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Nanoflex issue -- any thoughts?


dhanners623

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Long time without posting. Big life changes, including taking a buyout from work and moving to Kuwait, where my wife got a teaching job. But an issue has arisen with the Nanoflex in my IB'64 Texan and I'm wondering if anyone here has encountered the same thing.

 

First, a bit of background. For luggage reasons, I didn't bring the Texan to Kuwait. Brought two other of my guitars and farmed three other instruments -- including the Texan -- out to trusted friends. The Texan wound up with a friend down in Indiana. I was thinking of picking up the Texan on a return trip to the States this summer, but here's an email I got from the guy last week updating me on the condition of the guitar:

 

So the deal with the Texan is the nanoflex pickup is dead. The best anybody can determine is that the piezo crystal is cracked, maybe because of winter-related top flexing. (I kept it hydrated, I promise). There's no other damage to the guitar, so who knows... We stuck a random no-name piezo in it and it worked -- it sounded terrible but it worked -- so the preamp is fine. The good news is that it's a $70 fix, but the bad news is that the only pickup I can find online that's sold without the preamp is in Germany (thomann.de).

 

Anyone had this happen?

 

I will probably have him ship the guitar to my "home" repair shop (Hoffman's Guitars in Minneapolis) to have them look at it. If they can fix it at a reasonable cost, great. I really liked the Nanoflex and it never gave me a moment of trouble. But if it can't be fixed affordably, I might have them just remove the Nanoflex and install stick a Fishman (quack and all) or a Schatten or have them wire the guitar for a soundhole pickup that I can remove or install as needed, but having the internal wiring wired to an endpin jack.

 

I've found that once you go abroad, you really need a guitar that plugs in because not every venue (or every sound guy) knows how to mic an acoustic guitar. Neither of the guitars I brought plug in, naturally....

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Hi , if it's under 5 yrs epiphone should fix it . If not try contacting showdow USA Marc will help you . If it's the same as the Dr 500 nano flex maybe Marc will let me mail you the one I have .

 

First find out about warranty let me know maybe we can bypass the hassle I can then contact Marc and see if he'll let mail mine to you .

 

Shadows power ratings on the the system differ for otherrs thats why the replacement sounded like poo . But there still is a chance the pre amp is acting up .

 

 

Ray

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Hi , if it's under 5 yrs epiphone should fix it . If not try contacting showdow USA Marc will help you . If it's the same as the Dr 500 nano flex maybe Marc will let me mail you the one I have .

 

First find out about warranty let me know maybe we can bypass the hassle I can then contact Marc and see if he'll let mail mine to you .

 

Shadows power ratings on the the system differ for otherrs thats why the replacement sounded like poo . But there still is a chance the pre amp is acting up .

 

 

Ray

 

Thanks for the offer. I bought the guitar in 2010 (can't recall the month, but in the spring sometime) so I'm thinking the warranty has expired. Besides, shipping the guitar hither and yon -- especially when I'm on the other side of the world -- is not a pleasant thought.

 

Are there any piezo thingies available that have the same power rating as the Nanoflex's? If so, that could (in theory) be the simplest fix.

 

Let me mull a thing or two and get back to you....

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David!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

So awesome to see you on here again. I read your Texan threads with enormous interest after I got mine.

 

Sorry you are having trouble with your pickup. With how inexpensive the IB64 Texans are, have you considered just buying a new one? Mine was made in January 2014 in Indonesia and it is to die for. I know you did some relic work on your China made one, but the fix may end up costing you more than just buying a new guitar.

 

By the way...I love your albums. Is there another in the works?

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David Marc says to contact him .

 

Here's the address

 

usa-service@shadow-electronics.com

Atten Marc Romansky

 

He's great and will help you out .

 

Wow. Thanks, everyone. And Agradeleous, I just emailed Marc. I appreciate the tip.

 

I'm on both Soundcloud and ReverbNation.

 

And if you go to my website at http://davidhanners.com there is a page to download tunes from my last two records. The most recent one, "There Are No Secrets in This Town," is more consistent than "The Traveler's Burden," in my opinion. I wondered about giving the stuff away for free, but I got over to Kuwait and ran out of CDs (left a bunch in storage in St. Paul) and got tired of telling people I had nothing. Plus, I was selling digital downloads on CDBaby and when Spotify figures your payment out to six decimal places, you get the message that people are making money off music but you're not one of them.

 

It is frustrating being over here and having to arrange everything so the guitar is ready when I come back to the States for a visit this summer. (And I don't know the dates of the trip yet....) It involves wiring money to the guy in Indiana to ship the Texan to Minnesota, and making sure the folks there have enough time to work on it. Gives me a headache just thinking about it.

 

Again, thanks for the kind words!

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Quick update: I emailed Marc at Shadow and he got back to me VERY promptly. (Impressive customer service so far.) Bottom line is it may just be a matter of removing the old under-saddle piezo element and dropping in Shadow's $65 replacement. Apparently, the Shadow element has a built-in preamp, hence the lousy sound when my friend dropped in a no-name element. So it may just be an easy fix. If my friend in Indiana can perform the operation (Marc included a helpful video in his email to me) it would save me the shop cost, and might also save me the expense of shipping the guitar to Minneapolis. Of course I'd have to go down to Indiana to get the guitar, but I have friends in the area and would visit there anyway.

 

So, again, thanks, Agradeleous! You may have just saved the day....

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Glad I can help . Depending what ya all do I still might ship the part lol but we'll see . Looking forward to your music . You on FB ?

