This pickup served its purpose. You can really shoot - without additional preamplifier, just for example: attach it to the guitar, plug in laptop microphone in and off you go. To what to mention the quality: The quality is not the same as a studio recording, but quite useful for purely private use, bsp. for recordings for self-control. You have to know that does not meet the quality the true sound of the guitar. The noise on the recordings also holds back strong. Conclusion: Those who place no value on the original, here is well served, the recordings are quite usable. - And do not forget, this pickup is almost a gift from her price. Does anyone want to just once hear how he plays, he can not do anything wrong here, and yes, the sound quality is a lot better than the smartphone (in my case a Samsung Galaxy S3.)