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  #46  
Old 09-18-2009, 09:31 AM
jamison162 jamison162 is offline
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Hmm, Headway has been around for along time, maybe not much info. or exposure in the US though. Some threads on AGF date back to '06 I see.

I do remember seeing the EDB-1 and checking into it months ago if not over a year ago on the Headway site. I guess I never followed through or posted anything about it. I've been playing electric mainly for the past year to year and a half.
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  #47  
Old 09-18-2009, 09:58 AM
guitaniac guitaniac is offline
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What would concern me about this preamp, with respect to using it with the K&K Pure Western Mini, is that the low mid band is centered at 590Hz and the high mid band is centered at 900Hz. The conventional wisdom has been that the mini-Pure tends to require a mid cut around 1.5KHz. (That's certainly true with my own mini-Pure equipped rig.) If that's indeed the case for some guitars, then it might be necessary to employ the EDB-1's notch filter to make that mid cut with any precision. (The "notch" filter can indeed be set for a broad band cut, according to the specs.) That would leave no option, aside from a broad bass rolloff, for dealing with low frequency boominess.

Gary
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  #48  
Old 09-18-2009, 10:14 AM
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Originally Posted by guitaniac View Post
...The conventional wisdom has been that the mini-Pure tends to require a mid cut around 1.5KHz. (That's certainly true with my own mini-Pure equipped rig.) If that's indeed the case for some guitars, then it might be necessary to employ the EDB-1's notch filter to make that mid cut with any precision.
Hi Gary...
Not attempting to be controversial, just wanting to know who established that 1.5khz is best for balancing the sound of a K&K Pure Western or Pure Western mini? Never heard that before, and I've been using them for almost 5 years now in three of my guitars (plus one I no longer own).

I have 4 different preamps and don't think with any of my three dual source equipped guitars (all K&K rigs) that I have a common mid range cut that is identical on the preamps, nor have I found that identical settings apply to all of my active guitars.

That would depend on the guitar and the performance of the preamp when combined with certain amps and/or PA systems wouldn't it?

I can tell you that with my 3 K&K equipped guitars when plugged into the EDB-1 - one requires more low-mid cut and another more Hi-mid cut and the third performs well flat.

The good news is, between the amp/PA/mixer tone settings, the EDB-1 with it's 5 tone controls & additional adjustable notch filter - I bet some combination of tone settings will get it very close to sounding natural.

I tell you, some of my pre-conceived concerns (like overall tone shaping instead of individual input shaping) have gone out the window with the unit in my hands, hooked to my amps.


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  #49  
Old 09-18-2009, 10:25 AM
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Originally Posted by jamison162 View Post
...I do remember seeing the EDB-1 and checking into it months ago if not over a year ago on the Headway site. I guess I never followed through or posted anything about it. I've been playing electric mainly for the past year to year and a half.
Hi jamison...
Well, you may be right. Perhaps due to lack of exposure and no or few people in the group owning one.

Given it's feature set, and the inventor/designer's focus, not unlikely it was has not been on our radar. Lot of bucks for a small, portable preamp which is not exactly plug-n-go for most dual-source rigs.


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  #50  
Old 09-18-2009, 10:31 AM
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I'm quite convinced... now after jask and jamison can confirm some success i'm gonna jump aboard..

now to wait for sdel and chris to jump in and shout! hahaha
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  #51  
Old 09-18-2009, 10:56 AM
guitaniac guitaniac is offline
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Originally Posted by ljguitar View Post
Hi Gary...
Not attempting to be controversial, just wanting to know who established that 1.5khz is best for balancing the sound of a K&K Pure Western or Pure Western mini? Never heard that before, and I've been using them for almost 5 years now in three of my guitars (plus one I no longer own).


Hi Larry,

Its my understanding that all the K&K preamps have a 1.5KHz center frequency for the mid-band. For one example, here's the manual on the Pure Preamp:
http://www.kksound.com/pdf/purepreamp.pdf

In addition to my own experience with the mini-Pure, I've read comments by other K&K users who've claimed that a mid cut around 1.5KHz works best for them. I'm sure that it isn't true for every guitar/mini-Pure rig, considering all the possible variables with guitars, sound systems and performance environments. Its definitely been the most often quoted cut frequency that I've seen (with respect to the mini-Pure), however.

