McPherson Touring setup

[tbeltrans]

Today, Marty Reynolds did a setup on my Touring CF guitar. There isn't a lot to do, but what there is, Marty does exactly right. It is all too easy to go too far with this sort of thing and end up with buzzing strings and a load of regrets (if only...). Marty notched the nut slots a bit deeper and took down the saddle a bit, and those little adjustments made a big difference in ease of play.

It always amazes me how such small adjustments can make such a large difference in the feel of an instrument. If I attempt these adjustments, I typically will go just a bit too far and end up with all that string buzzing. So I really appreciate Marty's skill and experience to get it just right the first time.

We talked about having Marty make a bone saddle for me, and he will probably be doing that before too long. He also mentioned that he has installed a Trance Amulet pickup system in another customer's Touring and that it worked out really well. Mine has the factory L.R. Baggs Element in it, so Marty felt that I could probably be fine staying with that too.

I have been considering the possibility of selling my Cargos, but I just can't bring myself to do that. These are special instruments, unlike any other, and would be difficult to replace since they are original pre-Peavey (which I personally prefer) without any of the issues that others have complained about. If I eventually sell the few wood guitars I have remaining, I would still have 4 carbon fiber guitars, all with 22.75" scale length, so there would be no adjustment going from one to another. Marty already did his setup on those Cargos some years ago, so there is nothing that needs to be done with them.

I would suggest that those who purchase a McPherson Touring, either get somebody to do that bit of setup or do it yourself. Just that little bit more really does wonders for the feel of the instrument. The setup is fine out of the factory, but it can be improved if you play fingerstyle. For strumming/rhythm playing, it might be better to leave it as is. This may or ma not be true for the larger Sable.

I can say that among the types of carbon fiber guitars I have played, these McPhersons are the finest. I have played a Sable that was in stock at the Fret Central grand opening, but it is too large for me. Otherwise, it is as nice as the smaller Touring in every respect. Right now, Fret Central only has another Touring (but I did see two nice wood McPhersons there today), that is non-honeycomb and with the normal hardware (i.e. not the gold that the honeycomb has). It is still a very nice instrument, but with three Cargos, I don't need a second Touring.

Tony

[kramster]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

I have been considering the possibility of selling my Cargos, but I just can't bring myself to do that.

Tony

That's what I was figuring all along ..can't imagine you not being without your trusty Cargos... just wrong I say.. they are family! I followed all you did with them and tried some of the things too. That Marty knows stuff. I watched him work on a guitar in Iowa at a guitar get together thing whist eating bacon.

[Captain Jim]

There's bacon? Tell me more!

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by kramster

That's what I was figuring all along ..can't imagine you not being without your trusty Cargos... just wrong I say.. they are family! I followed all you did with them and tried some of the things too. That Marty knows stuff. I watched him work on a guitar in Iowa at a guitar get together thing whist eating bacon.

So if I ever go over to Marty's house and he is in a bad mood, I can tell him that you intended to offer him some bacon, but you just forgot. I could suggest he get over it, but it would be better coming from you.

Those Cargos are somethign special and there really is nothing else like them. I played the OX and the larger models, and they just are not the same. There is just something about the Cargo that is special. Maybe it is the feel of the fretboard, the shape, the width, maybe the size of the guitar body. I don't know, but it all just comes together.

The McPherson, in my opinion is a much "finished" Cargo, polished, ready for prime time, but there is something scrappy and cool about the Cargo that nothing else has. Marty installed K & K pickups in all three of my Cargos, along with doing his magical steups.

Tony

[kramster]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

There's bacon? Tell me more!

Marty having at it.. I think he installed a K&K mini...(circa Early Fall 2014 just outside of Vinton Iowa)




And in the kitchen at the Chef's house around the corner from the Laundry/guitar shop workbench room thingy...

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by kramster

Marty having at it.. I think he installed a K&K mini...(circa Early Fall 2014 just outside of Vinton Iowa)




And in the kitchen at the Chef's house around the corner from the Laundry/guitar shop workbench room thingy...

Yep ... that is definitely Marty. He has a cool work area over at Fret Central now, even with a nice new bench. He is there from 11 AM through 2 PM, Wednesdays and Fridays. The rest of the time he works out of his house in St. Paul. It is interesting how many of us have that greying hair and white beard. We all (the aging guitar guys) seem to look alike.

Tony

[slimey]

I think it was probably my Mcpherson Marty was talking about with the Trance system, but it's a Sable.
I can say I'm delighted with the install, Marty has put the Trance Amulet M's into three guitars for me now, so he really has it down. The Sable was the latest one I had the system installed in .
I'm able to reproduce the guitars full round sound through a PA. No quack ( yuk ) that you'd get from a piezo. No feed back while playing with a 6 piece at reasonable volumes.
I'm a lead player and I'm able to push through the sound without having to boost the signal or turn up the volume, I use a heavy pick and the pickup is dynamic enough to make the leads clean and loud enough just using a deeper attack with the pick. Just wonderful!!
I usually gig with a Lowden but when winter comes you rarely have time to warm your guitar properly after the car journey, so I use the Sable. It does not have the overtones of the Lowden but it performs better amplified than most guitars I've tried over the years. Marty took out the Baggs system that McPherson puts in their instruments when he installed the Trance for me. I can say I hated the original setup, thin sounding , tinny and quack. I could not duplicate the acoustic tone of the guitar amplified no matter what I tried. I'm one of those people who gets really distracted gigging if my tones not right, I'm fiddling with the setup trying to get the tone I want, could not get the tones the guitar has to save my life. So I decided to change it and I could not be happier, now I can duplicate the acoustic sound of the sable which is a fine sounding guitar. More importantly I can focus on the music instead of screwing around with my setup!!

