Sunrise SB2 Dual Source Routing Question

[open-road-matt]

Hi Friends,
I have a dual source routing question specifically involving the Sunrise SB2 preamp.

I have a Sunrise in a guitar wired to the tip of a stereo jack. The guitar also has a K&K in it that came with the guitar. When I dismantled the K&K I broke the connections at the solder joints and just taped the wires to the Sunrise cable. Meaning that the K&K could be used again.

I'm thinking of having the K&K put on the ring of the stereo jack and getting the Sunrise SB2 preamp but I want to make sure the SB2 will allow me to do 2 things:

1) Can I use a regular 1/4" cable into the input of the SB2 and just come out of the Sunrise output jack as just a single source (the Sunrise) basically using the SB2 as if it were an SB1?

2) Can I use a TRS cable into the input of the SB1 and just come out of the Aux output jack using the K&K as a single source?

It seems like this is exactly what the SB2 is designed to do (separate the two sources) and I can't figure out why I couldn't use either source on its own but I thought I would see if I could confirm this before moving forward.

Thanks!
Matt

[Koamon]

Seems you can wire it to the ring of a stereo endpin jack and common ground to the sleeve. This is from their web site:

Sunrise Preamp Buffer Boxes

S-B1 and S-B2

The Sunrise Preamp Buffer Box is a line matching device designed specifically to access the coupling feature built into Sunrise Pickups.The output of a Sunrise Pickup should be sent first to this preamp.

Sunrise Preamp Buffer Boxes provide the pickup signal with 12dB of gain, high resolution, and impedance matching capabilities. The active 18 volt Bi-Polar powered circuit eliminates pickup loading and line loss due to long cable runs, and also delivers up to 4 years of battery life with 2) 9 volt Energizer Alkaline batteries.

The S-B1 has two 1/4" parallel output jacks (Sunrise and Aux) which allows the same signal to be sent to two separate sources.

The S-B2 requires a 3 conductor TRS cable. The SB2 is designed to preamp the Sunrise Pickup along with a piezo pickup with each signal being sent through it's own preamp circuit, and then to the outputs (Sunrise and Aux) with the piezo signal sent to Aux.

The S-B1 and S-B2 produce the widest frequency response possible from a battery powered preamp, and allows the Sunrise Pickup to operate at it's full design capabilities.

Specifications:

Input impedance: 1 megohm

Output impedance: <100 ohms

Maximum output level: +15Dbv.

Frequency response: 10-40kHz + or - 3dB

Battery consumption: 150 microamps

Normal battery life: 3-4 Years Use 2) 9V Energizer Alkaline

Dimensions: 4 5/8" X 2 5/8" X 1 3/16"

[open-road-matt]

Originally Posted by Koamon

The S-B2 requires a 3 conductor TRS cable. The SB2 is designed to preamp the Sunrise Pickup along with a piezo pickup with each signal being sent through it's own preamp circuit, and then to the outputs (Sunrise and Aux) with the piezo signal sent to Aux.

Thanks for the help. This does make it sound like I should be able to do what I am hoping to do, use either signal on its own.

Has anyone tried doing this with the SB2?

Thanks!
Matt

[Koamon]

Not with the Sunrise preamp, but before on-board guitar electronics became the technology, the dual source rage years before was the Fishman Blender, the Rane Electronics AP-13 (both which I still have and use) and the more expensive audiophile grade Audio Pendulum preamp system. They paired the UST pickup on the tip with a condenser mic mounted in the guitar by the soundhole and wired to the ring. Phantom power to the mics were supplied by the preamp. Not sure about phantom power on the sunrise but the K and K you already have should blend in real good with your Sunrise p/u. As an aside, I still have my Blender and my Rane AP-13 and updated my Thinline UST to an LR Baggs iBeam (that and the LR Baggs element endpin jacks are stereo capable) and wired my original Crown GLM 200 mic to my Larrivee Dread and it sounds great. I have an Anthem in my other guitar which is not wired for stereo but already has a mic and sounds great as well.
Good luck with your system! Regards Owen

[open-road-matt]

Originally Posted by Koamon

Not with the Sunrise preamp, but before on-board guitar electronics became the technology, the dual source rage years before was the Fishman Blender, the Rane Electronics AP-13 (both which I still have and use) and the more expensive audiophile grade Audio Pendulum preamp system. They paired the UST pickup on the tip with a condenser mic mounted in the guitar by the soundhole and wired to the ring. Phantom power to the mics were supplied by the preamp. Not sure about phantom power on the sunrise but the K and K you already have should blend in real good with your Sunrise p/u. As an aside, I still have my Blender and my Rane AP-13 and updated my Thinline UST to an LR Baggs iBeam (that and the LR Baggs element endpin jacks are stereo capable) and wired my original Crown GLM 200 mic to my Larrivee Dread and it sounds great. I have an Anthem in my other guitar which is not wired for stereo but already has a mic and sounds great as well.
Good luck with your system! Regards Owen

Thanks Owen!
The saddest part about all of this is that I had a bunch of this gear! I had an old Fishman Pocket Blender and even the SPS-1. I had the Grace Design Felix too which is another nice way of blending sources.

I had sworn off putting together dual source systems a while back and I should probably give up on this project too. I'm only considering it because the K&K is already in this guitar.

I am quite happy with the Sunrise as a single source when I play live. I run it through a Sunn Audio DI-2 and I think it sounds just great.

I do a live stream each week and because of the nature of our house (kids, the dog, the doorbell, etc.) I can't use a mic on my guitar. I need to plug in. I have been using a different guitar that has the the Anthem in it and I like the direct sound I get from the Anthem on the live streams but the guitar has too narrow an nut width for me and isn't comfortable to play.

The Sunrise direct isn't very good but if I could split off the K&K I could consider an IR pedal and that might let me play the guitar I love on the live stream.

But...it's a lot of screwing around for an hour or so a week!

Matt

[Koamon]

Hey Matt,
Connecting the K&K to the sleeve and the Sunrise to the tip to stereo endpin jack on your guitar would seem to work with a good shielded TRS cable. I use a TRS cable with 90 degree jacks on both ends (more compact) Here's my home setup. I put everything on a rolling printer cart so I can move it it quickly in or out of the closet, like you, when I have the time to actually play!

[open-road-matt]

That's a nice setup! I love the cart on wheels. The house we are in now is the first one we've owned where I don't have a little office/music room. Thankfully my wife is very understanding. I have taken over a chunk of our living room with the setup for my live streams complete with a piano and stage lights!

Back to the SB2, I found out that I would not be able to use it the way I want so I'm going to give up for now. I'll use the Anthem guitar for live streams and the Sunrise guitar for playing live. It's pretty tough to complain about two really nice guitars with great pickups!

Matt