Trance Amulet: Finally installing!

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

As for needing to sand/clean your hands, I would only think that sanding would be necessary on a guitar that had a K&K previously mounted. I don't know what the benefit of clean hands would be unless your hands were covered in something?

I've always lightly sanded the bridge-plate area by using sticky-back emery or sandpaper stuck on a used 9-volt battery for flatness. Also, I always strive to maintain the integrity of the Amulet/bridge-plate bond by making sure the adhesive doesn't become contaminated with bits of cardboard, sawdust or small wood crumbs, and that the adhesive doesn't becomes folded-over on itself as I want to be sure the Amulet bonds flat against the bridgeplate. This is the machinist in me as I feel compelled to strive to ensure the results meet my anal standards--Oh! the number of permanent adhesive strips I've wasted!

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

I've always lightly sanded the bridge-plate area by using sticky-back emery or sandpaper stuck on a used 9-volt battery for flatness. Also, I always strive to maintain the integrity of the Amulet/bridge-plate bond by making sure the adhesive doesn't become contaminated with bits of cardboard, sawdust or small wood crumbs, and that the adhesive doesn't becomes folded-over on itself as I want to be sure the Amulet bonds flat against the bridgeplate. This is the machinist in me as I feel compelled to strive to ensure the results meet my anal standards--Oh! the number of permanent adhesive strips I've wasted!

Hey Ken, I have a smallish question about the Trance Amulet install, and I don't want to hijack this thread. Could you either PM me here or email me directly at charmedlifepicks @ gmail.com to discuss this off the board? I don't see a PM address here in your profile.

Thanks, Bud,
Scott

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

Hey Ken, I have a smallish question about the Trance Amulet install, and I don't want to hijack this thread. Could you either PM me here or email me directly at charmedlifepicks @ gmail.com to discuss this off the board? I don't see a PM address here in your profile.

Thanks, Bud,
Scott

PMed ya Bro!

[Cuki79]

I amost finished my amplification trip

My HD-28 has Trance Audio Amulet in standard position.

He are samples with different homemade IRs



1) Trance Audio Amulet alone. As you can hear the bass are a bit thin and the overall tone is very bright and harsh (Tone pot is at max, so you get all the signal from the pickup).

2) IR42B. This is not my favourite with an amp but it does sound better on the computer.

3) IR41B. Less Bass/ More Highs. I'll use this one if I want to use the tone pot on board.

4) IR42. my favourite when amplified (in real) but it has a nasty 0.9KHz that I tamed on IR42B (obvious when strumming with a pick). This resonance does not come out that much on an amp... Maybe because it is close to the tweeter-woofer crossover frequency. Anyway I'll keep all the IRs in my pedal.

I did a lot improvement on my IR process to get there. This process is now closer to Tonedexter patent than the previous ones. Note that the IR were made with a SM57 mic.

I think the tone is good for what I want to do.

Cuki

[Cuki79]

This is try 5

This time with a DPA 4099G training (before it was SM57)

1) Mic
2) Pickup (amulet)
3) Pickup + IR

I am close

[SpruceTop]

The Trance + IR sounds pretty much like a Martin HD-28 mic'ed right down to a bit of booming bass. It looks like you're there! Now, being that the possibilities seem endless with IR, I'll bet you're already starting to play around even more with everything--and that's good!

[Cuki79]

Hi everyone,

Here is my last improvement on my homemade IR process



Guitar: Martin HD-28 + TA Amulet.
1) Mic
2) Pickup
3) Pickup + IR

I can't say if you can hear it with sound cloud (I still have $25 headphones). But on amp it does sound better than the last ones. I could reduce the bass though.

Same with a low cut:


Cuki

[ltbplayer]

I have the Trinity mic be installed in my Larrivee and would like to install a Pure Mini and run them through my Fishman Acoustic Blender. Any feedback on if that will work spec wise?

[Petty1818]

I have decided to order the VT controls for my Amulet and give it one more try. I was playing my Taylor yesterday plugged in and the Amulet just has so much potential. I completely agree with those of you that comment on how much the Amulet just sounds like a part of the guitar and not a pickup. I can totally hear that, I just struggle with the tone being a bit too bright, which makes me automatically hear a thin tone.

