Tweaking ES2 sensors

rosewoodcedar · #1 03-18-2019, 06:10 PM

Hey all...does anyone have experience adjusting the sensors in the ES2 pickup? The highs [E & B] are very strident on my new 914. I’m not able to manage it with EQ...sounds like a gain issue to me. Thoughts?

Thanks!

ii Cybershot ii · #2 03-18-2019, 10:19 PM

It could be that all three sensors aren't all making proper contact. I suggest to tighten each one pretty strongly. Obviously don't crank down on them, but nice and tight. Then you can work backwards from there.

Personally I think the ES2 has some great things going for it, and also a lot of not so great things. I think adjusting the sensors is really quite finicky. I leave all of mine tight against the saddle and just EQ from that point.

pieterh · #3 03-19-2019, 04:07 AM

I adjusted the sensors on mine a few months back after I felt the sound was getting too thin. It makes sense that with seasonal changes in humidity etc (even with humidifiers I don’t always keep up...) the pressure of the sensors on the saddle can change. The results for me were excellent and I have the great sound I was happy with when I first did the upgrade.

Go gently on any adjustment, tighten or loosen, and keep checking how it sounds. It may be that you need to adjust more than one sensor to get the right tone balance, not just the one under the two strings you mentioned.

rosewoodcedar · #4 03-19-2019, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pieterh

I adjusted the sensors on mine a few months back after I felt the sound was getting too thin. It makes sense that with seasonal changes in humidity etc (even with humidifiers I don’t always keep up...) the pressure of the sensors on the saddle can change. The results for me were excellent and I have the great sound I was happy with when I first did the upgrade.

Go gently on any adjustment, tighten or loosen, and keep checking how it sounds. It may be that you need to adjust more than one sensor to get the right tone balance, not just the one under the two strings you mentioned.

Thanks to both of you. Plugging in and making adjustments later today.

slowesthand · #5 03-19-2019, 08:28 AM

there was a thread in another forum about this. Tests were run on the ES2 system, seems there is "bleed over" from the adjoining sensors, that affect the next 2 strings. Sometimes adjusting the next sensor will help the one your having problems with.

I did it one mine and it seemed to help. My D,G string seemed to drone on and on, turning that sensor didnt help, so I adjusted the others a bit and it seemed to help out.

Vancebo · #6 03-19-2019, 09:07 AM

When the ES2 came out. I played all the guitars I could get my hands on. Some were quite nice but some had this ice pick kind of a sound in the treble strings that was Best described as nails on a chalk board. If this is the strident sound you described then it is a common problem. A friend of mine bought an 816 Deluxe model when they first came out and this was one of those that to my ears had that issue. I tried tweaking the heck out of those hex screws and it never did fix that issue. I suggested trying different strings to see if that helped but I never really heard if he resolved the issue. Since then Taylor has changed the saddle material twice I think. Maybe they are on to something. Over the past couple of years I have only plugged in only a couple of Taylors and I have not heard that wicked sound again.

What year/model is yours?

Joe F · #7 03-19-2019, 11:00 AM

Taylor recommends "Just snug plus a quarter turn".

rmp · #8 03-20-2019, 08:09 AM

I had the same issue with my 514NY the nylons do not have the ES2.

Truing the saddle up to ensure it was absolutely flat helped, but the E and B strings were still coming on way too strong. Added some shielding tape under the saddle (eg: the strings that were not coming out at the same volume level), and some trial and error with that approach did make quite a difference and now all strings are fairly even across all 6.

If it wasn't for the holes they drill for the 3 control wheels, I'd have something else in that 514NY. It's a great guitar - the best nylon I've ever owned, but that ES system in mine just doens't really do it justice.