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  #1  
Old 04-16-2021, 06:56 PM
lppier lppier is offline
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Default Skysonic pro magnetic pickup

Has anyone tried this pickup before? Seems like a Chinese company for which the pickups are popular in Japan.
It’s a triple source pickup - magnetic, mic and sbt.
Wondering how it stacks up against other magnetic pickups I like - rare earth blend and magmic.

https://youtu.be/PQGLGB-AMlM

Curious to hear your thoughts!

Last edited by lppier; 04-16-2021 at 09:52 PM.
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  #2  
Old 04-17-2021, 08:51 AM
nickv6 nickv6 is offline
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See some info here:

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=485121
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  #3  
Old 04-17-2021, 06:07 PM
lppier lppier is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nickv6 View Post


Thanks, I’ve seen that thread - wondering if anyone else has bought and tried it since ?

And how it compares to something like the rare earth blend ?
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  #4  
Old 04-24-2021, 05:06 AM
varmonter varmonter is offline
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I tried the skysonic a few
years back.. didnt like it
at all. price is right though.
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  #5  
Old 04-27-2021, 07:39 AM
Marshall Marshall is online now
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I ordered one for my travel guitar. It hasn't arrived yet. Buying direct from China saves $$ but take time.
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  #6  
Old 05-14-2021, 03:47 PM
Marshall Marshall is online now
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Well my Skysonic from AliExpress (China) arrived today. 2 1/2 weeks for shipping. Not bad at all. Arrived this end thru USPS. Box was well bubble wrapped. Still the cardboard box took some minor dents. But there is a lot of foam inside the box protecting the main elements. It all looks very good. It'll probably be a week or two before I get around to doing the install in my GS-Mini.

This should be fun.
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  #7  
Old 05-14-2021, 05:44 PM
lppier lppier is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marshall View Post
Well my Skysonic from AliExpress (China) arrived today. 2 1/2 weeks for shipping. Not bad at all. Arrived this end thru USPS. Box was well bubble wrapped. Still the cardboard box took some minor dents. But there is a lot of foam inside the box protecting the main elements. It all looks very good. It'll probably be a week or two before I get around to doing the install in my GS-Mini.



This should be fun.

Hey Marshall, my first set of the pro came some time ago, but the magnetic and mic portions had no sound. Only the sbt produced output. Poor qc I guess?
Had to send it back for a refund.
A new one is on the way.
Interested to hear how yours works out!
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  #8  
Old 05-15-2021, 09:10 AM
Marshall Marshall is online now
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Oooh. That would be BAD !

It'll probably be a couple weeks before I get around to it. But, now I probably stick the mag in first and plug it into a battery, as a trial, before I try the full installation.

Thanks for the "heads up." Hope it works out better for you on the 2nd one.
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  #9  
Old 05-17-2021, 07:25 AM
lppier lppier is offline
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My 2nd one came in the mail today - tried it briefly with a frankenstein setup , shown above. I think it is a nice malleable sound. Still sounds like a magnetic though overall.

Will post clips on the weekend!
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  #10  
Old 05-21-2021, 06:55 PM
lppier lppier is offline
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Default Skysonic pro magnetic pickup

I installed this properly on my Taylor 514ce yesterday, putting the sbt portion behind the bridge as recommended.
Some initial thoughts:

The quality control is quite suspect. Remember the first one I had was not working out of the box, and as for this one , after the sbt portion got installed in the proper position it started not to work. It took half an hour of fiddling with the sbt wire to get it in a proper position such that there was still sound coming from the sbt. Needless to say, it was not an enjoyable install, and I really can’t recommend this pickup based on the qc alone.

I think putting this pickup dampens the acoustic sound of the guitar noticeably, more so than the other sound hole pickups I’ve tried. This is perhaps because of its substantial weight.

I actually do like the sound of the magnetic pickup by itself, it has a thick and sweet Tonality. I think the intention of the mic is to add a bit of air, so when you turn it up fully, it sounds a bit harsh. This behaviour is similar to the mag mic I had before.
The sbt adds some body dimension to the sound when you put it in the mix, but I think no matter how you mix the three sources, the overall sound is still magnetic. The magnetic pickup and mic is controlled by one main volume control, and the sbt is controlled by another independent main volume control. For the first volume control there is another control to adjust the amount of mic in the magnetic/mic mix.

Will follow up with some clips.

