New Pickup from Go Acoustic

[conecaster]

We shipped a system to Sweden recently, a DIY install by a guitarist who plays with a band live. I wrote to inquire how his show went last week.

This is a Taylor ES retrofit.

<< now I've used the guitar at a rehearsal and a three-hour gig.

I’m very pleased! I have full control over the sound and it sounds as… an Taylor acoustic guitar. Rich and full body tone, crispy but with no harshness. That was not case before.

Don’t have to use the controls, just straight in center, plug and play.

No feedback problem at all actually. Not compared to my Eastman and the Fishman system used in that guitar.

This time we were full band with drums, bass, keyboard, but it worked out well. With my Eastman I usually have to cut low bass to reduce feedback in the monitor system. I really dislike that, the tone gets hard and thin. But that was not the case this time. I could play with full range tone and more monitor volume than needed. Happy guy ��>>

[conecaster]

I really appreciate your reviews Marshall,

We experimented much with the high end response of our system, in the end we found people equate highs with audibility even at the expense of what might be considered a more natural balance. It is my personal belief that clarity and highs are not the same and presence can be effective without as much brightness when there is good note separation.

Our Taylor ES replacement has a treble tone pot that can roll off the brightness, but the side mount EQ I use in my own guitars has a DIP switch block to cut highs highs can be further cut easily adding capacitance to the circuit. The sound hole system does not have this advantage.

https://www.goacousticaudio.com/prod...sal-side-mount you can see the DIP switches on the EQ board here.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7LPokNZjjh2nSYWA8

I have worked with really great players who really do not like brightness.

One such guitarist is a Nashville icon, Jack Pearson. Jack wanted the side EQ,
He said you can not play slide on an amplified acoustic, he sat down, plugged in and played slide all over the fret board, he looked up and said, "I can play slide on this"


https://youtu.be/i71taytLxks?si=yWJz_Ttd0smHFZvv


This is an example of how note separation makes a difference. Slide does not create unwanted over tones off the bottle.

[martingitdave]

Thanks for sharing Marshall. I think you’ve got something there. It sounded good and reliable and I think you’ll enjoy playing out with it. I don’t think you’re going to find a piezo system that sounds drastically different from this. And it seems to give you the controls you need. Kudos on a good installation. Also, yes, the Genzler is an excellent acoustic amplifier.

[MBeausay]

Here's the deal....if you want to become a better
musician....you have to love the tone of your guitar....
and if you do you will play more, practice more. Become better.

My GO Acoustic pickup is a game changer! It
made my Taylor sound like it should have from
the factory!

[Stringking59]

This is my first time to post on this site, but felt like I needed too.ive been working with Paul the last few years and it's been incredible! The systems he has now are unparalleled! I want to tell anyone that's concered or nervous about installing system, just follow Paul's directions and you'll be fine, he provides everything needed.im by no means a great Luthier, I know enough to get in trouble and take care of what I have to .I have been playing professionaly for 40 plus years and have worked with some of the best in the business.my friend and I do installs of these for friends of mine (will have done 6 so far after this latest one is finished) in his studio, sitting in a chair holding instrument and using tools provided from Paul,other than a drill,then we dail it in thru mixing console and monitors.if you give it a chance , it's not that hard to do.i have used these systems alot for live and studio gigs with no issue, basically plug in an play, running it mostly flat eq and it kills! Sound men love these! Paul has been there every step of the way for support and anything needed.you rarely if ever find that unless you are a signed label artist.i discovered go Acoustic when nothing else was working for me, so lucky I did! It has been a game changer for me! The feel and responce this system offers is mind blowing, play soft it comes Through, play hard and no distortion, just hangs right with you! No other system has this kind of headroom!! Will never use anything else! So if your happy with what you got, great, but if your looking for something to step up your Acoustic feel, tone and how instrument responds to you and your playing ,it will take you to a whole other level, plus have a huge inspiration boost! don't hesitate to get a Go Acoustic system!

[Marshall]

Glad to hear more voices. I'm going to wait a couple days to put together a review of my total experience and results. It's a trickier than normal install. But not out of the realm of someone who does his own installs. There are some things that need more attention than normal, though. You have to mind your Ps & Qs.

I'm going to wait until I take it out in the wild this week to give the total experience. But I will say, that Paul has been VERY helpful along the way. I did have a problem with one of the string elements for the pickup (as I mentioned before). Paul stepped up and made a new saddle/pickup for me and sent it out. I set that in place and plugged the tiny cables into the first circuit board and strung the guitar up and it works great at home through headphones now. All strings are working. And blending in the mic (that is built into the system) along with the saddle pickup is a terrific sound in the headphones.

Like I said, I'll plug it in out in the world a couple times this week and come back with my full update.

[Marshall]

Well, after much manipulation, and a replacement saddle pickup from Paul McGill (he has been very accommodating), the Go Acoustic pickup is up and running in my 1957 J50. I took it to an open mic on Tuesday. And I made a cellphone recording of what is heard in the room. The sound guy was not on top of things, as can be expected at an open mic. My vocals were considerably louder than the guitar in the mix. So I've cut out the vocal parts in this recording. (you don't need to hear me sing again **chuckle**). So these are just cuts of the guitar playing 3 songs stitched together in an mp3 file. To my ears this sounds EXACTLY like this acoustic guitar.

https://soundcloud.com/marshallsongs...social_sharing

I am mixing in the internal microphone with the saddle pickup.

I think it's going to be hard for the Baggs HiFi Duet to come up with a more accurate reproduction of the guitar. We'll see.

