#16
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Quote:
Tony
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“The guitar is a wonderful thing which is understood by few.” — Franz Schubert "Alexa, where's my stuff?" - Anxiously waiting... |
#17
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Aaron and Ken,
You guys are likely correct. I don’t hear anything earth shattering in terms of difference with the Element pickup in the carbon fiber. And, yes, it appears to work differently in carbon. This is a relatively easy switcharoo and I was mostly curious. I will try the Lyric until it disappoints me. At that point, I’ll re-install the factory pickup, or install the Anthem SL, which was recommended by McPherson for this model. Incidentally, while other tone characteristics post Element removal are debatable, the sustain increase is not. That was very noticeable. Again, it might not necessarily be a good thing.
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"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday." Last edited by martingitdave; 03-06-2020 at 08:18 AM. |
#18
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Pickups for Carbon Fiber?
Update: Lyric is a no go at moderate to high volumes. The resonances go wacky. It’s too bassy a guitar for a mic without a high pass filter. I picked up an Anthem SL and installed it.
One, the guitar sounds exactly like it did from the factory. That’s a good thing. Two, the SL seems to work MUCH better than the Lyric in this guitar. And, it gives me the missing air I like for finger style stuff. If I find this problematic in the future, I’ll go back to the original Element with custom preamp and use the ToneDexter. The initial test with HFN was not a success either. It was too bright, but when I rolled off the treble a little it got dull sounding. Couldn’t find a happy medium. After installing the Anthem SL, I pulled the Authentic D-28 out of the case to A/B them for acoustic volume. I’d be hard pressed to hear a difference in terms of volume and power between the two. So, regardless of the SL’s impact on acoustic tone in the McPherson carbon, it doesn’t hinder the guitar enough to make it softer than the loudest wooden guitar I’ve ever owned. I guess that makes it good enough for me.
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"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday." Last edited by martingitdave; 03-06-2020 at 10:46 PM. |
#19
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 |
#20
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My Cargos have K & K pickups in them and I had to go through a lot of experimentation to get the EQ'ing right. I modified a Boss GE-7, the EHX Knockout pedal, and a K & K preamp to get the EQ'ing that I needed. Then, several years later, along came the Empress Para-EQ pedal and that does it all very well for those Cargos. At the time I purchased my Cargos, around 2007 when CA Guitars was still in business and the Cargos sold for under $800, the version with the electronics sounded terribly quacky to me, so I opted for the non-electrified version and went with the K & K. I really appreciate that McPherson not only went with a fairly decent pickup, but also apparently worked with L.R. Baggs to get the preamp EQ'ed specifically for the guitars they went into. That saved me a lot of trouble. My eyes are not good enough anymore to be doing all that redesigning and rebuilding of pedals and preamps, so I gave away my scope and associated tools and decided to just buy stuff that I didn't feel the need to modify. I did keep my DVM since it has so many other uses though. Tony
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“The guitar is a wonderful thing which is understood by few.” — Franz Schubert "Alexa, where's my stuff?" - Anxiously waiting... |
#21
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I had a K&k in my Cargo guitar and it sounded like crap. I eventually put in a MISI with the LR Baggs Element and it sounds like heaven. And not internal battery.
Also put a MiSi in a BlackBird And it sounded great as well. I have a Barbera in my wood Yamamoto, it’s an amazing pickup. I would think it would sound great in a carbon fiber. I had a full Anthem installed in another guitar and it changed the natural tone a lot. It’s rather combersome. I regret doing it and someday will replace it with a Barbera. I sure would NOT recommend a K&K in a carbon fiber guitar. Really sounds like crap.
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"A new car is nice, but a new guitar can change your life" Yamamoto Talus All Paulownia/ Barbera Solo pickup Zeiler Harpy Eagle/ Barbera or Dazzo CA Pre-Peavy Cargo/ Misi-Element pickup Blackbird Farallon Ekoa Tenor Ukulele/ Misi- Element pickup Outdoor Carbon Ukulele SunnAudio DI Pristine Genzler Acoustic Array Pro Amp EV Everse 8 |
#22
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I'm glad I saw your post! I was considering ditching the Anthem SL in my Sable for a HFN. |
#23
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I already owned the HFN system so it was a low cost test. Those units are highly placement sensitive. So, there’s a possibility that a change of placement or adhesive would end with better results. I can’t say that the element pickup makes a big difference to the sound of the Sable. It makes some difference, but perhaps not enough to loose the convenience of plug and play.
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"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday." |
#24
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As a follow up to this thread, I ended up installing the active Schatten HFN VT in the sable with a new factory saddle. It’s been about 6 weeks and I really prefer it. It’s good enough that I am recording and mixing the dry signal in when I do online events. The Anthem SL also sounds good, but I just like the sound of this better for some reason.
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"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday." |
#25
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and if you are not happy you still have your Tonedexter!
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Martin 00-18V Goldplus + internal mic (2003) Martin OM-28V + HFN + internal mic (1999) Eastman E6OM (2019) Trance Audio Amulet Yamaha FGX-412 (1998) Gibson Les Paul Standard 1958 Reissue (2013) Fender Stratocaster American Vintage 1954 (2014) http://acousticir.free.fr/ |
#26
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Exactly! I’ve been enjoying the HFN in this guitar so much I haven’t fired up the Tonedexter for it. As Doug Young repeatedly says, pickups are sometimes happier in certain guitars. So, I guess when you find a good match, don’t mess with it too much.
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"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday." |
#27
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I certainly agree, the HFN sounds great in the Sable. This is my first install where I preferred the tape over the putty. Seems the putty is a better medium for larger guitars like dreads and the tape for smaller bodied guitars.
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#28
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Do you have any clips of the Sable and HFN?
My Anthem SL makes too much noise with the slightest movement. The rough backing of the Sable makes a lot of noise when rubbed against clothing. If I roll down the mic, then I lose a lot of the high end detail. |
#29
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The HFN will pick that up as well. Try lowering the mic adjustment pot inside the SL.
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