D18 pickup question

[Reggiedadog]

I have a 2012 D18 which I am struggling to bond with if I'm being honest- it has a Fishman Matrix Infinity fitted, which I have in all my other guitars and is one of my favourite pickups in those guitars, but in the D18 it sounds quite harsh. I cant seem to dial in the warm woody acoustic sound that comes out when I play her acoustically.

Im thinking of trying a K&K pure mini as I've heard good things about them, to see if that helps. Am I flogging a dead horse? Should I sell her instead and find another stablemate for my 00018?

[rschultz]

Originally Posted by Reggiedadog

I have a 2012 D18 which I am struggling to bond with if I'm being honest- it has a Fishman Matrix Infinity fitted, which I have in all my other guitars and is one of my favourite pickups in those guitars, but in the D18 it sounds quite harsh. I cant seem to dial in the warm woody acoustic sound that comes out when I play her acoustically.

Im thinking of trying a K&K pure mini as I've heard good things about them, to see if that helps. Am I flogging a dead horse? Should I sell her instead and find another stablemate for my 00018?

How does it sound... unplugged? Or by mic'ing it?

UST's are synonymous with harsh and I don't know that I've ever used the word WARM to describe it. I'm inclined to try another pickup before you sell it. But be aware the K&K is a fairly permanent install. It's possibly the most popular pickup on AGF (I have one), but if you aren't sure about the guitar... it's a gamble to install one.

[SpruceTop]

You could either get a Fishman Aura Pedal to mate with the Fishman Matrix Infinity or you could try the new ToneDexter pedal to help your tone sound more mic-like.

Fishman Aura Pedals

ToneDexter

Another excellent alternative would be to install a Trance Audio Amulet M Dual Mono Acoustic Guitar System in your D-18 but this would entail making a new saddle to replace the one that mated with the Matrix UST as the Amulet pickups like to have a clear vibrational path from the bottom of the saddle to them. Installing a Trance system is reversible and you wouldn't hurt either your Fishman Matrix Infinity or Trance system if and when you'd want to transfer these systems to future guitars.

Trance Audio Amulet Dual Mono Acoustic Guitar System

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by Reggiedadog

I have a 2012 D18 which I am struggling to bond with if I'm being honest- it has a Fishman Matrix Infinity fitted, which I have in all my other guitars and is one of my favourite pickups in those guitars, but in the D18 it sounds quite harsh. I cant seem to dial in the warm woody acoustic sound that comes out when I play her acoustically.

Im thinking of trying a K&K pure mini as I've heard good things about them, to see if that helps. Am I flogging a dead horse? Should I sell her instead and find another stablemate for my 00018?

In my opinion the woody acoustic tone of the new D-18 comes from the bracing being shifted. The top resonance is shifted also to the lows... it seems that UST don't capture that really well. So K&K would definitely helps. You should also try Tonedexter. Dual source is also an option.

You have both the D-18 and the 000-18!!!! Lucky guy, I love those but own only one

Did you see Necrome's video of my D-18 through the Roland AC-33 and the Laney AH4x4? My D-18 has a Lyric+ IR convolution (similar to Tonedexter), you'd get an idea.

Here are examples of what I get

1) DPA 4099 Mic
2) Lyric alone
3) Original process 061 IR (no EQ- no Xover blending)
4) Most simple process + Minimum phase process (My take on the Tondexter character button)


1) Lyric alone through amp (recorded with Zoom H2 2 feet away)
2) Lyric + IR61 through amp (recorded with Zoom H2 2 feet away)

Which one sounds woody enough?

I think there are too things you can look for:
1) The soft attack of the strings> Good candidates: Baggs M80, IR convolution (Tonedexter, Fishman Aura, Dtar Mama bear, Zoom A3...), multiband compression (TC bodyrez)
2) The woody throaty low-mid growl of the D-18> Good candidates: Internal Mic (DPA...) or IR convolution (Have to find the good one).

Please note that too much low-mid growl can also lead to feedback. But I'll soon work on it when I have my new amp. Curiousy I had tons of feedback with my Lyric+IR+SR Jam150amp in my cousin's basement but the IR sounded then very bass heavy then. In my house, I did not get that. As far as feedback is concerned: Room counts.

Carefull work on the low end should help me to find the optimum with the new AH4x4 that will be less bass heavy than the SR JAM150.

Cuki

[6L6]

I replaced the Fishman and Highlander pups in my acoustics with K&K's. Couldn't be happier with the results!

All now K&K equipped:

* '97 Martin D-45V
* '70 Martin D-28
* '16 Collings D-3 Custom
* '99 Collings D-1
* '11 Collings D2H
* '13 Collings D2H
* '14 Collings D2HA
* '71 Guild F-312NT

I have no "Hanger Queens". ALL of these guitars get played out on a regular basis.

Whether I play through a PA at a local O/M or an acoustic amp (Fender Acoustasonic Jr DSP, Fishman Mini, Fishman Performer), the K&K works GREAT!

[Cuki79]

If you seldom play amplified and at very moderate levels



A clip mic like this one is cheap, easy and sound better than any pickup (in my opinion).

Cuki

[kaos]

My D18 came with an iBeam ... it was just awful! Replaced with a JJB 330. Night and Day difference.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[pmarino]

I play my D-18 with a Matrix Infinity through a Fishman Aura pedal. Love the tone.

[Reggiedadog]

Thanks all for the helpful replies- I had put a new saddle on the guitar recently and on closer inspection today I realised I have obviously not sanded it straight as neither of the e strings (1st and 6th) are being picked up by the UST- so no wonder it sounds a bit weird....

I will sort that out first before doing anything drastic- still very tempted to try the K&K though...

[Reggiedadog]

Update to this- I fixed the saddle then decided to take the plunge and buy the K&K, I had it fitted and got it back yesterday.


Without a doubt I can say that the K&K is exactly the tone I was looking for- captures the woodiness of the D18 perfectly- have only tried it straight into my loudbox so far and haven't used my pre-amp yet but not sure I will need to- very very impressed!

The only downside is that I am now wishing the inbuilt electrics in my 00018 retro sounded as good...

Richard