Schatten HFN with Fireeye Red Eye preamp

Zhoken · #1 11-10-2019, 02:12 PM

Heya all!

I'm very much considering getting a Schatten HFN for a newly acquired Boucher OM-SG1 (which I got a hell of a deal on) and I own a fireeye red eye preamp. I'm wondering if anyone here uses the two together and what their experience is like?

In short; Fireeye Red eye preamp + Schatten HFN = yay or nay?

Thanks!
-Z.

SpruceTop · #2 11-10-2019, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zhoken

Heya all!

I'm very much considering getting a Schatten HFN for a newly acquired Boucher OM-SG1 (which I got a hell of a deal on) and I own a fireeye red eye preamp. I'm wondering if anyone here uses the two together and what their experience is like?

In short; Fireeye Red eye preamp + Schatten HFN = yay or nay?

Thanks!
-Z.

It'll work for you!

steelvibe · #3 11-10-2019, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zhoken

Heya all!

I'm very much considering getting a Schatten HFN for a newly acquired Boucher OM-SG1 (which I got a hell of a deal on) and I own a fireeye red eye preamp. I'm wondering if anyone here uses the two together and what their experience is like?

In short; Fireeye Red eye preamp + Schatten HFN = yay or nay?

Thanks!
-Z.

The HFN is a great sounding pickup and the Red Eye is a great preamp. You should be fine as almost everything sent through a Red Eye sounds better to my ears. Below is a video sampling of the HFN sent through a Fishman Platinum Stage. At one point I had the Fishman and the Red Eye; the Fishman was okay, the Red Eye sounded better to my ears and I regret selling it. To me it makes sense to have a DI that is about as basic as possible because what you are running down-chain is either an amp or PA or both. The point of amplification usually has decent EQ so the Fishman (while a great sounding unit) is a bit overkill, on the other hand the Red Eye or the L.R. Baggs Session DI just give you a fantastic upfront signal.

I'm actually thinking about pulling the trigger on the L.R. Baggs Session DI. I've learned to appreciate a less-is-more approach for my personal stage needs and I really like what this unit does and how it sounds.

SpruceTop · #4 11-10-2019, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelvibe

The HFN is a great sounding pickup and the Red Eye is a great preamp. You should be fine as almost everything sent through a Red Eye sounds better to my ears. Below is a video sampling of the HFN sent through a Fishman Platinum Stage (I had the Fishman and it was okay). To me it makes sense to have a DI that is about as basic as possible because what you are running down chain is either an amp or PA or both. The point of amplification usually has decent EQ so the Fishman (while a great sounding unit) is a bit overkill, while the Red Eye or the L.R. Baggs Session DI make more in my opinion.

Nice Video! You've gotten excellent tone from your Schatten HFN and Fishman Platinum Stage. I'll have to reevaluate my Martin D-18/Schatten HFN Artist Plus 2 installation. Although my HFN installation was spot-in for location, I find my Martin D-18's 6th-string is lacking in output compared to the other strings.

Petty1818 · #5 11-10-2019, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

Nice Video! You've gotten excellent tone from your Schatten HFN and Fishman Platinum Stage. I'll have to reevaluate my Martin D-18/Schatten HFN Artist Plus 2 installation. Although my HFN installation was spot-in for location, I find my Martin D-18's 6th-string is lacking in output compared to the other strings.

My findings as well with the HFN. I wanted to try pairing it with a UST and then use something like the tonedexter or aura. The UST would give the string balance and low end that the HFN lacks and the HFN would provide a more natural tone. The aura or tonedexter could just help get rid of some of the piezo tone. The issue is that with the UST installed and the wire coming out the bottom of the bridgeplate, I am no longer able to put the HFN in the correct spot.

Zhoken · #6 11-11-2019, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelvibe

The HFN is a great sounding pickup and the Red Eye is a great preamp. You should be fine as almost everything sent through a Red Eye sounds better to my ears. Below is a video sampling of the HFN sent through a Fishman Platinum Stage (I had the Fishman and it was okay). To me it makes sense to have a DI that is about as basic as possible because what you are running down chain is either an amp or PA or both. The point of amplification usually has decent EQ so the Fishman (while a great sounding unit) is a bit overkill, while the Red Eye or the L.R. Baggs Session DI make more in my opinion.

