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I love the sound of an acoustic guitar - crispy top end with a nice ringing piano like bottom au naturale is just something that's hard to beat. And just as hard to amplify accurately. Sure, modern technology has given us better sounding piezo pickups, smaller and more dynamic internal mics and even some pretty darn good magnetic pickups, but each has its pluses and minuses, as they say.

Dean Markley has done the math with those pluses and minuses and summed them up into their new Trilogy acoustic guitar pickup system.

Part of Markley's new West Coast Series of acoustic pickups, the Trilogy utilizes the aforementioned pickup mediums combined with two internal preamps - one for the piezo and one for the mic.

Powered by a 9 volt battery, the Trilogy sends its outputs to a stereo end pin jack. The output of all three elements is combined when using a standard 1/4 inch cable or can be split into mic/piezo and magnetic output when using a stereo cable. This way you can run the magnetic pickup through a separate amp or channel of a PA with the mic and piezo going to another. Also, each element has its own volume control in addition to a master volume for infinite blending possibilities. Very Cool.

Once the end pin jack and piezo are installed (folks, don't try this at home), the main body of the pickup mounts in the sound hole via two padded clamps. Simply sandwich the instrument's top between the two clamps, gently tighten the screws and you're done. Connections are made to the end pin jack with two mini plugs while the battery resides in a little metal box that can be velcroed to the inside of the guitar.

The Markley folks were kind enough to send the Trilogy already mounted in their fab Dean Markley Signature Series DM-41 Guitar. Stay tuned for more on this later.

Armed with my Ultrasound AG-50D acoustic guitar amp with the tone set flat, I found auditioning each element of the Trilogy solo allowed for a better understanding of what the system can do tout ensemble.

Devoid of any nasty quack or brittleness even with feverish strumming, the piezo speaks with a breathy natural tone, echoed by a nice presence in the top end. Conversely, the mic element, as it sits in the bottom of the pickup and faces inside the instrument's body, tends to bring out more of the sound and ambience swimming around inside the guitar with an emphasis on the low to mid frequencies. Single notes have a rich glow about them while chords hold their character quite accurately. To avoid a little "tubbiness" when using the mic solo, notching out 125hz smoothened things out just fine.

Surprisingly enough, the magnetic pickup does an excellent job of providing a superbly balanced string to string tone even with the Dean Markley (what else!) Alchemy Gold Bronze Strings. The sound is full, clear and defined yet not overly "electric".

And now the whole becomes greater than the sun of its parts!

After much tweaking, I found the best combo of the Trilogy to occur with the magnetic pickup at 4 &Mac184;, the mic around 3 and the piezo set at 5 on their respective volumes. Here, the magnetic element provides its string to string balance while the piezo adds an immediate attack response combined with a sparkly acoustic presence. The mic adds dimensionality and fullness of the guitar's body while also providing healthy lower frequencies, all in all making for a pretty accurate representation of the instrument's natural voice.

And it also helps when the instrument's natural voice is as fine sounding as this Dean Markley Signature Series DM41 acoustic guitar.

The Korean made dreadnought sized DM-41 is a wonderfully executed instrument featuring a solid AAA spruce top with solid Indian Rosewood back and sides. Read that again folks, solid.

The 3 piece mahogany neck is carved into an extremely comfortable soft "v" shape capped with a maple bound ebony fingerboard. Ebony is also the material of choice for the bridge.

Mother of pearl and maple binding caress the instrument's perimeter, headstock and sound hole, giving the DM-41 an upscale, classy appearance while giving a nod to a certain Martin instrument with similar appointments. The mother of pearl position markers and bridge inlays have a familiar vibe as well.

Kudos to the fit and finish department as a close inspection both inside and out reveals precise fitting joints with not a smidgeon of extraneous glue anywhere. Offshore finishes have remarkably improved over the last few years which is exemplified by the DM-41's smooth and thin clear coats. Although the material used gives the sides and back a little bit of a plastic look, the overall job is again, right on.

The DM-41's dreadnought size gives the instrument a big voice-deep and rich with a balanced tone and gentle top end. The bone nut and saddle attribute a nice "ping" to the attack of both single notes and chords with the remaining envelope extending into a ringing sustain. In fact, strumming an open G chord rang for days, blossoming into a bouquet of pleasant overtones on the decay. The DM-41 is comfortable in just about any playing situation but seems to favor vigorous playing - play it hard and fast and the instrument responds with a loud, uncompressed voice. Chords remain defined and balanced with a smooth, pleasant quality.

The exquisite set up of the instrument is such that during these inspired fits of abandonment the strings have plenty of room to vibrate adequately with no buzzes or rattles along the fretboard, yet the action and string tension are comfortable enough for even the most extended flights of prestidigious digitation and complexity. In other words, the thing

While you might think delicate finger picking would get lost in this big boy, the DM-41 doesn't mind a little of the sensitive stuff with maybe the top notes lagging a little behind the bottom 3 strings in terms of volume. The guitar is responsive to any dynamic changes that the flesh can bring.

Although it might seem strange to see the Dean Markley moniker on an instrument's headstock, make no mistake about it, the DM-41 is a real winner.

Dean Markley Trilogy Pickup System $499. 95

Dean Markley Signature Series DM-41 $2, 295. 00 For more information contact: Dean Markley 1-800-800-1008

DeanMarkley.com email:Special thanks to Megan Predmore for her assistance.