Prefix/Acoustasonic Jr. Advice

[DMZ]

Need some sound advice. Am playing with a contemporary worship band again. About 6 months ago, I had a 615(gone but not forgotten) with a Sunrise magnetic bar pickup and an lr baggs preamp equalizer into an Acoustasonic jr amp-a great sound. Now I'm playing my 314 MCE with a standard Fishman Prefix. Without really taking the time to field test this combination, Sunday I got some feedback, that piezo quack and a brighter metal sound compared to the previous 615 deal that my brother (a professional living far away) helped me with. It seemed like the more I tried to compensate for the piezo, the less overall balance there seemed to be. Are there settings anyone can recommend for what I'm working with here? Is there an accessory that will enhance the sound and bring some warmth? Would a prefix plus swap be in order? Has anyone installed a blender unit and how much difference did it make- any cost or vedor suggestions? My playing style is pretty rythmically aggresive for this application. Is a flatpick attack just beyond the scope of this entry level fishman? This is the guitar I am playing. No new instruments for a while. Will keep trying different settings. Thanks for your help.

[Brett Valentine]

Hmmmm. . . Can't give you all the answers, but if you're switching from a magnetic soundhole pickup to an undersaddle piezo, you're going to get much more of that "piezo" sound no matter what you do. The best thing to do (you had it right) is to go with some kind of dual system. Personally, I found the Baggs Ribbon Transducer to be warmer in the middle than the Fishman.

I think you might want to start looking at the Baggs I Beam and seeing what that sounds like to your ears. You might want to wait until Baggs puts out the replacement preamp for the Fishman unit, but it would be worth a listen.

Barring that, if you go for a dual source system like the Matrix Blend, I would get a "stereo to dual mono" Y-cable, and send the piezo signal to channel 1 and the mic to channel 2. Rolling the high end off of the piezo, and the bass off of the mic will get rid of your top end problem. You might also consider running the mic signal into, say, a Baggs Para Acoustic DI, and then into channel 2 of the amp. This would give you much greater flexibility of tone for the mic.

For now, if you could get your hands on some sort of eq unit (at least 10 band graphic, or at least multiband semi parametric), you could run that into the effects insert for channel 1.

For now, the best bet is turning up the "String DYnamics" to 10, and start with bass, mid, and treble all on 5. I usually end up cutting mids a bit, and playing with treble until I get just enough top end to suit me.

As for bottom end feedback, you'll probably just have to juggle the bass knob and notch filter until you find that balance. Again, some sort of eq in the effects insert will really help. you could also look into the Sabine feedback eliminator and run that into the effects insert.

Just some ideas.

[DMZ]

Thanks Brett...really good stuff. We had a practice last night, and I tried a friends graphic equalizer pedal (a $20 Rogue pedal), and it brought quite a bit more warmth and depth to the sound. It was much, much better and little closer to where I needed to be. I did mail Fishman and they suggested the Pro EQ Platinum to start. Coincidently, I mailed lr Baggs and asked about the I Beam replacement Fishman/panel deal. They said stay tuned, until after June-it's coming. From everything I've read, it sounds as if this is quite the pickup. On settings, I did the opposite last night. I cut the string dynamics and turned up the mid and bass, but I'll definately try the other direction this weekend...season to taste right? Well, thanks again!

[Brett Valentine]

No problem. You might want to see if you can track down an ART Tube EQ to try in the effects loop (I'm beginning to sound like a broken record with this ). Having the tube does wonders by itself, and having 4 bands of eq ain't bad either.

Brett

[DMZ]

Well, I took the plunge finally, and bought the Fishman Platinum Pro EQ. Tried it out at practice last night...and it totally brought the 314MCE Mahogany to life! After some adjustment on levels and using the smooth feature and notch, it sounded great. Really took the edge off that metal sound, yet defined much of the character the instrument has. A great tool to plug into and well worth the $! I tried another electric guitar equalizer pedal, and it DOES NOT do the same thing. I give this a thumbs up for the Taylor/Prefix people out there who are plugged in and playin' live (or those at home too !