[Marshall]

An interesting side note: I asked Paul McGill where the microphone is on his Ga Acoustic Audio pickup system and he said on the circuit board at the end pin and sent back this picture:

[Marshall]

Also of note: The cct board has tiny pots on it; one for each string, so you can balance the strings on the piezo the way you want it. There's also a mid-range contour adjustment.

I haven't played with those controls in the final setup yet. I did mess with them a little when I was having an issue with the first saddle pickup that came. It's a bit of a process, because you have to remove the endpin to fiddle with the controls. It doesn't show up in his videos, but you can take a 1/4" wood dowel and stick it in the endpin and slide the endpin cct board towards the soundhole and turn the pots that way (and not remove the strings). You then feed the rod back and place the endpin again. Then plug it in and see how your new settings sound.

[rb1591]

Thank you, Marshall. That sounds great … as authentic as I've ever heard through a PA, which is the acid, real-world musical test. In that situation I can't imagine an external microphone sounding too much better.

And, as a bonus, you're quite a songwriter.

[Marshall]

**pshaw**

Thanks.

I really would like to see how this stacks up (performs) vs the HiFi-Duet. My guess is the HiFi-Duet is a considerably simpler install. But the Go Acoustic is more customizable for your given guitar. More work. But potentially more versatile. But the proof is always in the pudding, and I'd love to hear them side by side.

Of course I'm not expecting to pop for a HiFi-Duet in the near future, just to check things out. Maybe one of you guys in Chicago area will try it and we can get together for a comparison.

[conecaster]

Marshall,

I am happy to hear your getting the full quality of our system.

I have not had a Hi Fi in my hands but its basically a set of peizos stuck under the bridge with a custom mike between the elements.

So, its kind of like a K&k with a mike added in. There is likely some range of Hz the mike is tuned too for feedback control. But it is my experience that a system designed using contact pickups is more prone to cycling and mikes are very prone to feedback without phasing to help keep it from cycling. You played live with mike in the signal. You could push the mike blend. Its not unlimited but its is a higher vol threshold than an Anthem.

Go acoustic is designed to control over tones that cause harmonic overlaps and as amplitude increases the overtones become a great problem to control for playiers.

The sound quality of many acoustic pickups is not so bad at low vol. Comparing our system at low vol is only so revealing. But on a stage at high vol Go AA can not be compared to these other systems that will not tolerate the energy return that causes so many issues.

We are so proud of the ability of Go AA to capture the tonality of a guitar. You have expressed that here and its is rewarding to hear it once more.

I did Installations for Pierre Ben Susan a while back. When I showed him our system he played with no vol and slowly turned up the amp. He remarked, its the most transparent pickup he had heard.

If we install it in a Taylor if sounds like a Taylor. A Martin sounds like a Martin

One if my DelVecchio style Resonators sounds like a DV reso.

You can play slide on it, I did a system for Rick Vito in his only Acoustic stage guitar. He used that guitar with Fleetwood Mac years ago. (Rick did the slide part on "Like A Rock" fir Seager ) He called later to tell me he was playing slide on it and was amazed. Just like Jack Pearson was. I replaced K and K in Jack's guitar.

I look forward to your comparison to the Baggs but in that comparison please compare the vol capability as well.

Steve Grimes Installed our system in several guitars he made for a Hawaiian
Legend named Keola Beamer. Its was Jan. 2 years ago. The covid shut down was over and touring was returning. Keola was touring in the NW and after a dozen shows I received a call. I did not know him. He said he had to contact me and tell me how after 50 years he can play with confidence. He said there has been no feedback at all. He said that for the first time he could hear his guitar while he sang.

When Go Acoustic began we used my contacts with performers to beta test and establish credibility.

Go AA went straight to stages before we started exposing it to the public.

It is Great you did not need to adjust strings. But, the strings are not 100% until they are fine tuned.

You will see.

Next time the installation will be much easier for you.

[conecaster]

<<Also of note: The cct board has tiny pots on it; one for each string, so you can balance the strings on the piezo the way you want it. There's also a mid-range contour adjustment. I haven't played with those controls in the final setup yet.>>


We are soon switching to a different Pot for string vol. adjustment. They are larger and not as prone to damage by installers.



[IMG]blue pots.jpg[/IMG]

This is a Mock up of the soon to be offered Replacement for the Fishman prefix pro. Hopefully in the Spring it will be ready. The battery inserts over the pots. string adjustment will be accessible by opening the panel just like the original. the unit fits the cut out in the side and the original holes. there will be a
presys replacement as well.

This is an addition to our drop-in replacement catalog of after market replacement parts that already includes:

Taylor ES replacement system

https://www.goacousticaudio.com/prod...acement-system

Godin RMC polydrive replacement system

https://www.goacousticaudio.com/prod...-godin-multiac

The sound hole mount system which replaces the Baggs Anthem or Element

https://www.goacousticaudio.com/prod...e-mount-system

[IMG]prefix pro mock up.jpg[/IMG]

The final version of the Prefix pro and presys replacements will look more like this:
[IMG]6839c712c9c37fd38fb478857f07b2cc443bbef8-14.jpg[/IMG]

[Marshall]

I had a great experience with the guitar & the GO AA pickup last night at an open mic with a great stage and prof sound system. The host posts everyone's performance on facebook, so I should be able to get a clip later of what the guitar sounded like in the room. It was terrific in the monitors.

[Marshall]

OK, Here's a link to a song from last night. Noisy place. But I think the guitar comes through. The host uploads songs to facebook live. He's using his iphone with a stereo mic attached. You're hearing the sound system. I'm too far away from the phone for any real acoustic sound bleeding in.

https://soundcloud.com/marshallsongs...social_sharing