Later, a six month stay in his father's factory made him even more convinced that a professional music career was his destiny. At the age of 24 he was selected for the inaugural class of the St. Gallen Jazz Conservatory , now a renowned leader in the field. It led to a career playing throughout Europe, Schertler settling into the Italian music scene with the likes of Bill Elgart , Luigi Bonafede and Franco d'Andres . It was in 1986, after years of frustrating results in search of a pickup system for his instrument, that an idea struck. I had always been a strong critic of the way acoustic instrument sound has been captured by pickups which in a sense 'recreate' sound instead of 'reproducing' it as a high quality studio microphone would.
All acoustic instruments are very complex, with the double bass being one of the most difficult.
The true frequency, and most particularly the dynamic ranges of a double bass, are extremely broad. These make it the perfect instrument in applying electrodynamic technologies, where the true acoustic sound is picked up with the efficiency of a studio microphone. For the past 12 years, Schertler has been a sort of 'sound doctor' to hundreds of top musicians, from Charlie Haden to Michele Petrucciani , who are continually striving to get the most out of their live sound. More recently, with his American partner Peter Koley, Schertler's company has been recapitalised, allowing for the expansion of its product lines in electrodynamic and electrostatic technologies. This has converted a whole new band of devotees to the Schertler method - from big name pop artists to bluegrass legends who are beginning to abide by his theories.