I can recommend the Trance system in a Mcpherson carbon it works very well and Marty does a great job putting them in the guitars!! Silly footnote, if you want to hear the instrument amplified I'm playing at the Lions Tavern in Stilwater Dec 21st starting at 7pm, what a chincy way of promoting a gig!

[tbeltrans]

Thanks for the info, Slimey. Is yours an older Sable? The Touring apparently went through some iterations to arrive at the honeycomb version with the gold hardware that I have. I don't know if that was true for the Sable. Though I have not used the pickup in my Touring much, I have tried it and know that it does not sound as you describe - thin and with the piezo quack. On the McPherson site, they say that the pickup is a custom Element from L.R. Baggs, and EQ'd specifically for the Touring. I am sure it doesn't sound as nice as the Trance Amulet, but it doesn't seem objectionable to me. Maybe if I use it for a while it will start to wear on me.

Back at the original Podium in Dinkytown, I was able to see and play a prototype Kevin Michaels Touring guitar. I didn't like it at all. The current honeycomb version that I have is MUCH nicer, so whatever changes McPherson made over the years, were well worth their effort. I don't recall whether there was a pickup involved in that prototype because plugging in wasn't even discussed. I just had the opportunity to get an early taste of what McPherson was up to in the world of carbon fiber. The current Touring has come a very long way from that prototype.

When I asked Marty if there was an advantage to changing to the Trance Amulet, he said that the pickup I currently have, picks up the strings only and that the Trance Amulet would pick up the whole guitar, making for a more full sound.

I am considering having it done, but it will cost some serious cash for the total project. The Trance Amulet itself is rather expensive and the work is quite involved, according to Marty. I don't really have the need to amplify, since I don't play out much, if at all, anymore. For me, it seems silly to sit in my living room plugged into an amp pretending to gig unless I am practicing for a gig and need to get used to hearing myself amplified. I personally much prefer the simplicity and intimacy of an acoustic without all the extra stuff connected.

The most enjoyable musical shows I have attended have been small house concerts without any amplification. Some years ago, for example, Larry Pattis came to town for a house concert. The show was all acoustic and intimate.

Playing in bands, what I never liked was the volume. It seemed that band members always turned up to hear themselves, rather than everybody else turning down. I never understood why it had to be so loud. The exception was the road band I was in full time for a few years back in the 1970s. We played supper clubs, resorts, etc., and we did turn down if people had to lean toward each other to talk. As a result, we always got asked back, even if we weren't the best band around. We worked solid 6 nights a week for a couple of years before I quit to do other things.

However, having Marty available to install the Trance Amulet now, just in case the need to use it arises, is also compelling. If he were to do that installation, he would be able to remove the original L.R. Baggs Element without damage so it could be reinstalled at a later date if necessary.

Decisions, decisions.

By the way, any way to mention a gig is perfectly fine.

Tony

[kramster]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

I was able to see and play a prototype Kevin Michaels Touring guitar.
Tony

I think I have one of those around here someplace ...actually it made a lil appearance at the end of my Kevin Michael video back in the day ,
Nothing written on the headstock or name anywhere. Stealthy, well except for the signature sound hole.

[slimey]

My Sable is a 2018 with the honeycomb finish.
Marty hit the nail on the head when he said you get the full body sound using the Trance. The Sable is a very mellow round sound, not tinny at all and I could not get that sound through a PA with the Baggs. It was very thin sounding.

Now with the Trance I can get that full deep sound which really helps push the lead notes through.

I run through a Radial Engineering tonebone pre Z into the PA. With the Baggs I also tried running it through a AER 60 then using the line out, even with the Radial and or the AER I could not get the full deep tone of the Sable amplified.

I play out once or twice a week on average so the Trance pays for itself pretty quickly, if I was just playing at home I would not bother spending the money but if you get gigging again it's a no brainer.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by slimey

My Sable is a 2018 with the honeycomb finish.
Marty hit the nail on the head when he said you get the full body sound using the Trance. The Sable is a very mellow round sound, not tinny at all and I could not get that sound through a PA with the Baggs. It was very thin sounding.

Now with the Trance I can get that full deep sound which really helps push the lead notes through.

I run through a Radial Engineering tonebone pre Z into the PA. With the Baggs I also tried running it through a AER 60 then using the line out, even with the Radial and or the AER I could not get the full deep tone of the Sable amplified.

I play out once or twice a week on average so the Trance pays for itself pretty quickly, if I was just playing at home I would not bother spending the money but if you get gigging again it's a no brainer.

I am now sure it was your Sable Marty was talking about, because I asked him this morning. Anyway, he feels that I would get similar results with the Trance Amulet in my Touring. I think I will wait to see what happens with my taxes before making any more larger spending decisions. So far, I have covered any purchases with sales of other stuff, so I have had more money coming in than going out and I want to keep it that way.

The Trance Amulet does sound like a good idea though.

Tony