Last edited by lppier; 05-21-2021 at 07:25 PM.
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  #11  
Old 05-21-2021, 10:39 PM
lppier lppier is offline
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Here you go!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq2TrHCW8G8
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  #12  
Old 06-01-2021, 11:17 AM
Marshall Marshall is online now
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Interesting. Sure sounds mostly Mag.

I got around to doing a temporary trial install of just the mag. It worked fine. I'll try the whole install in a few days. The pickup I'm replacing in the travel guitar is a Fishman Rare Earth mag, so the "mag" sound is acceptable for me (for simplicity sake). I'm hoping the SBT and mic will lighten that a bit. I'm a little disappointed in your clips, because they sound very magnetic, no matter what settings. But it's just a travel guitar, and I'm looking for simplicity, not perfection.

Later
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  #13  
Old 06-05-2021, 09:53 AM
Marshall Marshall is online now
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Did the install in my GS Mini travel guitar this morning. One serious glitch along the way. The soundboard transducer is a BIG long wide thing. Much bigger than a Schatten HFN or PUTW or other SBT. This guitar had a Schatten in once before I decided to go with the Fishman Rare Earth mag. (It's my travel guitar and I'm looking for simple). The trouble is there is not enough real estate between the bracing and bridge pins to stick the large SBT under the saddle.

I scratched my head.

I decided to install it behind the bridge pins. It would not be under the saddle then. But in that location it did still fit solidly on the bridge plate. And I was off to the races with the experiment.

All else went well. There's a hell of a lot of wires in there. I was not deliberate in tying stuff down. I can go back later I suppose. Though it's kind of tight to maneuver.

Then I strung the guitar back up and plugged it into my Schertler David amp. And I was surprised at how well the SBT did. All in all I like the sound a lot. It's still very Mag-sounding on the treble notes. But the SBT and mic give an acoustic punctuation to chords that you won't get with a Mag. I did find the overall sound to be a bit bassy for my taste. But they give you an allen wrench to play with the mag poles. I dropped the bottom poles a couple hairs and think I have a more balanced sound that I can live with.

All-in-all, I like the thing. It's a more pleasing sound than a mag by itself. I think I'll have fun with this. It's a keeper.

(Don't know if I'll get around to making a recording anytime soon.)
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  #14  
Old 06-05-2021, 08:08 PM
lppier lppier is offline
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Glad it worked out for you Marshall!
For me I think I'm going back to the Rare earth blend, think that the design of that pickup is relatively simple and has a pleasing tone, and I still have a stereo option should I want to upgrade my setup to a stereo one in the future.
My other setup is Anthem based, that actually works pretty well for simple, plug and play use.

I have too many pickups.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Marshall View Post
Did the install in my GS Mini travel guitar this morning. One serious glitch along the way. The soundboard transducer is a BIG long wide thing. Much bigger than a Schatten HFN or PUTW or other SBT. This guitar had a Schatten in once before I decided to go with the Fishman Rare Earth mag. (It's my travel guitar and I'm looking for simple). The trouble is there is not enough real estate between the bracing and bridge pins to stick the large SBT under the saddle.

I scratched my head.

I decided to install it behind the bridge pins. It would not be under the saddle then. But in that location it did still fit solidly on the bridge plate. And I was off to the races with the experiment.

All else went well. There's a hell of a lot of wires in there. I was not deliberate in tying stuff down. I can go back later I suppose. Though it's kind of tight to maneuver.

Then I strung the guitar back up and plugged it into my Schertler David amp. And I was surprised at how well the SBT did. All in all I like the sound a lot. It's still very Mag-sounding on the treble notes. But the SBT and mic give an acoustic punctuation to chords that you won't get with a Mag. I did find the overall sound to be a bit bassy for my taste. But they give you an allen wrench to play with the mag poles. I dropped the bottom poles a couple hairs and think I have a more balanced sound that I can live with.

All-in-all, I like the thing. It's a more pleasing sound than a mag by itself. I think I'll have fun with this. It's a keeper.

(Don't know if I'll get around to making a recording anytime soon.)
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  #15  
Old 06-06-2021, 01:06 PM
Marshall Marshall is online now
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I was most interested in the SBT and Mag combination. I think it works well. I roll in the mic, but that doesn't make as much diff. In this guitar I'm looking for "simple" and acceptable. No stereo or complicated. I use ToneDexter on my real guitars.
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