Schatten model to buy

LiveMusic · #1 03-04-2019, 09:44 AM

As with everything these days, seems to be a lot of models. Which Schatten are you guys buying? Say, for a J-45, or a D28 Martin?

pmarino · #2 03-04-2019, 09:54 AM

I have the HFN Passive on its way to me for my J-15. If I like it, I'll probably add one to my D-18.

The Kid! · #3 03-04-2019, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiveMusic

As with everything these days, seems to be a lot of models. Which Schatten are you guys buying? Say, for a J-45, or a D28 Martin?

HFN Passive in my 1952 J-45, 2016 J-45 Standard, and Washburn Timber Ridge Custom. Evidently, the active sounds the same with more gain. I have preamps on my board, so I went passive. They sound great.

Install: Putty on middle foot and tape on outer feet worked best for me and others.

jonfields45 · #4 03-04-2019, 05:16 PM

I'll have a passive Schatten in my mailbox tomorrow. I see the only downside is it can't be plugged directly into a mixer, but the upside is no battery in my guitar. Schatten sells a 500K ohm passive volume control you plug into the endpin if that is a requirement (I've got one but I swapped out the 500K POT for a 25K to use with my MiSi...).

GuitarLuva · #5 03-04-2019, 05:30 PM

They're apparently all the same tonally so its totally up to you whether or not you want tone and volume controls onboard with a 9v battery or passive with no battery. Not to sway you either way but most people I see post opted to go passive, as did I.

The Kid! · #6 03-04-2019, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonfields45

I'll have a passive Schatten in my mailbox tomorrow. I see the only downside is it can't be plugged directly into a mixer, but the upside is no battery in my guitar. Schatten sells a 500K ohm passive volume control you plug into the endpin if that is a requirement (I've got one but I swapped out the 500K POT for a 25K to use with my MiSi...).

You can plug it directly into a mixer. It has slightly less output than a K&K. Now, it benefits from having an outboard pre, but depending on how your pre's are on your mixing board, and your gain staging, you can make it work!

I'm glad I went passive, but I have preamps on my board and a red eye for going to do a guest spot somewhere if I'm not going to bring my board.

TNO · #7 03-04-2019, 05:51 PM

I'm running the passive version. Thinking about sticking the basic active model in another guitar for hitting open mics.

GuitarLuva · #8 03-04-2019, 06:03 PM

You can also convert your passive to active or artist after the fact by simply buying the preamp and soldering your passive pickup to it. That phantom powered Artist preamp keeps calling out to me!

jonfields45 · #9 03-04-2019, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Kid!

You can plug it directly into a mixer. It has slightly less output than a K&K. Now, it benefits from having an outboard pre, but depending on how your pre's are on your mixing board, and your gain staging, you can make it work!

I'm glad I went passive, but I have preamps on my board and a red eye for going to do a guest spot somewhere if I'm not going to bring my board.

Most mixers have mic inputs in the ballpark of 2.5K ohms and line inputs around 10K ohms. Neither of these will work for a K&K Mini and won't sound that good with a passive magnetic pickup either. Some mixers, such as certain Mackie models, have a 10M ohm guitar mode which should work as well as an acoustic guitar amp. Glad to hear the mixers you own can handle a passive pickup. My expectation is if you want bulletproof with no preamp, then you want an active pickup. I use a compression pedal as a clean boost which also gives me a decent buffer (1M input, 10K output) even when disabled.

AndyC · #10 03-05-2019, 02:23 AM

Would a Sunnaudio Stage DI be a good preamp for the Schatten??

jonfields45 · #11 03-05-2019, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyC

Would a Sunnaudio Stage DI be a good preamp for the Schatten??

It would work well. There are cheaper options that will also do the job:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...xoCYBQQAvD_BwE

The Kid! · #12 03-05-2019, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyC

Would a Sunnaudio Stage DI be a good preamp for the Schatten??

It's a killer pre, and that's what I have on my board, but as stated previously, there are cheaper options out there.

GuitarLuva · #13 03-05-2019, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonfields45

It would work well. There are cheaper options that will also do the job:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...xoCYBQQAvD_BwE

+1 to the Behringer ADI21. It's a very cheap but awesome little preamp that pairs very well with the Schatten HFN. That's what I use if I need to boost the signal. For the most part I do not use a preamp with the passive HFN as I use a Fishman amp but if I was going out to the unknown I would take the Behringer ADI21 with me. Just to add I do have a tonedexter but don't feel the need to use it with the HFN as it sounds good enough on its own.