Takamine CTP-3

General

Takamine has been at the forefront of acoustic amplification for decades and was one of the first companies to sell acoustic pickups. They've also played an important role in the innovation of preamps. With their Cooltube technology, you can now add a new dimension to your acoustic guitar sound. The CTP-3 preamp is equipped with a tube that adds wonderful warmth to the classic acoustic sound. The cooltube circuit ensures that while the sound gets added warmth, the tube stays cool.

Sounds and controls

The CTP-3 preamp has a number of controls that let you choose whether you want the tube sound or not, and if so, how much. That means you can go with a natural, bright acoustic sound, full-on tube, or something in between. Even without the tube sound, you can still enjoy the other features this preamp has to offer. As well as a 3-band EQ, the CTP-3 has an additional control for those all-important mid frequencies. There's also a built-in tuner that is highly accurate and easy to read. The CTP-3 also has an aux input that can be used for an extra pickup like the Takamine Tri-Ax sound hole pickup.

Installing the CTP-3 preamp

If you already own an electro-acoustic guitar from Takamine's Japanese Pro series, then you can easily replace the built-in preamplifier. Simply remove and disconnect the existing preamp and replace it with the CTP-3. Then you can also enjoy the wonderfully warm tube sound of the CTP-3 Cooltube preamplifier.

• If you have a Takamine from the Japanese Pro series, replacing the preamp does not require any additional steps.
• If you own a different model or a guitar from another brand, you'll probably have to adjust its body to accommodate the CTP-3's chassis.