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  #16  
Old 04-26-2020, 05:52 AM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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Originally Posted by jonfields45 View Post
Did you try an IR with the factory Element before installing the HFN?
Jon, would you please elaborate on that since I am not familiar with IT other than that it apparently involves something like a voice print of the guitar fed into some sort of preamp? How would you do this with a stock McPherson and into what preamp?

Thanks,

Tony
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  #17  
Old 04-26-2020, 09:11 AM
jefrobie jefrobie is offline
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Originally Posted by GuitarLuva View Post
Agreed. Can't believe this one fell under my radar for so long.



I hope you enjoy yours as much as I'm enjoying mine. The Anthem SL is definitely better than the element for sure, though, it still uses the element which IME inhibits a little volume and tone.
I had McPherson XP 5.0 for a number of years and finally went to an Anthem. Agreed, you still have the element side, but with the anthem was able to blend in a bit more woody tone and felt it was a pretty good compromise. Hoping it works the same with the Sable. I’m not a huge fan of gold hardware, but loved the thought of EVO frets so thinking at least changing out the gold buttons on the tuners would tone it down some. I’ve seen some older sables with black tuner buttons and looked pretty good.
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  #18  
Old 04-26-2020, 09:59 AM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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Originally Posted by jefrobie View Post
I had McPherson XP 5.0 for a number of years and finally went to an Anthem. Agreed, you still have the element side, but with the anthem was able to blend in a bit more woody tone and felt it was a pretty good compromise. Hoping it works the same with the Sable. I’m not a huge fan of gold hardware, but loved the thought of EVO frets so thinking at least changing out the gold buttons on the tuners would tone it down some. I’ve seen some older sables with black tuner buttons and looked pretty good.
Like you, I had a wood McPherson for a while. Mine was a 3.5 XP (the XP simply means a larger sound hole, as I understand it). The problem I had with the guitar was that it was too large for me to play comfortably. Sometime after purchasing mine, McPherson introduced the Camrielle model, which has a smaller body. The Sable is the same size as the Camrielle, and is much more comfortable for me. I have never played a wood Camrielle, so I don't know how it compares to the larger standard models in terms of sound (i.e. what does one give up in sound for the smaller body size).

Tony
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  #19  
Old 04-26-2020, 10:52 AM
GuitarLuva GuitarLuva is offline
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Originally Posted by jonfields45 View Post
Did you try an IR with the factory Element before installing the HFN?
Jon,

No I didn't. Are you asking because you would like one for the IR database? If so that's not a problem and the least I could do for you guys sharing that stuff with the public. I haven't even made one for the HFN in the Sable yet.
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  #20  
Old 04-26-2020, 11:01 AM
GuitarLuva GuitarLuva is offline
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Originally Posted by Frettingflyer View Post
Congrats Luva, I really enjoy my “base” model Sable and know you will too. Looks great with the weave and as said above, nice photo’s.
Thanks flyer she's a keeper for sure!

Quote:
Originally Posted by jefrobie View Post
I had McPherson XP 5.0 for a number of years and finally went to an Anthem. Agreed, you still have the element side, but with the anthem was able to blend in a bit more woody tone and felt it was a pretty good compromise. Hoping it works the same with the Sable. I’m not a huge fan of gold hardware, but loved the thought of EVO frets so thinking at least changing out the gold buttons on the tuners would tone it down some. I’ve seen some older sables with black tuner buttons and looked pretty good.
Yeah I certainly agree to that the Anthem is a huge step up from the element for sure. I can understand the gold hardware part also and your reason for wanting to go all black hardware on a black guitar. The blacked out look is tasteful for sure. I do love the blacked out look but also think the contrast of gold on black is nice as well.

I guess I should've mentioned a little more on the EVO frets since I now have guitars with nickel, stainless steel and EVO. I think they're closer to stainless steel than nickel in their feel. Very smooth like stainless steel which makes bending strings much easier. Can't speak for their longevity yet but I'm willing to bet they'll last the lifetime of the guitar.
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  #21  
Old 04-26-2020, 11:23 AM
GuitarLuva GuitarLuva is offline
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Originally Posted by tbeltrans View Post
Jon, would you please elaborate on that since I am not familiar with IT other than that it apparently involves something like a voice print of the guitar fed into some sort of preamp? How would you do this with a stock McPherson and into what preamp?

Thanks,

Tony
Tony I can help you with that. IR stands for 'impulse response'. In relation to acoustic guitars it basically compares your pickup against a microphone and tries to make adjustments to make your pickup sound more like the microphone that was used. It's a technology that is becoming quite popular these days for musicians who seek 'the guitar only louder' when amplified and there are several different flavors out there.

For example, I have a Tonedexter pedal. That pedal has it's own proprietary algorithm built in it. It takes about 40 secs to make an IR with Tonedexter the only thing you need in addition is a microphone. Mic placement is key. If you make an IR that you don't like just try a different mic position and rinse and repeat.

