Barbera pickup

Cecil just sent me a message regarding the relatively new Barbera pickup. I'm not sure if my response got to him, but his information was of personal interest and informative.

Alistair is using the Barbera in my in-process Emerald electric nylon string guitar, so I have a high level of interest here. Cecil is also on the waiting list for an Emerald and has been following the reviews of the Barbera, which praise its clarity and projection. I can hardly wait, but will.

[Kray Van Kirk]

With an endorsement from Pierre Bensusan yet!!

[ceciltguitar]

Here's the thread that I brought to Evan's attention:

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=490533

On another thread, a forum member noted that the Barbera saddle was not compensated and suspected that intonation could be an issue. I checked and reported that intonation was not an issue. I'd like to revise that report.

I've not heard any intonation problems, but I have re-checked and see that according to my tuner the intonation is very slightly off on some of the strings at the 12th fret. My tuner shows correct tune with green backlight, off tune with red. The tuner also shows a slash on either side of the illustrated note to indicate perfect tune. The Barbera tunes green, but does not always show a double slash.

I believe that the imperfection is so faint that I could correct it with minor shaping at either the nut or the saddle (which I won't bother with because I am perfectly happy with such minor imperfection. If it equaled my imperfections as a player, then I would get serious.

[BT55]

Originally Posted by EvanB

On another thread, a forum member noted that the Barbera saddle was not compensated and suspected that intonation could be an issue. I checked and reported that intonation was not an issue. I'd like to revise that report.



I've not heard any intonation problems, but I have re-checked and see that according to my tuner the intonation is very slightly off on some of the strings at the 12th fret. My tuner shows correct tune with green backlight, off tune with red. The tuner also shows a slash on either side of the illustrated note to indicate perfect tune. The Barbera tunes green, but does not always show a double slash.



I believe that the imperfection is so faint that I could correct it with minor shaping at either the nut or the saddle (which I won't bother with because I am perfectly happy with such minor imperfection. If it equaled my imperfections as a player, then I would get serious.

You have hit the problem with Barbara’s design on the head. If a guitar was designed with a compensated bridge saddle there was a reason for that selection. The guitars manufacturer requires the compensation for intonation purposes. In my opinion the designers of Barbera pickups should offer their product in both compensated and non compensated designs to exactly replace the OEM design.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by BT55

You have hit the problem with Barbara’s design on the head. If a guitar was designed with a compensated bridge saddle there was a reason for that selection. The guitars manufacturer requires the compensation for intonation purposes. In my opinion the designers of Barbera pickups should offer their product in both compensated and non compensated designs to exactly replace the OEM design.

Sometimes you can't get what you want :-) There are so many options for pickups out there, you can choose to get what's most important to you, but may not be able to get everything in any one pickup. For almost every products I can think of, guitar related or not, I think "if only they would..."

I'm sure you could suggest to Rich that he make both compensated and uncompensated versions, and maybe he'd think that was a good idea, especially if he got enough requests to justify the work, or maybe he'd make a custom one for you.

Doug;

I'll keep in mind your suggestion of a custom Barbera--perhaps with another custom guitar.

Meanwhile, I enjoy your online music, you are an accomplished artist. But you probably already know that...............

[Doug Young]

Thanks, glad you're liking the tunes, I appreciate that!