Thanks a bunch for the reply Steelvibe! Much appreciated!

martingitdave · #7 11-11-2019, 09:56 AM

I'll be the party pooper. The Red Eye is 1M Ohm input impedance. I found that to be a little too low for the HFN and made it sound too thin. It might be OK, but I found 5-10M Ohm was more pleasing to my ear.

steelvibe · #8 11-11-2019, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zhoken

Thanks a bunch for the reply Steelvibe! Much appreciated!

Oh you are welcome. I just edited my post and see that martingitdave has also added to the discussion. I've read many of his posts on here and he has more experience that I do I can pretty much guarantee. Sounds like he is not recommending the Red Eye for the HFN.

Also, that video is not mine. I don't have first hand experience with the HFN, only the Fishman and Red Eye with K&K pure mini and JJB 330 pickups. Those pickups both sounded great with the Red Eye- better than the Fishman to my ear. But this video demonstrating the HFN sounds really good with the Fishman. I would be very happy with that tone.

martingitdave · #9 11-11-2019, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelvibe

Oh you are welcome. I just edited my post and see that martingitdave has also added to the discussion. I've read many of his posts on here and he has more experience that I do I can pretty much guarantee. Sounds like he is not recommending the Red Eye for the HFN.

Also, that video is not mine. I don't have first hand experience with the HFN, only the Fishman and Red Eye with K&K pure mini and JJB 330 pickups. Those pickups both sounded great with the Red Eye- better than the Fishman to my ear. But this video demonstrating the HFN sounds really good with the Fishman. I would be very happy with that tone.

Well, my experience is all trial and error. Mostly error. :-). The Fishman is a 10M Ohm preamp and sounds good with the HFN. That was my setup when I was demo’ing the HFN.

PANDAPANDELO · #10 11-12-2019, 06:32 AM

Would the HFN Passive with LR Baggs Para DI (or Session DI) be a good match?

jonfields45 · #11 11-12-2019, 08:07 AM

The Schatten BB-03 volume control is 500K ohms and they sell that for the HFN (and other pickups).

I just tried my passive HFN into the BB-03 into my HX Stomp (1M ohm input impedance) and then repeated without the BB-03. For me it sounds the same and excellent either way.

I don't have anything with a 10M ohm input impedance to compare against.

martingitdave · #12 11-12-2019, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonfields45

The Schatten BB-03 volume control is 500K ohms and they sell that for the HFN (and other pickups).

I just tried my passive HFN into the BB-03 into my HX Stomp (1M ohm input impedance) and then repeated without the BB-03. For me it sounds the same and excellent either way.

I don't have anything with a 10M ohm input impedance to compare against.

John makes a good point (as usual). But, depending on the pickup, I can hear a difference with different impedance preamps. Of course, different preamps have more differences than impedance alone. But, too low an impedance can act as a low cut filter, which may or may not be a problem based on your setup and preferences.

DesertTwang · #13 11-13-2019, 05:07 PM

Definitively a yay from me. See my post from today.

Marshall · #14 11-13-2019, 06:26 PM

that's a nice guitar. And a nice pickup. A ToneDexter would be my choice for preamp. It'll make that Schatten sound like the unamplified acoustic.

REALLY ! ! !

GuitarLuva · #15 11-15-2019, 09:55 AM

Can't speak for the Red eye as I don't have one. My audio interface has a 1 Mohm input impedance which I use quite a bit at home with the HFN with no issues. The Behringer ADI21, which I sometimes use at a venue, also has an input impedance of 1 Mohm and I have no issues with that either. On the other side of the coin, I mostly plug straight into my Fishman amp which has an input impedance of 5 Mohm which of course works fine. 1 Mohm seems to work fine with the HFN but I certainly wouldn't recommend going lower.