renowned for.
The Balanced Advantage
The DUO-POWER IIB’s fully-balanced signal path enables you, the ukulelist, to take full advantage of the benefits of this increase in performance when connecting the system directly to the balanced XLR microphone inputs of a mixing console, audio interface, acoustic amplifier etc. via a balanced stereo jack to XLR cable. When connected to a balanced input, the DUO-POWER IIB can be powered either by its onboard, battery-free, rechargeable power source, or by 48V phantom power from the microphone input itself, which the system will switch over to automatically.
Even when connected to the unbalanced input of a wireless transmitter, multi-effects pedal, looper etc. via a standard guitar lead, the partnership between the DUO-POWER IIB's balanced transducer to preamplifier connection and its "Direct To Ground” system shielding continues to reject external electrical interference. As a result, the DUO-POWER IIB delivers a significant increase in performance over unbalanced systems. When connected to an unbalanced input, the DUO-POWER IIB is powered by its onboard, battery-free, rechargeable power source.
Skyinbow Pure Acoustic Handbuilt Transducers For Acoustic Ukulele
Skyinbow Pure Acoustic Handbuilt Transducers for acoustic guitar are available individually, enabling ukulelists to use Skyinbow Pure Acoustic’s renowned handbuilt piezo transducers with their own choice of preamplifiers from other manufacturers.
Skyinbow Pure Acoustic Power Series Preamplifiers
Skyinbow Pure Acoustic Power Series Preamplifiers are also available separately, and can be purchased in either beltpack or guitar pedal formats.
Skyinbow Pure Acoustic Power Series Accessories
Battery Recharge and Tri-Power PowerConnect cables.
Please visit the Pure Acoustic UK and Export Webshops for pricing.
Technical Notes
Direct To Ground Shielding
Skyinbow Pure Acoustic’s Direct to Ground shielding helps prevent noise by ensuring that any externally-induced electrical charge or current in the shielding that encases all Active Transducer Systems has a direct path to ground that bypasses the system’s audio circuitry entirely.
Balanced Cables
Balanced cables - such as microphone leads - are made up of two conductors both of which carry identical copies the audio signal, one of which has its polarity reversed with respect to the other. When these two signals reach the preamplifier, the reversed signal has its original polarity restored.
Any electrical interference picked up in the cable will have the same polarity in both conductors, so when the reversed signal has its original polarity restored, the polarity of the noise in that conductor is reversed in relation to the noise in the other conductor, thereby cancelling out the noise and leaving the original signal intact.
A balanced 1/4” (6.35mm) “stereo" jackplug to male XLR (TRS* to XLR**) cable is required to make a balanced connection between the DUO-POWER IIB and a balanced XLR microphone input. This type of cable is readily available from bricks and mortar and on-line music retailers.
Unbalanced Cables
Unbalanced cables - such as standard guitar leads - are made up of a single conductor which carries the audio signal, and a woven or helically-wound copper wire screen. The screen acts as the ground reference for the audio signal and also, as its name implies. “screens" the audio signal from unwanted noises caused by including, for example, electrical and radio interference. However, the screen can also act as an antenna and pick up electrical and radio interference. Mains power cables, for example, are a common source of electrical noise and hum in unbalanced cables.
In the DUO-POWER IIB, the Direct to Ground shielding and the balanced connection between its transducer and its preamplifier combine to reject external electrical interference and help to prevent noise from entering the system’s audio circuitry.
Connecting a the 1/4” (6.35mm) jackplug of a standard TS** to TS guitar lead to the DUO-POWER IIB’s balanced output unbalances the output signal at the point at which it leaves the system, which allows direct connection to the unbalanced instrument input of a wireless transmitter, effects pedal, looper etc. Although an unbalanced connection is less resistant to external electrical interference than its balanced equivalent, the strength and clarity of the DUO-POWER IIB’s ourput signal means that this is unlikely to create a problem when using a good-quality guitar lead.
Battery-Free Onboard Rechargeable Power Source
The DUO-POWER IIB's lightweight Skyinbow Pure Acoustic battery-free, rechargeable, on-board power source incorporates a unique application of the latest power sensing technology and power management techniques that were first developed within the computer industry. Its utilisation of a supercapacitor to store an electrical charge eliminates the need to use conventional (and weighty) alkaline or lithium-ion 9 volt batteries, which helps to reduce battery waste and environmental damage.
Charging the supercapacitor is simply a matter of connecting a 9V (PP3) battery to the supplied Battery Recharge cable and plugging that cable's “stereo” TRS output jackplug into the output socket of the Tri-Power Active Transducer System for between one and two minutes for a full charge. A fully-charged capacitor provides enough power to run the System for approximately 8 hours of continuous play time.
48V Phantom Power
The balanced microphone inputs of the vast majority of mixing consoles, audio interfaces, acoustic instrument amplifiers etc which are available these days are capable of supplying 48V phantom power. Originally developed to power condenser microphones, 48V phantom power is now often used as a convenient way of powering preamplifiers.
Footnotes
* Three conductor stereo jackplugs are made up of three sections - Tip, Ring and Sleeve - hence TRS.
** A fun piece of audio trivia is that the initials XLR stand for eXternal Line Return - not many people know that!
*** Two conductor mono jackplugs are made up of two sections - Tip and Sleeve - hence TS.
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