 

I think once I make my travel plans, I'll have a better idea of where I'll be and when I'll be there. I need to figure all that out before I can figure out whether I go down to Indiana to pick up the guitar or have it shipped to the Twin Cities. It is all a headache bu I'll keep you posted.

 

And yeah, I'm on FB as David Hanners.

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Yeah that round trip might buy a new guitar in fuel costs maybe .. Lol I wait to hear from Marc so I guess there's done before you come .

 

If you drive down and had you might enjoy a slight detour and stop by Sweetwater for a tour and some awesome new guitars lol

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A quick update: Thanks to Agradeleous and Marc at Shadow Electronics, my IB'64 Texan's Nanoflex system is back in perfect working order. As Marc suspected, it needed a new under-saddle element, so I bought one and had it shipped to my friend in Indiana (who I had left the guitar with) and he installed it over the weekend. Plugged in the guitar and it sounded just like it should. The Texan is now on its way to my "home" guitar shop, Hoffman Guitars in Minneapolis, where they are going to go over it, make sure it is set up ok and then my stepson, who is planning a visit to the U.S. later this month, will bring it back to Kuwait with him. In theory, I could have the guitar by a May 15 gig I have.

 

We hear customer-service horror stories from time to time, but I want to tell my fellow forumites that the service provided by Marc and Shadow was truly first-class. Keep in mind we were dealing with me in Kuwait, Marc in California and the guy with the guitar in Indiana. Marc diagnosed the problem, got the replacement part sent out (only $65 for the part and shipping) and my friend in Indiana -- aided by the video Shadow has on YouTube -- was able to install it without a bit of trouble.

 

And I need to say a big "thank you" to Agradeleous, for giving me Marc's name and contact info. This was truly a matter of one forum member helping another, and I hope to be able to return the favor someday.

 

Now I just have to get the guitar....

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  • 3 weeks later...

Another update: I have the guitar! After a trip from Terre Haute, Ind., to Minneapolis to Louisville to Germany to Dubai and finally to Kuwait, I picked up my IB'64 Texan from UPS this morning. It made it in one piece. Jeez, it is nice to have it back. Slapped on a set of EJ-17s and tuned it up and that great sound came back. I had forgotten what a cool sound it has, and it'll be nice to have if for my gig next Friday.

 

Now it just has to get acclimated to Kuwait's peculiar weather....

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Went out and bought a guitar cord yesterday and took the guitar along to test out the pickup through an amp at the music shop. I don't have anything to plug it into at home and I didn't want any unpleasant surprises when I got to the gig Friday, so I figured I'd test if at the shop. I'd forgotten just how nice the Nanoflex sounds in the IB'64. From a bang-for-the-buck perspective, it is hard to do better than the IB'64 Texan/Nanoflex combo.

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Went out and bought a guitar cord yesterday and took the guitar along to test out the pickup through an amp at the music shop. I don't have anything to plug it into at home and I didn't want any unpleasant surprises when I got to the gig Friday, so I figured I'd test if at the shop. I'd forgotten just how nice the Nanoflex sounds in the IB'64. From a bang-for-the-buck perspective, it is hard to do better than the IB'64 Texan/Nanoflex combo.

 

Ditto...it's just such an amazingly nice guitar. I love mine!

 

Have you by any chance ever tried an AJ-220S? I was really doubtful of the hype and stuff for a long time. I got a hankering for a full size vintage sunburst and ended up picking one up at GC. I got it adjusted for super low action with zero fretbuzz (took a complete fret dressing to accomplish)...I'm talking Dylan type low action! It's unbelievable how good this thing sounds. It didn't have the 3rd fret dot marker, so I got that added as well. At $199 brand new, the fret marker addition, the set up and the fret dressing didn't exactly break the bank.

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Haven't tried the AJ-220S. I probably won't be in the market for a guitar for awhile; living abroad, as I do now, having three guitars with me seems like two too many. The lord of the highway travels light, as the song goes. If I were going to get something down the road, it would probably be one of those 12-fret slope-shoulder Recording Kings. They sound like cool guitars.

 

The next issue I have to deal with is finding affordable guitar strings. Before coming over here last summer, I bought a bunch of D'Addario EJ-17s, my preferred set. My stash is starting to run low, and when I bought the guitar cord yesterday, I decided to pick up a set at the guitar shop. (Of which there aren't many in Kuwait, mind you.) it set me back 5 KD, which is just under $17. So in other words, one set of EJ-17s here costs more than three sets (if you buy the three-pack) of the same string in the U.S.

 

I looked to see if JustStrings.com ships internationally. They do, but they use the U.S. Postal Service, which means the package would wind up in a large facility downtown from which it may or may not emerge. Kuwait doesn't have mail service in the way that most of us are accustomed to. Nothing gets delivered to your home unless it is sent by DHL, FedEx or UPS.

 

Elderly.com ships to Kuwait via FedEx, but I need to run my potential order through their online form to see how much it would cost to send. I'm guessing the shipping costs will far outstrip the actual cost of the product.

 

Those of you who live in places where music stores are readily available should count your blessings. Out here in the desert, it is slim pickings (no pun intended).

 

And to top it all off, the place where I'm supposed to play this Friday wants me next week instead. No explanation given. Oh well. Welcome to Kuwait....

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If I were going to get something down the road, it would probably be one of those 12-fret slope-shoulder Recording Kings. They sound like cool guitars.

 

RK changes up their models more often than Epiphone so hopefully they still have these when you're ready for one. I'll have mine soon and will be sure to let you know my thoughts.

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