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Blindboygrunt fits second second pickup all by hisself


blindboygrunt

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Cheers. I know BK

Stirring the pot is a good thing

I’m not delighted but I’ve never heard a pickup that’s delightful ... apart from some of your examples from your sound laboratory.

I’m still hoping for more layman’s terms in ‘trying to get the best’ out of the pickup ... I’m no cyborg so I’ve no idea what a 900hz peak would sound like.

Not being rude jinder old bean. I appreciate your input a lot on the forum

But I’m just a bloke with a guitar , trying to learn all the time but a lot is over my head !

I wasn’t lost in any way searching or buying this pickup

Have had fishman matrix infinity , K&k , factory fitted gibson , takamine whatever that was

They’re all ‘pickups’

K&k to me was the ‘smoothest’ but it still sounded like a pickup

This time I decided I’d try a soundhole. M1a is widely regarded as in the top 5 if not too 3 pickups available .

I’ve still got the little acoustic play thingy so I’ll run it through that and see if there’s a change ...

 

It’s all good

 

 

If you look at an old style graphic eq on a stereo, remember those? - all the knobs are at the centre and if you move them down, you are cutting or up, adding. There are a couple of areas in the eq scale that are known to be problematic for acoustic guitars - a couple are deep and a couple are real low....usually that low effer will cause that endless rumbling feedback that won’t stop! But if you want a smooth ‘acoustic’ sound, the 900hz Jinder talks about can give it a real twoiky and unpleasant ring that you just can’t get rid of on general amp settings. Hence getting a decent specialised ‘acoustic guitar eq’ like sme Baggs and Fishman boxes. A quick tweak and the nasties are gone forever and forgotten and you get on with the playing! ( probably your next buy.....)

 

Now, mag pickups - I have the Fishman Rare Earth Blend with the ‘blend part being my fave - a liitle condenser mic with a control to add mic or remove it from the magnetic pickup sound. I love it but hardly have any mag on - all mic just about and a few turns of mag for bottom end that is lackin in the mic only sound. They have a newer version out now with a shorter mic boom - my can get caught on the braces when I install it it certain guitars....hopefully the shoter one will fix that PITA....

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Yeah I get the graphic equaliser comparison

I kinda know what 900hz is , as in it’s a sound frequency and how feedback works and all that , from a ‘ if that happens you turn this nob’

But where do I start cutting out 900hz from what I’m hearing when I play ?

 

WITHOUT buying a gadget

 

The fishman pole just has low medium and high adjustments. Simplified graphic equaliser ..

And is there anything I can do with the poles on the pickup ..:

 

Etc etc

 

 

There’s always a need to adjust playing style too .

 

Always gotta remember to easy on that old B string with any pickup

 

 

Appreciate the help peoples

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Yeah I get the graphic equaliser comparison

I kinda know what 900hz is , as in it’s a sound frequency and how feedback works and all that , from a ‘ if that happens you turn this nob’

But where do I start cutting out 900hz from what I’m hearing when I play ?

 

WITHOUT buying a gadget

 

The fishman pole just has low medium and high adjustments. Simplified graphic equaliser ..

And is there anything I can do with the poles on the pickup ..:

 

Etc etc

 

 

There’s always a need to adjust playing style too .

 

Always gotta remember to easy on that old B string with any pickup

 

 

Appreciate the help peoples

 

 

 

See, the Maton pickup control has most of what you want and will most suredly have to buy...eq adjustment. You probably should have bought a Maton....kidding...

 

I have no idea with the pole adjustment of the Baggs pickup, but with the 50s DeArmond soundhole pickup, first thing you do is lower the b and e string or even take them off in a desperate attempt to cut those strings down, and their next model didn’t even have a pole for the b string! But yours could be lowered to try it.

 

On my Fishman Blackstack imitation DeArmond pickup, I DID lower them and I couldn’t really tell any difference! And it is still in its little black box awaiting....what?

 

 

BluesKing777.

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The B pole is wound so low from the factory that it looks like it’s missing ...

They give you a spare in the box. ... I can’t tell if it’s a spare longer one in case the twoink noise is what you’re looking for or a shorter one ...

 

I’m still adjusting to this pickup

 

 

You could plug in to your amp, experiment a bit, probably a lost cause but you never know....playing solo is less drastic than with other musos......try the amp with the treble and middle turned off, cut the bass, then add 3 sprinkles of treble. Leave the middle right off and adjust the bass and treble up and down....

 

Not much but it free!

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Grunt,

I really lowered the mids on my D15s M80. Trial and error.

A great guy to read about who played with this issue is Eric Nole on AGF. This is one of his postings:

 

 

 

 

icon1.gifYo OP,

 

Full-time musician here & happy M80 user in a Martin D18...the following has been my experience in tweakin' this pup with nice results:

 

1.) non-coated PB's like Martin M540 or John Pearse 600L work well with M80...choose one with thicker core rather then thin core strings.

 

2.) adjusting pole pieces makes a huge difference.

 

3.) slide pickup starting at closest to fretboard & slowly move back towards bridge until 5th fret harmonics come in.

