#16
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Hi Methos1979
Thanks for a great review! I was wondering about "It was definitely a little biased towards the trebels and sounded best with the the highs cut to 25% and the lows boosted to 75%." Can you set the tone from the pickup itself you mean? Or was that set on the amp? I have a Martin that I am not so keen on touching at all with anything but fingers... But one old Emperador dreadnaught and one 12 string Aria, both I would like to "mic up". They are not great guitars so I was thinking something on the low end: Fishman Neo-D Humbucker (lacks adjustable poles) Seymour Woody XL (might be too wide for the Emperador) Plan is to have one pickup to switch between the 12string and Emperador until I am confindent to try with Martin, and by then I will of course let it stay there... But I would like to revive to two older almost unused ones Then the Helix Solo appeared and no reviews, but the guy in the video does a goodjob. Not interested in "entering" the guitar too much and happy to have cable out through the soundhole. I suspect I will not like a too metally, artificial sound, but then again for the two cheaper options I guess that is what to expect. Cheers |
#17
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I have become convinced (very recently) that the absolute best acoustic pickup is a soundhole combo. Obviously a mic is the best but can't really be used in a lot of gigging conditions. So the soundhole combos blend together to give the next-best sound and best flexibility. I love them.
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Fazool "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter" 000-15 / GC7 / GA3-12 / SB2-C / SB2-Cp / AVC-11MHx / AC-240 |
#18
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Quote:
The EQ setting I was talking about was done at the mixer/amp level. Keep in mind that at least a part of the need for me to boost the lows and cut the high's so much was due to the guitar I use the DHS in being all mahogany and therefore very mid-forward. Another consideration is the Clingon pickup system I recently reviewed. Very inexpensive and easy to move between two or more guitars. But you will need to have something to EQ the signal for best sound. |
#19
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Thanks for your reply,
The Cling On does not seem so easy to come by in Europe, so I will try out the others and see if I go all the way to the Helix. Cheers |
#20
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I’ve been looking for a soundhole pickup to replace the M1 in my LG-2. I liked the M1 but there was a nasally frequency I could dial out. I decided to sell it.
I was going to go for a Fishman Blackstack but I read your review and decided to give this a whirl. It should arrive this week hopefully in time for a St Patrick’s day themed live stream I’m doing Friday night, that will be a good opportunity to put it through it’s paces. I too was worried about the appearance of the pickup but your review (and pictures) reassure me. I love soundhole pickups. The Blackstack in my J-45 studio sounds fat and warm and I love it. I’m hoping I like this one just as much! Thanks again for the detailed review. It’s the only one I’ve found anywhere so far on this pickup !
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http://www.Facebook.com/NickSpencerMusic Gibson Songwriter Standard EC Lowden WL-22 Maton SRS808 Taylor AD11-SB Taylor 811 GT |
#21
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#22
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The pickup arrived today much quicker than expected! I agree very much with Methos in that it looks way better in the flesh than it does in the images. I tried the pickup in my LG-2 straight into my Loudbox mini.
I really like the gloss setting for my style of play. The steam was noticeably different but I think at a gig I’d EQ with the gloss setting and leave it. The phase switch is a nice touch. The mids are not overly prominent like a lot of mag pups. I didn’t really have to do much tweaking to get a sound I was happy with. I did a little fiddling with the pole pieces and then rolled off some mids on the amp. I’ve been using a Mesa Rosette Preamp for live recently and I’m confident it will be a great match. I also picked up a NUX stageman floor pedal after watching Aaron’s review on YouTube- I think I could also use that with this pickup quite easily as it doesn’t need major EQ. I much prefer the pickup from the M1 that was previously in the LG-2. So much so I’ve done the permanent install. I’m doing a live stream on Facebook on Friday so looking forward to using it then and putting it through it’s paces a different way to through a speaker.
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http://www.Facebook.com/NickSpencerMusic Gibson Songwriter Standard EC Lowden WL-22 Maton SRS808 Taylor AD11-SB Taylor 811 GT |
#23
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To Nick84...weren't you using a Rare Earth Blend a while back? I am
curious as to how you think it compares to the Double Helix Solo and M1. Thanks. |
#24
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#25
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The M1 I’ve always had as a spare. I like them for what they are. In the right guitar I think you can get a great live tone. Time will tell which I prefer of the 3 but I’m liking the ease of the K&K so far it seems more of a plug and play pup.
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http://www.Facebook.com/NickSpencerMusic Gibson Songwriter Standard EC Lowden WL-22 Maton SRS808 Taylor AD11-SB Taylor 811 GT |
#26
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I was worried about the noise but I didn’t use the he temporary Jack which you thought may have been the issue?
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http://www.Facebook.com/NickSpencerMusic Gibson Songwriter Standard EC Lowden WL-22 Maton SRS808 Taylor AD11-SB Taylor 811 GT |
#27
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If I didn't jump back and forth between strumming and fingerstyle then I would likely do as you and keep the pickup in gloss as that setting is just so lush but I'd bet that in a live setting with any sort of volume you'd quickly run into feedback issues with it no matter how much you turn it down. If I remember I'll check out your live stream on Friday to see how it goes. All my live streams are all-acoustic (no amplification) so I don't get to use the DHS for those. I was trying to remember who had the buzzing issue so I'm glad you chimed in. It's too bad you couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was just a bad one. It happens. |
#28
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What’s the current consensus on these pickups? Thinking about ordering one after using the Fishman REB for years.
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"The real risk is not changing. I have to feel that I'm after something. If I make money, fine. But I'd rather be striving. It's the striving, man, it's that I want." - John Coltrane |
#29
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I think the general opinion is about the same - it's an excellent, albeit underappreciated pickup. I recently picked up one again as part of a a K&K Dual Source system where it's paired with a K&K Pure Mini. I ended up just using the Pure Mini so I had K&K send me another jack with a plug in it so I could use the DHS as a standalone pickup system. I still think it is an excellent choice compared to other magnetic soundhole pickups. The ability to change the tone with a flick of a switch is very convenient for my type of playing.
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#30
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Cool, I'll look more into it. I may have two blank canvas acoustics soon to explore pickups in. I usually default to my Fishman REBs since my live ecosystem's optimized for them, but am always up for experimenting.
__________________
"The real risk is not changing. I have to feel that I'm after something. If I make money, fine. But I'd rather be striving. It's the striving, man, it's that I want." - John Coltrane |