I'm using this with an accoustic mandolin with a McIntyre Feather pickup. Boosts the signal to the level I need to go into a PA and compete with guitars.

Don't know how effective it would be with other Pickups. It appeared that the input impedence was a lot lower than the specified requirement for the Fishman Mandolin Bridge pickups but I've not made tests and I know nothing about impedence.

Battery replacement requires, what I regard as, a tricky bit of fiddling with the foot pedal. Since the casing is plastic, I was a bit concerned about this manoeuvre

Hoewever, I couldn't find a cheaper solution to my Problem.

I thought I'd try this as a cheap solution to providing a preamp for a Seymour Duncan Woody XL (passive) acoustic pickup. It does the job remarkably well - the output is powerful and clean - perfectly good for live work, anyway. I found a power supply for it, which relieves the anxiety of battery failure, given that it has to be 'on' for long stretches of time. I don't know if the budget build might mean that it packs up before long (and for £15 you couldn't complain), but if not, then I can't actually see why I'd need an expensive preamp in terms of sound. Splendid.

Just the job if you have an acoustic guitar without a pre-amp and the pub's PA doesn't have a piezo input. It's a lot lighter than taking your own amp! Remember to unplug the input after use as it still uses battery power when the LED is off. The unit features a noise free electronic foot switch and has excellent sound quality but I'm only giving 9 as I would prefer a metal case. But then we would be taking Boss prices!