Gotta question on Guitar Picks Ups...volume levels?

[CASD57]

I have a Taylor AD17e Blacktop... active pickup

Alvarez MD60BGe(610mdbge) active pickup

Epiphone ES339 Limited Pro P90 passive pickup

The Taylor is the quietest guitar... It acts like a passive pickup???

Both the Alvarez and Epiphone are loud and need to be turned down after setting the volume for the Taylor

These are ran through my EAE M2-6 amp

Any ideas? I was using the 9v that Taylor shipped with it, maybe it was weak from the factory? I've had the guitar a couple of months... Only plugged in 2-3 times...Once for about 3 hours a week or so ago..

[jonfields45]

My duo partner switches between a passive Fender bass and an ES-2 Taylor. At least in his hands they seem similar in output levels.

No harm in trying a new battery, but my multiple experiences with ES-2 battery death (next to me at a gig :~), it starts to distort and then dies, not lose volume (the gain of a circuit biased on is generally independent of the power supply voltage...within reason).

My guess is Taylor designed the preamp to be an output level that seems quiet compared to your other instruments.

It would not shock me to learn that Epiphone's are built with kid friendly overwound hot pickups.

[L20A]

The Taylor could have issues.
Weak battery is easy to replace.
The saddle may not be seated properly in the bridge, or there could be a shim between the saddle and the bridge.

Take your Taylor to a music store that sells Taylor guitars and compare it to other Taylor guitars.
This will give you an idea as to if it is your guitar or just they system that Taylor uses.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by L20A

The Taylor could have issues.
Weak battery is easy to replace.
The saddle may not be seated properly in the bridge, or there could be a shim between the saddle and the bridge.

Take your Taylor to a music store that sells Taylor guitars and compare it to other Taylor guitars.
This will give you an idea as to if it is your guitar or just they system that Taylor uses.

I did shim it up to remove string buzz...I guess I could also just order a new saddle and sand it...

[J Patrick]

…..you’re gonna have different output levels from different pickups and they often have different eq requirements as well…separate and/or multi channel preamps are the way I deal with it when I’m using multiple guitars….

[L20A]

Originally Posted by CASD57

I did shim it up to remove string buzz...I guess I could also just order a new saddle and sand it...

I bet a new saddle will make the difference that you want.
Get rid of the shim.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by L20A

I bet a new saddle will make the difference that you want.
Get rid of the shim.

Yep I'll measure it this weekend and get one ordered or check Taylors web site

[CASD57]

Pulled the shim's, new battery and the guitar still needs to be put at 100% and the amp at least 75% on it's channel it must be just a quiet guitar
I'll do a work around
Master higher
Mic lower
Guitar higher

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by CASD57

I have a Taylor AD17e Blacktop... active pickup

Alvarez MD60BGe(610mdbge) active pickup

Epiphone ES339 Limited Pro P90 passive pickup

The Taylor is the quietest guitar... It acts like a passive pickup???

Both the Alvarez and Epiphone are loud and need to be turned down after setting the volume for the Taylor

These are ran through my EAE M2-6 amp

Any ideas? I was using the 9v that Taylor shipped with it, maybe it was weak from the factory? I've had the guitar a couple of months... Only plugged in 2-3 times...Once for about 3 hours a week or so ago..

Your Taylor has the newest ES2 preamp which compared to older ES2 preamps versions doesn't have as strong an output. I noticed this lesser output on my 2019 Taylor 717e and was disappointed. Unless there is something wrong with your preamp, it's just the way of the newest ES2 preamp. This isn't a problem if you intend to route your guitar's ES2 output into an effects pedal or other preamp as you can usually match all gain levels within median levels of their Gain and Volume controls.

What I did was contact Taylor and asked them to send me what I consider a real ES2 preamp from circa 2015/2016, and they did. I still haven't installed it yet but may someday.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

Your Taylor has the newest ES2 preamp which compared to older ES2 preamps versions doesn't have as strong an output. I noticed this lesser output on my 2019 Taylor 717e and was disappointed. Unless there is something wrong with your preamp, it's just the way of the newest ES2 preamp. This isn't a problem if you intend to route your guitar's ES2 output into an effects pedal or other preamp as you can usually match all gain levels within median levels of their Gain and Volume controls.

What I did was contact Taylor and asked them to send me what I consider a real ES2 preamp from circa 2015/2016, and they did. I still haven't installed it yet but may someday.

I've got a Zoom A1 Four I'll probably finally get some use out of it... So I'll use it to up the gain a little...

[CASD57]

Not sure I'm happy with the tone from the Zoom A1 Four....Lots of string noise especially on songs with slides...like "Old Man" Neil Young... So I unhooked it and went straight to the Amp. (I probably need to spend more time adjusting things on it) and with my setup...Turned the treble all the way down Bass up to 3/4 and the guitar sounded great...on it's own
So I made my adjustments like I posted and it worked great... I'm using an Hot mic(Beyerdynamic TG70) and had to turn it down due to distortion after getting the guitar loud enough..
Overall I'm happy with the setup and I did "Play Music On The Porch" being it has been my second year doing it..........

My wireless guitar transmitter ran out of juice and I had too cord it so I've decided to bag wireless for now, The amp did fine... With my setup cords are fine.

[SpruceTop]

I'm glad to hear things have worked out for your Taylor--Enjoy!

[rmp]

There's nothing really wrong here, it's just that the ES2 doesn't have the output of other pickups.

I've got one in my 814ce, my son has one in his 414ce, my brother in law has one also in his 314ce.

Comparing one to the other, they ALL have the same levels of output.

They are ALL quieter than my Fishman equip'd acoustics.

[maxed]

Another suggestion. I just looked it up (on Taylor's website) where the pickup sensors can be adjusted to fine tune the sound volume and tone.
I'm assuming you have the AD-17E's stock ES-2 pickup.

It does state this note in BOLD:

The saddle should not be removed or replaced without first loosening the adjustment screws located on the top of the pickup housings.
Otherwise the pickup could be damaged.

Its on the bottom section of this document/link;

https://www.taylorguitars.com/suppor...ssion-system-2

You're welcome.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by maxed

Another suggestion. I just looked it up (on Taylor's website) where the pickup sensors can be adjusted to fine tune the sound volume and tone.
I'm assuming you have the AD-17E's stock ES-2 pickup.

It does state this note in BOLD:

The saddle should not be removed or replaced without first loosening the adjustment screws located on the top of the pickup housings.
Otherwise the pickup could be damaged.

Its on the bottom section of this document/link;

https://www.taylorguitars.com/suppor...ssion-system-2

You're welcome.

The saddle came out easily so I'm assuming that it went back in without any fess...So I doubt it's damaged... I get output but not as much as my Epiphone E339 P90 passive and my Alvarez MD60eBG So I'm guessing as others have said the volume or lack of is the nature of the ES-2 pickups..
I have made adjustments with my amp to compensate and I think I've got it licked...
Thanks