Jon made his own algorithm which is what I'm using these days. To his credit his IR manages to capture more of the 'mic' sound than the pickup in question which is why I prefer it. To create an IR using Jon's method you need some way to record your guitar for 1 min and send him the 'WAV' file and he'll do the rest for you. I just plug my guitar into my audio interface, plug a mic into it as well. I use Reaper as my DAW though there's a plethora of others like Pro Tools, record some playing and export the WAV file to his algorithm. It's actually very easy to do and only takes a couple of minutes to complete and the results are awesome.

Jon and Cuki have a website created to share IR's for a bunch of different pickups in different guitars which I also think is pretty admirable.
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  #22  
Old 04-26-2020, 12:07 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Great review!

But I was hoping you’d have a different opinion than me so we’d have something to talk about in quarantine.

No such luck...

You even ended up with the same “perfect fit” HFN pickup installation...

Guess this will be your main gig guitar too...

Ummm...

[Whistles]...

How’s the weather up there?
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  #23  
Old 04-26-2020, 01:09 PM
kramster kramster is offline
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Originally Posted by GuitarLuva View Post
T I was talking to Justin from McPherson and had him so intrigued about the HFN that he wanted me to send the guitar to them and they would fit a new saddle for free just so they could hear it. A nice gesture but that means I would be without the guitar for far too long! I promised him that I would do a short demo in the future and share it. I also promised people on here long ago that I would do an X20 vs X30 video so I will still do that one first whenever I get around to it.

Cool... I want to see said video...well ..all of them !
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  #24  
Old 04-26-2020, 01:10 PM
new2guitar_eh new2guitar_eh is offline
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GGGGAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSS....argh
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  #25  
Old 04-26-2020, 01:24 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Originally Posted by GuitarLuva View Post
Tony you're too kind thanks again. You're absolutely right they're both great and one can't go wrong either way.







Thanks Mr. K. To reiterate I think the HFN sounds great in the Sable. I put an ebony shim in there to compensate for the height of the element+elastomer until I get a new saddle. I was talking to Justin from McPherson and had him so intrigued about the HFN that he wanted me to send the guitar to them and they would fit a new saddle for free just so they could hear it. A nice gesture but that means I would be without the guitar for far too long! I promised him that I would do a short demo in the future and share it. I also promised people on here long ago that I would do an X20 vs X30 video so I will still do that one first whenever I get around to it.

I ordered a blank saddle from them and fitted to match the medium action after installing the HFN. When you talk to them next you can include my testimonial. It’s an excellent fit for that guitar.
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  #26  
Old 04-26-2020, 01:47 PM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
I ordered a blank saddle from them and fitted to match the medium action after installing the HFN. When you talk to them next you can include my testimonial. It’s an excellent fit for that guitar.
This thread is an interesting read and I will be quite interested in how these projects turn out.

However, since my Sables and Tourings are just fine from the factory as they are, my own experience has been that if I mess with something that is already just right, I tend to mess it up. So for me, it is best to live vicariously through the experiments of those more skilled in working on guitars than I am.

Since I don't have much interest in "plugging in", the factory installation will be fine for my needs.

Tony
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  #27  
Old 04-26-2020, 02:30 PM
kramster kramster is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbeltrans View Post
my own experience has been that if I mess with something that is already just right, I tend to mess it up.


Tony
Been there and still doing that...sigh...

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  #28  
Old 04-26-2020, 03:50 PM
GuitarLuva GuitarLuva is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
Great review!

But I was hoping you’d have a different opinion than me so we’d have something to talk about in quarantine.

No such luck...

You even ended up with the same “perfect fit” HFN pickup installation...

Guess this will be your main gig guitar too...

Ummm...

[Whistles]...

How’s the weather up there?
Thanks Dave, we'll never run out of things to talk about regarding guitars! I normally favor the putty with the HFN but found the tape to work better than the putty in the Sable, so there's that!

Also strings. Have you experimented with different strings yet?

Oh and the weather up here was starting to look good until today...flurries! Winter just won't go away.
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  #29  
Old 04-26-2020, 03:54 PM
GuitarLuva GuitarLuva is offline
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Originally Posted by kramster View Post

Cool... I want to see said video...well ..all of them !
They will all be created eventually! When eventually is I couldn't say...

Quote:
Originally Posted by new2guitar_eh View Post

GGGGAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSS....argh
Yes being a member of the AGF doesn't help that!

Quote:
Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post

I ordered a blank saddle from them and fitted to match the medium action after installing the HFN. When you talk to them next you can include my testimonial. It’s an excellent fit for that guitar.
I will be talking to them again so I will absolutely mention that.
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  #30  
Old 04-26-2020, 03:58 PM
GuitarLuva GuitarLuva is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbeltrans View Post
This thread is an interesting read and I will be quite interested in how these projects turn out.

However, since my Sables and Tourings are just fine from the factory as they are, my own experience has been that if I mess with something that is already just right, I tend to mess it up. So for me, it is best to live vicariously through the experiments of those more skilled in working on guitars than I am.

Since I don't have much interest in "plugging in", the factory installation will be fine for my needs.

Tony
"If it ain't broke don't fix it". I can't help it I'm a tinkerer and sometimes I wish I wasn't. That being said though I do enjoy working on my own guitars and have been doing it for a long time but can totally understand not wanting to mess with them.
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