Seagull Qii electronics - how good is it?

[chicouk]

Hiya,

I am looking to purchase the seagull mosaic artist guitar, however i am still debating whether to spend the extra few hundred dollars on a good LR baggs lyric pickup or on the Qii.

The price difference between the qii and non electric, and the lr baggs lyric is very similar

Kind regards

Aaron

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by chicouk

Hiya,

I am looking to purchase the seagull mosaic artist guitar, however i am still debating whether to spend the extra few hundred dollars on a good LR baggs lyric pickup or on the Qii.

The price difference between the qii and non electric, and the lr baggs lyric is very similar

Kind regards

Aaron

Hi Aaron...

I've been impressed with the high end Seagull electronics. The QII is a dual source (pickup plus microphone) and it sounds really nice. I spent 3 days listening to one that the worship band was using at a conference.

I was really pleased at how guitar-like and full it sounded. And he just plugged into the conference center's mobile PA that they shuttled into the room 30 minutes before the sessions.

A student of mine has the QII in a Seagull too, and I really like how it performs. His is not in an artist model, but it's the same system. Makes his guitar sound better through the PA than it sounds in the room.

The lyric is a different animal since it's really a boundary microphone mounted inside a guitar. It works well for some, but has not proved to the the one-size-fits-all it was advertised to be in the beginning.

If given the two choices you suggested, I'd go with the QII.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi Aaron...

I've been impressed with the high end Seagull electronics. The QII is a dual source (pickup plus microphone) and it sounds really nice. I spent 3 days listening to one that the worship band was using at a conference.

I was really pleased at how guitar-like and full it sounded. And he just plugged into the conference center's mobile PA that they shuttled into the room 30 minutes before the sessions.

A student of mine has the QII in a Seagull too, and I really like how it performs. His is not in an artist model, but it's the same system. Makes his guitar sound better through the PA than it sounds in the room.

The lyric is a different animal since it's really a boundary microphone mounted inside a guitar. It works well for some, but has not proved to the the one-size-fits-all it was advertised to be in the beginning.

If given the two choices you suggested, I'd go with the QII.

I was somewhat surprised to hear your opinion of the QII system. I don't own a Seagull guitar but I have played quite a few in live situations and they are amazing for the price. However, the QII is simply a standard UST and microphone system. The difference I find is that the UST portion of the pickup sounds much more "quacky" and unnatural than the Fishman Matrix or Lr Baggs Element. The microphone is one of the better internal microphone setups that I have used but the QII UST has a very piezo tone to it. I will agree that it's a good pickup for the price and does sound full but I don't find it very natural.

[open-road-matt]

I have the Qii system in my La Patrie Hybrid. (La Patrie is the classical guitar brand in the Godin family, same company that makes Seagull.)

This is my only experience with the Qii and being nylon, it's a different creature than the Seagull in question but FWIW I really like the pickup system!

I struggled to get a natural plugged-in nylon tone going through many different guitars, pickups and preamps. The La Patrie with the Qii completely solved that.

Plug and play directly into my mixer with a very natural tone! I really like the knob for the mix that adjusts the phase/presence of the mic. All in all it has been a great pickup for me and what I do!

Matt

[chicouk]

Ahh man lol

The problem is there are no shops around my area that sell this guitar so i have to purchase it online.

I have tried out my friends taylor 114ce acoustic and it sounds brilliant through the PA, how does it compare to that (sound/electronics wise) cause if the quality is very similar then I will get the Qii

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

I was somewhat surprised to hear your opinion of the QII system. I don't own a Seagull guitar but I have played quite a few in live situations and they are amazing for the price. However, the QII is simply a standard UST and microphone system. The difference I find is that the UST portion of the pickup sounds much more "quacky" and unnatural than the Fishman Matrix or Lr Baggs Element. The microphone is one of the better internal microphone setups that I have used but the QII UST has a very piezo tone to it. I will agree that it's a good pickup for the price and does sound full but I don't find it very natural.

Hi Petty...

I tend to run internal mics hotter than the pickup in dual source systems.

I'm just telling you what I've heard when listening to them live - and in both cases without any augmenting preamps.

I'm sure if I did A/B tests with my Olson and the K&K dual source and my blenders, mine would no doubt be better. But for the amount of money poured into them, they should be.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi Petty...

I tend to run internal mics hotter than the pickup in dual source systems.

