Heeelp!! Pickup balance problems...

Rambler1981 · #1 10-13-2021, 12:44 PM

Hi there,

long story - I have a Martin 000X1 and I've had a Headway undersaddle installed. Ever since installation, I've struggled with the volume balance between strings. It was never perfect, but got much worse after I had the saddle slot deepened (which is what Headway recommend as the pickup is quite chunky). The local tech struggled to get it balanced and I ended up throwing a load of money at it with no improvement. He thought it might be a problem with the actual pickup, so I've bought another one (incidentally the new Snake 3 version, which sounds niiiiice) but the balance problems are still there. The low E is very quiet and the D string is super loud. Local tech claims the saddle slot is flat. He made a new saddle too.

Heeeelp! (I don't want a K&K by the way).

Thanks

Rambler

Rudy4 · #2 10-13-2021, 02:02 PM

Hi Rambler,

No help, but the 3 or 4 different undersaddles I've used has taught me that string to string balance is one of the biggest problems with them.

I wish you luck and hopefully someone will pop in with a good solution.

shufflebeat · #3 10-14-2021, 04:14 AM

I had a similar problem with a H/W snake in a Crafter Dread. There was some discussion around whether a flat or rounded slot was appropriate, I tried both but it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

In the end I replaced it with a Fishman Matrix, issue solved.

The process was a difficult one. The guy who did the initial work took it a bit personally that I wasn't 100% satisfied with his efforts, even though I tried to point towards the hardware it was very awkward as I ended up paying him for doing the job twice and still annoying him.

I did the Matrix myself, no problem.

I really wanted to like the H/W as I'd heard great things about it but, not to be.

P.S. as part of the process we tried moving the pickup along (and back) in the slot and placing tin foil shims underneath the weak notes to equalise the pressure. Both of these made limited improvements which might be enough in your case.

Rambler1981 · #4 10-15-2021, 12:13 PM

Wow - thanks Shufflebeat - you had exactly the same experience. The tech got a bit cross with me and I paid him for 2 jobs!

I can't believe I've wasted so much money on this...what a shame. I'll give the shims a go tonight, but I'm not holding out much hope.

If I can't improve things, I will just buy an LR Baggs Anthem SL from Thomann for £170 as they sound pretty good to me.

I love the response of the Headway, and the actual sound is good, no hint of quack, especially on the new version. Just such a shame they don't offer any public info on how to get it balanced!

Rambler1981 · #5 10-15-2021, 01:40 PM

I've just made a major improvement - the tech guy notched the bottom of the saddle in between each string, and I've just filed down the two offending strings and shimmed the bass E, which was very quiet. It's now much more balanced, which is a relief! I think it could be improved even more with very careful filing.

It's worth noting that I only filed a TINY bit off the saddle. These things are SUPER sensitive. Also - the quality of the sound is excellent. It doesn't sound like a UST at all. Maybe more like a heavily EQ'd K&K.

I'll probably get an LR Baggs in there anyway, as I tried the Lyric in a friend's guitar and WOW that is a good pickup.

shufflebeat · #6 10-15-2021, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rambler1981

It's worth noting that I only filed a TINY bit off the saddle. These things are SUPER sensitive.

That's the most important factor in UST string balance.

Good to hear.

YamahaGuy · #7 10-16-2021, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rambler1981

I've just made a major improvement - the tech guy notched the bottom of the saddle in between each string, and I've just filed down the two offending strings and shimmed the bass E, which was very quiet. It's now much more balanced, which is a relief! I think it could be improved even more with very careful filing.

It's worth noting that I only filed a TINY bit off the saddle. These things are SUPER sensitive. Also - the quality of the sound is excellent. It doesn't sound like a UST at all. Maybe more like a heavily EQ'd K&K.

I'll probably get an LR Baggs in there anyway, as I tried the Lyric in a friend's guitar and WOW that is a good pickup.

Now be sure to change strings one at a time. If the saddle comes out and doesn't go back in "just so" all the improvements can come undone.

shufflebeat · #8 10-17-2021, 03:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

Now be sure to change strings one at a time. If the saddle comes out and doesn't go back in "just so" all the improvements can come undone.

This isn't normally something I find necessary but in this case, and for the reasons YG suggests, I agree.