Gary
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  #52  
Old 09-18-2009, 11:13 AM
jamison162 jamison162 is offline
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I bought one. Good enough? I also bought the HE2/G pickup system.
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  #53  
Old 09-18-2009, 11:15 AM
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15, 150, 1.5...eh, forget about it. Just work with what you have and dial it in the best you can. At this point, my acoustic rig is sounding better than it ever has.
The Headway sounds better than anything Larry or myself have put it up against.

Taylor 810 > K&K Pure > Aphex Xciter > EDB-1 > PA.
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  #54  
Old 09-18-2009, 11:17 AM
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if this can sound better than the raven/solstice.. i'm in..

it's all up to you larry! hahah
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  #55  
Old 09-18-2009, 11:52 AM
alohachris alohachris is offline
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Aloha,

Enjoyable thread. Interesting preamp and questions asked and answered.

Hey, you know my stance on the PADI, but a portable, "great sounding" unit like this for dual sources like the K&K would be a welcomed option in a pretty slim field. Haven't seen one in the Islands yet.

Of course, I know it's an "apples-oranges" comparison, but I like my Pendulum SPS-1's fully parametric EQ section for its depth and control, plus its ability to separately EQ and sum dual sources. If if turns out that this unit can do that easily, then I'd like to try it. If not, why bother for my uses? Dual+ sources ARE important to me. I'd never use a single pickup again - any pickup. But I would use a single, condenser mic ANYTIME.

Thanks for the "Heads" up.

alohachris
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  #56  
Old 09-18-2009, 02:03 PM
sventvkg sventvkg is offline
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Originally Posted by alohachris View Post
Aloha,

Enjoyable thread. Interesting preamp and questions asked and answered.

Hey, you know my stance on the PADI, but a portable, "great sounding" unit like this for dual sources like the K&K would be a welcomed option in a pretty slim field. Haven't seen one in the Islands yet.

Of course, I know it's an "apples-oranges" comparison, but I like my Pendulum SPS-1's fully parametric EQ section for its depth and control, plus its ability to separately EQ and sum dual sources. If if turns out that this unit can do that easily, then I'd like to try it. If not, why bother for my uses? Dual+ sources ARE important to me. I'd never use a single pickup again - any pickup. But I would use a single, condenser mic ANYTIME.

Thanks for the "Heads" up.

alohachris
The Pendulum is in a class by itself. The Headway might be an alternative for certain gigs where you don't want to lug your rack. That's why i got rid of my U5...Size and portability.
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  #57  
Old 09-18-2009, 02:39 PM
guitaniac guitaniac is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jamison162 View Post
I bought one. Good enough? I also bought the HE2/G pickup system.
Please let us know how the HE2/G works out for you. I'm intrigued by the Headway claim that their coaxial pickup is quieter (with shielding on the end, rather than simply snipped off) and lacks the treble response peak which other coaxial pickups are cursed or blessed with (depending on one's perspective).

I've also seen a claim somewhere that the HE2/G preamp adds a "controlled amount" of high end harmonics for some tube-like sparkle on the high end. It may be that the HE2/G preamp does something similar to the Aphex Xciter pedal's Aural Exciter feature (except that the effect is fixed and untweakable in terms of frequency threshold and level).


With regard to the EDB-1's perceived superiority over the PADI, I suspect that the EDB-1's greater headroom may be a contributing factor to that.

Gary
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  #58  
Old 09-18-2009, 03:01 PM
jamison162 jamison162 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by guitaniac View Post
With regard to the EDB-1's perceived superiority over the PADI, I suspect that the EDB-1's greater headroom may be a contributing factor to that.
Gary
I've had no issues with headroom or gain on either preamp. The Headway is superiour from strictly a tonal perspective IMO.
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  #59  
Old 09-18-2009, 09:19 PM
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Who can I purchase this pre amp from?
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  #60  
Old 09-18-2009, 11:57 PM
jaskofall jaskofall is offline
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Who can I purchase this pre amp from?
I ordered mine from John Littler (Headway UK), because I'm in Australia it was the easiest option for me.
Nova Strings are the distributor in the US, contact Gordon via the Nova Strings website and he will point you to the nearest store to you that will have one.

Jasko
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