I'm just telling you what I've heard when listening to them live - and in both cases without any augmenting preamps.

I'm sure if I did A/B tests with my Olson and the K&K dual source and my blenders, mine would no doubt be better. But for the amount of money poured into them, they should be.

ljguitar,

I probably was too quick to put down the QII system. It definitely is a nice set up for the price and really it does compare quite well to systems like the Fishman Matrix blend. I actually used to own the Fishman Matrix blend and I preferred the microphone in the QII to the one that Fishman uses. It's the same basic design but I found that I could run the internal microphone fairly hot with the QII and not get feedback. The internal microphone also sounded very good. The Fishman microphone sounded very hollow/boxy and I could maybe blend in 10-15% of the mic before I hit feedback.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

ljguitar,

I probably was too quick to put down the QII system. It definitely is a nice set up for the price and really it does compare quite well to systems like the Fishman Matrix blend. I actually used to own the Fishman Matrix blend and I preferred the microphone in the QII to the one that Fishman uses. It's the same basic design but I found that I could run the internal microphone fairly hot with the QII and not get feedback. The internal microphone also sounded very good. The Fishman microphone sounded very hollow/boxy and I could maybe blend in 10-15% of the mic before I hit feedback.

Hi Petty...

I was just responding to the original poster's questions, and the choices he offered for discussion. To me the Quantum II (QII) is a gateway dual source system.

Since I own high quality external preamp/blenders, it's not that pricey for me to add a dual source to any guitar, but starting from scratch, a passive internal dual source (pickup and internal mic) with an external preamp/blender is in the $400 - $525 range over and above the cost of the guitar.

The Seagull QII dual-source is far less money than that, and so superior to an undersaddle by itself, or sound-hole magnetic pickup.

The Fishman built in dual source which were in the pre-ES Taylors were a really decent system too, and I'm not sure the QII isn't either that or one of the Baggs preamps. The side-plate looks like the Baggs Duet with a tuner window added. If it's not one of these two, it's sure designed along the same lines (as is the internal dual source in Tommy E's Maton gutiars).

I'm very concerned about my live sound - serious enough to spend major money on a decent dual source passive system with blender. I've had them installed in handbuilt guitars, and my live sound represents me to the public I play for.

It also provides me with a sound I'm happy with on stage, and when I sound better on stage, I play more relaxed/better.

I'm not sure every player needs or wants this level of pickup/preamp system. Well they may want this level of system, but I'm not sure they are prepared to plunk down the amount of money it takes to get there, nor the amount of work it takes to haul all that gear to gigs. And then there's the backup preamp in case something goes south.

The Seagull QII is a really good plug-n-play option - as is the older Fishman dual source, the Baggs Dual Source & Baggs Duet, and the Martin Aura, and the Maton dual source. For people who only plug in occasionally, they are decent systems.

I'm happy enough with the high-end approach that the same dual source rig is installed in 4 of my guitars, and I have very serious blender/preamps to interface them with PA systems and my stage amps simultaneously.

I also drew the line at where my ears and wallet could no longer keep pace. I'd love a Humphrey's amp, or AER Compact 60 amp, but settled at UltraSound for high quality sound, feedback resistance, road-able durability as well as size (I never need to fly amps, and I do sing through them as well as play).

And I decided not to go with the Pendulum SPS-1 because then I'd be back into hauling around a rack mount preamp, and I'm not sure I'd even appreciate the upgraded features/sound. Certainly a lot more adjustability, but I'm 66 years old (2014) and not a touring pro. And the least expensive I've seen used are $1000 (usually more like $1200)

[open-road-matt]

I came to the Qii from a bit different place. I gigged with a Pendulum SPS-1 for over a year and at one point had three sources in a Goodall!

I'm getting a more natural sound from my Qii than I ever did from dual (or triple) sources in expensive steel string guitars run through expensive preamps. But...nylon is a much better fit for what I do and the Qii is the best I've come across for nylon and the way I play. (Often with a flat pick)

I would guess that more "pros" use "plug and play" guitars and systems or single source than dual sources and blending preamps. At least in the folk/country/singer-songwriter genre. I could be wrong but that's been my experience.

Find what works best for you and gives you the best vehicle for expressing what you want to express. The only people that care about guitars, pickups and preamps are other guitarists. If those things make you play better, great! That end product, the song, the music, the show, that's all that matters. The rest of it is just fooling around with gear (which can be really fun!)

Matt