I do remember playing a Gibson SJ with the Amulet MVT installed. It was my first experience with the pickup and I was impressed. However, I also remember turning the tone wheel half way, if not more down to cut the highs. It didn't act like a lot of tone controls where the more highs you cut, the muddier the tone gets. It was more like a presence control that just cut some of those ice picky frequencies.

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

I have decided to order the VT controls for my Amulet and give it one more try. I was playing my Taylor yesterday plugged in and the Amulet just has so much potential. I completely agree with those of you that comment on how much the Amulet just sounds like a part of the guitar and not a pickup. I can totally hear that, I just struggle with the tone being a bit too bright, which makes me automatically hear a thin tone.



I do remember playing a Gibson SJ with the Amulet MVT installed. It was my first experience with the pickup and I was impressed. However, I also remember turning the tone wheel half way, if not more down to cut the highs. It didn't act like a lot of tone controls where the more highs you cut, the muddier the tone gets. It was more like a presence control that just cut some of those ice picky frequencies.

I really hope this works for you. I'm fairly confident it will. It's a really good pickup system.

[Bluesdale]

My Amulet M-VT is also way too bright. I keep the Tone knob at about halfway and that makes it sound just fine.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

I have decided to order the VT controls for my Amulet and give it one more try. I was playing my Taylor yesterday plugged in and the Amulet just has so much potential. I completely agree with those of you that comment on how much the Amulet just sounds like a part of the guitar and not a pickup. I can totally hear that, I just struggle with the tone being a bit too bright, which makes me automatically hear a thin tone.

I do remember playing a Gibson SJ with the Amulet MVT installed. It was my first experience with the pickup and I was impressed. However, I also remember turning the tone wheel half way, if not more down to cut the highs. It didn't act like a lot of tone controls where the more highs you cut, the muddier the tone gets. It was more like a presence control that just cut some of those ice picky frequencies.

Scott, that's good to hear! To hear the best tone, you'll likely find that you'll be playing with the Tone Control of the Trance M-VT near the Bass-end of its travel. As I've mentioned many times on AGF, strum a G chord and adjust the Tone Wheel as the chord is ringing and you'll get to a point where every frequency comes into balance: you'll hear your Bass, you'll hear a warm mid-range and you'll hear a nice ring of Treble glassiness and clarity. Verify if you like what you're hearing by subsequently strumming a D-chord. The whole process is as easy as falling off a log and will take about 5-seconds to do it. If you need any further EQ processing to match your guitar to any particular room acoustics, use your Grace Design FELIX or the tone controls on your mixer or amp.

[Cuki79]

Scott,

I totally agree with SpruceTop. Just wanted to add that with one of my numorous installations the Tone wheel had to be set halfway. It was my most balanced install... Right now, with the last install I tend to do exactly like Ken, and my tone wheel is pretty much on the bass side. I go from the bass side towards the treble and stop as soons as it "opens"... which occurs pretty quick with my current install.

Cuki

[MaurysMusic]

We had a customer drop off his Custom Shop deep body 000-28C for an Amulet M install last week. He took delivery yesterday and we talked him into playing a tune for us. Pretty cool tones from his guitar being tune a whole step down, and double drop C.

In this clip, I mixed the Rode NT-5 hard left and Trance Audio Amulet M hard right. Rode is flat, and the Amulet has a gentle treble boost & a light bass roll off. Both tracks have a touch of reverb & the stereo buss was lightly compressed.



This weekend I'll be working on uploading a mono version of the same footage, with just the Amulet M.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Just wanted to thank the last three posters, Ken, Cuk and Maury, for your continued expertise and inspiration. I was floored when I heard the bass coming from my Eastman dread immediately following my Amulet install. It wasn't overly bassy but just PRESENT.

I first heard this rig at a Jackson Browne solo show about ten years ago. Within the first five notes, I said, "That's the best amplified acoustic guitar I've EVER heard in my life. Where can I get one?" Well, it took me almost a decade, but it won't be the last.

thanks so much, guys,
scottt