Swapped out Mcpherson Pickup!

[jefrobie]

My 5.0xp redwood/rosewood is beautiful playing and sounding guitar but never been totally satisfied with Baggs Rt II pickup it came with. Got plenty of compliments on tone, but that's playing through preamps to quell the quack, and other outboard gear. Just swapped out with a Baggs Anthem SL and oh my! A tad warmer and open with pristine highs and I'm a happy camper! Got a tip from a fellow McPherson player that liked and noticed the difference so much he pulled his ES system out of his Taylor also and out and put a full blown Anthem in it....
Could not plug directly into my Roland Ac90 or my Genz Benz Shen 100 and get a sound I liked before...No problem now...Feels like a new guitar day! I'll be listing a used Rt II here pretty quick if anyone needs one!

[The Doc...]

I recently swapped out the Baggs RT II in my McPherson 5.0 Cedar Rosewood, and replaced it with a dual source PU system consisting of a K&K Pure Mini SBT and a AKG 516CL microphone; as well, I also purchased a Pendulum SPS-1 for my preamp. The sound of the McPherson with this dual source system through the Pendulum is...well...simply incredibly stunningly acoustic amplified.

After hearing the dual source system in my McPherson, I made the decision to put the system in my D-35 and HD-28 as well. Both are incredible now when plugged in.

My sincere heartfelt thanks and gratitude go out to the many members of the forum that guided me in this project, but especially Alohachris for so freely sharing with me. He is The Acoustic Warrior!

I may be broke for now, but no more ducks for me...ever!

[jamison162]

Any pics of your setup Doc? How's the mic positioned? I assume this is a condensor that needs power?

Someone needs to hit Bob Heil up to make a dynamic mic for acoustic instruments that wouldn't need power and would be as good in it's application as his other mics are.

[The Doc...]

Hello Jamison162 -

Sorry, but I have no pic's, nor am I any kind of a tech guy. Wish I was, but I just am not...

The AKG 516CL is a condenser microphone for instruments, and it does require phantom power. I considered other internal mic's as well, but was heavily influenced towards the AKG 516CL by Greg Gualtieri of Pendulum Audio and a number of members here on the forum.

McPherson's do not have a centered sound hole, and I was really challenged to find a luthier to install the Dual PU system I wanted. There were three highly recommended luthiers in my state that I spoke with about installing the system into my McPherson, and all three of them declined the install because of the challenge they felt was presented by the McPherson build.

I finally called McPherson Guitars in Sparta, WI, and the guys there were extremely helpful in helping me locate an excellent luthier who had experience in working on McPherson's...The McPherson people were great to interact with. The luthier they suggested was a real find for me.

Regarding the mic placement... Alohachris offered me some excellent advice regarding mic placement and to be diligent in locating any guitar's "sweet spot" for internal mic placment. I gleaned that I needed to find the sweetest sound air movement within the guitars body.

I contacted the McPherson guys again, and they actually sent me a picture of where they would suggest beginning to look for the "sweet spot' and how to go about locating it, which I shared with my luthier. This was a tremendous help as well.

As best as I can describe --- In my McPherson, the mic is positioned approximately in the middle of the hole, about 1 1/2 inches from the side and about 2 inches from the back of the guitar. (As I read this, I am not sure if my description regarding placement is clear at all. Please forgive...)

Hope this helps.

The other component of my dual source PU is a K&K Pure Mini.

Like I said, I am not a tech kinda guy at all, but I do know my ears absolutely love what they hear when I plug in using the SPS-1 and the dual source PU system; When plugged in, these three guitars sound like they do when they are not plugged in, just louder. No ducks anywhere!!! I just hated the quack!

This forum has some tremendous people who are willing to share there vast knowledge and experience.

I am so grateful for their sharing of the knowledge. It has helped me in my quest!

As well --- Don't hesitate to call the peole at McPherson. They are friendly and tremendously helpful.

[jefrobie]

Played my McPherson with the new install this morning for our worship service...feels like I have a new guitar. I have to dial back the treble on my preamp and amp, and have the clarity and air on top end that sounds like the guitar unplugged...amplified...great swap out, with I had done it earlier!

[SpiritShooter]

I removed the RTS2 from my McPherson a number of months ago and installed the K&K Pure Mini. The change was pretty much what everyone else experienced. It's a new guitar when amplified and I love not having a battery in there.