K&K post install transducer question

[iwfindlay]

Hello from Abu Dhabi in the UAE

I recently installed a K&K pure mini (no guitar techs here so you have to get your feet wet if you want to do things to your guitar). I thought at the time the job went well but after playing for a couple of days it appears the high E is slightly quieter so I and looked again at the pickups and noticed the high string transducer is just sitting slightly off the soundboard (guitar is a Martin D18GE). I know K&K can have a quieter high E output - does anyone think the saddle might be contributing to my issue. I'm willing to remove it and put a new one in. I followed the installation instructions to a T where you center the transducer right over the saddle then install in the same place underneath. Of course the saddle is slightly angled hence the offset.

[jonfields45]

Before moving the transducer and if you have interest in a ToneDexter, it might solve the problem.

You might also experiment with a slightly heavier high E string. They are made in 5 mil increments these days.

I've installed at least a dozen K&Ks and JJBs over the years and while I'm very careful about placement, my prejudice is there is some variation from guitar to guitar that is not explainable by minor placement variation (I've even experienced, best to my ability to test, that fabled >=10M ohm load problem with a K&K in a RainSong CO-DR).

Moving around SBTs is a near infinite rabbit hole that traps many of us. That little bit of the high-E sensor hanging off the bridge plate is the part with full thickness epoxy encapsulation, is likely the stiffest part of the sensor, and not critical to a bending mode transducer.

[iwfindlay]

Hello Jon

I will try an 11 on the E - I have a feeling it will probably fix it as the B string is good. It is very subtle.

I'll look into the Tonedexter - I'm using a Felix which I love. Thanks for sharing your experiences - this really helps me a lot

[iwfindlay]

I mean a 13!!

[James May]

In my experience, the slight displacement you show is probably not the cause of a weak high E. It is a common problem with K&K. Every install I ever did with K&Ks had the issue, even with perfect placement.

If it were me, I'd add another disc Northwest of your West-most disc (as shown in pic). It will almost certainly solve your issue and not give you too much high E.

In case that seems intuitively wrong, remember that adding another (same type of) disc to about the same spot won't make that spot come through any louder, it will only lower the impedance.

With my recommendation, you will be covering more ground on the high side of the bridge plate to get more of the high E strings vibrations. A bridge plate stiffens and hence attenuates the amount of bending the transducer can receive. It falls of quickly with distance. That's why you need to get more geography covered in order to get a good string-to-string balance.

Nylon sting guitars without bridge plates don't have this issue.

There now, I've probably shared too much but I hope it helps.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by iwfindlay

Hello from Abu Dhabi in the UAE

I recently installed a K&K pure mini (no guitar techs here so you have to get your feet wet if you want to do things to your guitar). I thought at the time the job went well but after playing for a couple of days it appears the high E is slightly quieter so I and looked again at the pickups and noticed the high string transducer is just sitting slightly off the soundboard (guitar is a Martin D18GE). I know K&K can have a quieter high E output - does anyone think the saddle might be contributing to my issue. I'm willing to remove it and put a new one in. I followed the installation instructions to a T where you center the transducer right over the saddle then install in the same place underneath. Of course the saddle is slightly angled hence the offset.

The K&K website had an area where it stated that the transducer could protrude over the bridge plate slightly with no ill effects, so that wouldn't be your problem. The odd thing about your photo is the bridge pins aren't anywhere in sight.

Most of the installations I've done (about a dozen) the transducers aren't very far away from the pins and the high E string transducer is mounted a bit off-center from the high E location to improve the balance. From your photo it looks like they are not located correctly and the transducer may have shifted as it was installed. (I could be wrong due to the nature of the photo, though.)
Be sure to slide the rubber tubing down to immobilize the wires where they leave the transducers; it can give you some odd microphonics if they aren't held together in that location.

One other possible factor is your adhesive. I've always usad a good amount of gel CA and my installations ALWAYS have squeeze-out showing around the base of the transducers. Dieter at K&K also states that the number one reason for signal imbalance from a Pure Mini install is insufficient adhesive.

Just some thoughts, and none of it may matter in your particular installation.

[iwfindlay]

Here is a picture with the bridge pins.



I did use a lot of glue when installing - the .13 string is making it less noticeable. I'll look into a 4th transducer

Thanks everyone