What is this

[Billy Knowles]

Can anyone tell me what this is, I have no idea

wry

[Carl Williams]

Billy, It looks like a fiddle pickup.

[Donny Hinson]

It looks like the volume control/contact pickup unit that DeArmond sold back in the '50s and '60s for violins and classic guitars. (It was an acoustic microphone that could be attached to the body of the instrument.)

They also sold a version with a magnetic bar pickup which slid under the strings, that could be used on steel-stringed instruments.

[Dave Mudgett]

Yup, DeArmond contact pickup. I had one for years, used it mostly for a nylon-string guitar, not sure if I still have it. I saw lots of folkies use them back in the day for that purpose. Actually, I think they sound pretty good for nylon-string guitar - I found them more "acoustic-sounding" than modern piezos.

In principle, you could use it for any acoustic stringed instrument, since it directly responds to vibrations from the top of the instrument.

[Billy Knowles]

thanks fellows, I had no idea what it was

[Barry Blackwood]

Friend of mine had one for his upright bass back in the day. It sounded good, but was prone to feedback.

[Erv Niehaus]

I had one that I used on a 5 string banjo, sounded good.
Erv

[Don Drummer]

Looks like something Buck Trent was using with Porter.

[Erv Niehaus]

Could very well be.
Erv