Another Schatten HFN install

[Liveburning274]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

I had a serious lack of bass in my first install and discovered I had not pushed down hard enough on the HFN to get all three feet firmly taped to the top. Once I did that the balance with no EQ was perfect and has not changed since I did it. Two more installs with tape and significant pressure on each leg have also been excellent.

Thanks for this. How much pressure were you pushing it down with? I did it until firm. Maybe more is needed?

[GuitarLuva]

Originally Posted by Liveburning274

I am having trouble getting lows through mine. Got a lot of mids and highs. I’m doing the putty install.

I’ve got a brighter maple J45 and I can’t tell which way to move the pickup to try and pull more lows in, “horizontally” along the saddle towards the low strings or angled towards or away from the saddle. How far “off-center” from the 2 center pins can you be?

I really like the tone I’m getting from this pickup with my mids and highs, I just need some balance across the all of the strings.

If you're using the putty that pretty much eliminates the risk of uneven surfaces. Like Jon said first and easiest thing to check is that the pickup is pushed all the way on (I usually just use a gentle force pushing up on the pickup and down on the top of the guitar at the same time). It doesn't take much force especially with the putty. Generally speaking, the pickup is not too particular on positioning so if you have it installed in line with the saddle you could tweak it a little by moving it slightly to the side on each end (in your case a touch closer to the bass side and a touch farther from the treble side).

One of the main reasons I came to love this pickup is that it does a really good job at replicating what the guitar is doing and I experienced this so far with each install I've done. Like Steve asked, does the guitar lack low end unplugged? If so it will replicate that plugged in. There have been others who reported a lack of low end with this pickup but I haven't experienced that yet after 4 installs. To me it sounds like each guitar mic'd up. If I plug into my Fishman amp it sounds amazing, no EQ or other effects needed. If I plug straight into my audio interface or PA, it still sounds like the guitar mic'd but with a hint of "piezo tone" which I'm able to completely get rid of. Let us know what you end up doing and how it turns out.

[Liveburning274]

This Gibby is a bit brighter but there’s an even-ness string to string.

I was getting a noticeable mid-high bump from the pickup and just not a good balance with my lower strings. I’ve moved it again, but I’m still fighting with that mid-bump some.

[GuitarLuva]

You can also try a full tape install also. It's a little trickier with the tape vs putty as it's a one shot deal. The one tape install that I did I made a jig out of a piece of cardboard and that made the install a breeze. It took only a few minutes to make.

[Ten]

Originally Posted by Liveburning274

I was getting a noticeable mid-high bump from the pickup and just not a good balance with my lower strings.

Other than readjusting, you could try removing the putty from the middle foot. Instructions recommend this and it was necessary for me to achieve the proper string balance.

[Liveburning274]

Thanks for the tips folks! I think I’ve got the location where I want, but I’ll try the putty removal on the middle foot and see if that helps.

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by Liveburning274

Thanks for this. How much pressure were you pushing it down with? I did it until firm. Maybe more is needed?

Pretty much the limit of my physical strength pushing up on each leg of the pickup while pushing back on the bridge. Probably overkill but my first install photographed perfectly, felt firmly attached if I grabbed it, but must have had the bass foot not properly attached. I fixed that install over a month ago and it continues to sound great. The other two installs I did this at the initial install and they sound great too.

The interesting part is of the three guitars, you can really hear that the dreadnought is a dreadnought and that the expensive parlor has fresher strings than the cheaper one. I'm used to pickups and even ToneDexter producing a more homogenized tone.