Furch Bridgeplate + K&K

Furch has a unique bridgeplate design with what looks like a piece of Rosewood in the middle of a regular shaped Maple(?) bridgeplate. I'm wondering if any Furch owners that have K&Ks installed in their guitars have run into problems with this, or if it is a non issue? I just picked up a new Furch a couple days and want to go K&K but I'd like to hear from other Furch owners how this setup works in their guitars with the unique bridgeplate design. Thanks!

[Sodaross]

Wow, this is so timely, I’m a Furch owner who is thinking of a K&K install as well.

Bridgeplate in question

[James May]

That bridge plate is mighty thick. Any SBT mounted on it will have significantly reduced output due to it being stiffer than would typically be found.

Originally Posted by James May

That bridge plate is mighty thick. Any SBT mounted on it will have significantly reduced output due to it being stiffer than would typically be found.

thanks James. That is interesting to know. Overall the guitar is very lightly built and has a very lively sound. Would a lower output be able to be compensated with outboard eq? Maybe bride plate transducers aren't the way to go for this particular guitar.

[James May]

Well, that fact that it is light and responsive bodes well for a successful SBT install. It's hard to tell from just the thickness how bendy it is.

If a customer came to me for an Ultra Tonic install, I'd let them know that the output is going to be lower, but the sound will be fine. You can make up for the lower level with any decent preamp/EQ.

I'd do it if it was mine.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by James May

Well, that fact that it is light and response bodes well for a successful SBT install. It's hard to tell from just the thickness how bendy it is.

If a customer came to me for an Ultra Tonic install, I'd let them know that the output is going to be lower, but the sound will be fine. You can make up for the lower level with any decent preamp/EQ.

I'd do it if it was mine.

Hi James…
Given the fact the output of a passive K&K Pure mini is hotter than any other pickups I've ever played/heard/mixed/installed, I'd think putting one in a Furch could be a winning combo if teamed with a decent preamp.

It's likely due to the fact that Furch guitars don't exist in great numbers (yet) that I've never come across one with a K&K installed, or if I did, I wasn't aware that it was wearing a K&K Pure Mini.

[Marek]

It would be interesting to hear from Furch why they use this bridgeplate approach.
It definitely increases the cost and increases manufacturing time, so it's not a coincidence
Perhaps the idea is to use harder wood in an area exposed to the wear of string ends?
I have installed a K&K Pure Mini in the OM20 SM (spruce-mahogany) model in the past and it worked very well.
I would be careful with the D size as these Furch models have a lot of bass.

By the way, Furch is very popular here in Europe

Originally Posted by Marek

It would be interesting to hear from Furch why they use this bridgeplate approach.
It definitely increases the cost and increases manufacturing time, so it's not a coincidence
Perhaps the idea is to use harder wood in an area exposed to the wear of string ends?
I have installed a K&K Pure Mini in the OM20 SM (spruce-mahogany) model in the past and it worked very well.
I would be careful with the D size as these Furch models have a lot of bass.

By the way, Furch is very popular here in Europe

I bought it for the Bass! If the K&K emphasizes this more that is ok with me. I have found that EQing out too much bass is easier than trying to EQ in extra bass.

Where did your sensors end up? On the line between the two pieces or did you push them forward onto the blonde wood?

I see why the Furch Guitars are popular in Europe. Great sounding solid wood guitars that do a good job of bridging traditional and modern.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by static111

I bought it for the Bass! If the K&K emphasizes this more that is ok with me. I have found that EQing out too much bass is easier than trying to EQ in extra bass.

Where did your sensors end up? On the line between the two pieces or did you push them forward onto the blonde wood?

I see why the Furch Guitars are popular in Europe. Great sounding solid wood guitars that do a god job of bridging traditional and modern.

Hi s-111
I contacted a friend, musician, performer, guitarist/singer as he has multiple Furch guitars and uses them live. I asked about K&K and here is his response to me…

"I never had an issue with mine. I installed a K&K in four of the Furch I owned. They all sounded amazing and didn't notice any decrease in output.

I do use a Red Eye preamp because I use it through my soundsystem and have EQ control if needed.

I have it on a peal board with a tuner and reverb pedal."

Hope this adds to the conversation.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by static111

I bought it for the Bass! If the K&K emphasizes this more that is ok with me. I have found that EQing out too much bass is easier than trying to EQ in extra bass.

Where did your sensors end up? On the line between the two pieces or did you push them forward onto the blonde wood?

I see why the Furch Guitars are popular in Europe. Great sounding solid wood guitars that do a good job of bridging traditional and modern.

K&K Pure Mini transducers are designed to physically mount directly centered under the saddle of the bridge.

On the Furch bridgeplate shown it looks like the two pieces comprising the bridge plate are flush with each other or close to it. As long as the level doesn't change much between the two sections then gel CA will fill any mis-match and provide proper coupling.

My maple bridge plate, close to 1/8" thick, is very rigid in my Size 0 and my Pure Mini provides a strong and clear signal.

I emailed K&K and they said to check inside and feel if the two pieces were level. I was surprised that the two pieces were indistinguishable, I couldn't even feel the seam that separates the two. I know Furch utilizes cnc and lasers so it must be a precision insert. Anyways according to K&K it doesn't matter if the sensors straddle the dividing line between the two pieces assuming they are of the same height. So it looks like the K&K will fit with no problems. Thanks to everyone that replied to the thread.

[Danaco]

Hello from Ireland, I have a furch G23C with k & k installed.
I have tonedexter and get very good results with preamp level/trim at about 1 o clock. Interesting that the wavemaps that work best are at the nut pointing towards the body with oktava mk012 small condenser mic. I record with tonedexter through some nice reverbs/delay and all works nicely.

[rschultz]

New Furch Red owner. I have considered the K&K, just hesitant due to the permanent nature. Yes the bridge plate is odd, I think the harder material it's to reduce tear-out from the strings/bridgepins.

My previous experiences with K&K is that they have all been mid-rangey, bass heavy with weak trebles. But with proper EQ they sound pretty good.

K&K install went great on my Furch. I wouldn't hesitate if you are considering installing a K&K on your Furch. I will say that this is the first K&K install where I noticed a marked improvement when plugging into my Orchid DI rather than straight into the Fishman. A little bit of eq and it sounds really good.