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Old 12-07-2019, 12:23 PM
jamison162 jamison162 is offline
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Default Ultra Tonic Version 3 by JME

Alright, who's going to be the guinea pig? An interesting departure from the 3-4 individual sensors; not unlike the former B-Band SBT. Totally passive, minimally invasive, and I think James includes a stereo jack as he did in previous iterations. There's a "ring" solder point on the input jack pcb to add a second souce be it a magnetic pu or mic (power would be supplied via external preamp).

http://jamesmayengineering.com/how-it-works/


Last edited by jamison162; 12-07-2019 at 12:33 PM.
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Old 12-07-2019, 01:11 PM
stevecuss stevecuss is offline
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Wow - looks amazing. I love James' innovation.

I just bought an OM21 that will need a pickup, but the price is beyond my budget, but I love the concept.
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Old 12-07-2019, 01:29 PM
Vancebo Vancebo is offline
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I know I am a big Dazzo fan and all but I love the engineering (best way to describe it) of his products. The idea totally makes sense for SBTs. This alone or paired with a mic would be stellar I am sure.

I would totally give it a try if Dazzos weren’t already glued into my guitars. 😁
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Old 12-07-2019, 01:41 PM
aaron_t aaron_t is offline
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The v2 Ultra Tonic is fantastic. I’ve installed it in 2 guitars. I’ll be putting my order in for one of the v3 in a few days - to be installed on my D-28 MD!
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Old 12-07-2019, 01:56 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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This looks like an excellent iteration. I'm excited to listen to a demonstration of the new design.
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Old 12-07-2019, 03:52 PM
SpruceTop SpruceTop is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jamison162 View Post
Alright, who's going to be the guinea pig? An interesting departure from the 3-4 individual sensors; not unlike the former B-Band SBT. Totally passive, minimally invasive, and I think James includes a stereo jack as he did in previous iterations. There's a "ring" solder point on the input jack pcb to add a second souce be it a magnetic pu or mic (power would be supplied via external preamp).

http://jamesmayengineering.com/how-it-works/

That is a beautiful design and I may give it a go!
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Old 12-07-2019, 04:49 PM
Vancebo Vancebo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vancebo View Post
I know I am a big Dazzo fan and all but I love the engineering (best way to describe it) of his products. The idea totally makes sense for SBTs. This alone or paired with a mic would be stellar I am sure.

I would totally give it a try if Dazzos weren’t already glued into my guitars. 😁
James, if you see this. Is it possible to attach two shielded Dazzo wires to your circuit board? This way I could try it out.
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Old 12-07-2019, 05:11 PM
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James May James May is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vancebo View Post
James, if you see this. Is it possible to attach two shielded Dazzo wires to your circuit board? This way I could try it out.
I am happy to answer questions!

You can attach another pickup to the RING connection by soldering it to the pad labeled R/P1 on the connector board. The shield would solder to the bottom side ground plane. It could be more than one wire, the pad is big enough for 2 or 3 at least. It's easy to do.

However, I'm concerned that the Dazzo mounting would be in about the same location the Ultra Tonic needs to mount, so wouldn't there be a real estate conflict?
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Old 12-07-2019, 05:21 PM
Vancebo Vancebo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by James May View Post
I am happy to answer questions!

You can attach another pickup to the RING connection by soldering it to the pad labeled R/P1 on the connector board. The shield would solder to the bottom side ground plane. It could be more than one wire, the pad is big enough for 2 or 3 at least. It's easy to do.

However, I'm concerned that the Dazzo mounting would be in about the same location the Ultra Tonic needs to mount, so wouldn't there be a real estate conflict?
Wow! That was fast.

I would keep the Dazzo instead of using your pickup and just use the Dazzo attached to the circuit board for the only signal source. Not dual source.
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  #10  
Old 12-08-2019, 07:02 PM
aaron_t aaron_t is offline
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Just saw on the website, Ultra Tonic v3 is 33% off - $179 thru Jan 15. [emoji41]
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  #11  
Old 12-08-2019, 08:05 PM
Petty1818 Petty1818 is offline
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Very cool design. I am excited to hear some demos of it. I have to admit that I was very excited at first thinking that the main sensor would be attached using tape and not glue. However, if it sounds great then I could stomach glue.
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  #12  
Old 12-11-2019, 10:43 AM
AxeDude AxeDude is offline
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Default Ultra Tonic Version 3 by JME

I’m curious about how this would work with a ToneDexter on a classical guitar.
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  #13  
Old 12-11-2019, 10:53 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AxeDude View Post
I’m curious about how this would work with a ToneDexter on a classical guitar.
In my view, it is the cat's meow. Ultra Tonic by itself is pretty darned impressive, and you won't have feedback issues. With a ToneDexter, it takes the sound to the finish line. This is true of both nylon and steel string installations.
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  #14  
Old 12-11-2019, 12:32 PM
Petty1818 Petty1818 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by James May View Post
In my view, it is the cat's meow. Ultra Tonic by itself is pretty darned impressive, and you won't have feedback issues. With a ToneDexter, it takes the sound to the finish line. This is true of both nylon and steel string installations.
Will there be clips of this new system soon? Thanks!
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Old 12-11-2019, 12:36 PM
Oregon Donor Oregon Donor is offline
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Is the soundhole-mounted volume wheel ‘optional’, per se? It doesn’t look intrusive, which I really appreciate, but one less knob to worry about is always preferable for me. That’s one thing that drew me to K&K’s initially and then to the previous iteration of the Ultratonic.
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