 

4.) adjust mids on amp/or out board eg if available to dial in better tone...for a quick very usable and simple fix, the Boss AD-2 has a freq. adj to dial in the sweet spot of the M80. It also has the ability to add a touch of compression and resonance too.

 

5.) if amp has phase switch, try which position sounds better to you; beside busting feedback it does change the tone despite what some may say otherwise.

 

* I don't pad my mounts because I like the percussive nature of this pickup, tho others may not and thus add a bit of felt or cork to reduce it.

 

* I also use a Fishman Loudbox Performer which has some nice eq to help dial in the M80 via mid knob, anti-feedback/freq. knob and phase switch.

 

Best wishes!

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Nice job troubleshooting, but ain't no one, including myself gonna drill in to my D-18 or D-28. I cried a little reading that someone drilled a bigger hole into a Martin where the Strap Button is.

 

Where’s the harm in that ?

 

They had to drill a big massive hole in the front of them all to let the sound out !!

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This posting string, to me, seems to be a good example of acoustic guitar players forgetting that playing an acoustic guitar is about “playing” an acoustic guitar and not about obsessing about pickups. I’ve seen other guitar players similarly go off the deep end obsessing about recording equipment and forgetting that playing a guitar is about playing a guitar not recording. But, hey, to each their own. Me, I’ll stick to focusing on playing the instrument not on pickups. The tone is really in the player anyway not the pickup.

 

Just food for thought...

 

QM aka Jazzman Jeff

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This posting string, to me, seems to be a good example of acoustic guitar players forgetting that playing an acoustic guitar is about “playing” an acoustic guitar and not about obsessing about pickups. I’ve seen other guitar players similarly go off the deep end obsessing about recording equipment and forgetting that playing a guitar is about playing a guitar not recording. But, hey, to each their own. Me, I’ll stick to focusing on playing the instrument not on pickups. The tone is really in the player anyway not the pickup.

 

Just food for thought...

 

QM aka Jazzman Jeff

 

Yes you have a point

No one in front of jt in that video was too worried about pickup noise were they ?

Because he was being entertaining !!

 

But , it’s nice to get the nicest sound from your set up

 

All a balance

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This posting string, to me, seems to be a good example of acoustic guitar players forgetting that playing an acoustic guitar is about “playing” an acoustic guitar and not about obsessing about pickups. I’ve seen other guitar players similarly go off the deep end obsessing about recording equipment and forgetting that playing a guitar is about playing a guitar not recording. But, hey, to each their own. Me, I’ll stick to focusing on playing the instrument not on pickups. The tone is really in the player anyway not the pickup.

 

Just food for thought...

 

QM aka Jazzman Jeff

I prefer to play without a pickup or microphone, like a classical guitarist in a symphony hall, but that's just not feasible in a noisy bar. Playing into a microphone isn't feasible in a noisy bar, either. You'll only be heard if you use a pickup. This is pretty much also the case for open air festivals. So, for those of us who need to use pickups in these situations, it seems silly not to share among ourselves our thoughts about the best pickups. To the extent that "tone is really in the player anyway not the pickup," that tone will go unheard without a pickup.

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True. But, any reasonably good pickup that amplifies a player’s sound will do the job of s player can play well. If folks like a performer’s playing and music, they like the player’s playing and music. They don’t like their pickup. Again, as long as the pickup reasonably projects out what and how they are playing. The question really is, does a particular pickup project out the sounds being played reasonably okay without changing it too much or negatively impacting it. A good pickup doesn’t make or add to the player, it just doesn’t subtract.

 

Just more food for thought...

 

QM aka Jazzman Jeff

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True. But, any reasonably good pickup that amplifies a player’s sound will do the job of s player can play well. If folks like a performer’s playing and music, they like the player’s playing and music. They don’t like their pickup. Again, as long as the pickup reasonably projects out what and how they are playing. The question really is, does a particular pickup project out the sounds being played reasonably okay without changing it too much or negatively impacting it. A good pickup doesn’t make or add to the player, it just doesn’t subtract.

 

Just more food for thought...

 

QM aka Jazzman Jeff

Well, only food for thought for someone on a serious thinking diet. :)

 

Come on, we who play out know that various pickups color the sound in dramatic ways. For a Fretboard Journal cover story a few years back, I went on the road with Jackson Browne for 5 or 6 weeks. Yes, I got to play through his collection. We also talked in depth about how different pickups produce a different sound from the same guitar.

 

FJ22.jpg

 

I've got gigs this summer in Berlin, Prague, London, and Dublin. I'll be plugging in for some and not for others (my solo gig in London's Walthamstow Assembly Hall). I care about my sound. As a result, I have to care about my pickup.

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I agree. We have to care! But, do we need to obsess? No. Plus, a lot of how the sound projects is also tied to the sound system being used. I played 105 music gigs this past year. I care about making sure my guitar and sound system acccurately projects the sound I am producing. But, that is a factor of both a pickup and a sound system, but what really matters is how I am playing. Better to first obsess about disciplining one self to play well. Many pickups and sound systems can project that out reasonably well, although we all might have preferences.

 

QM aka Jazznan Jeff

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Well, each to their own...if you want to sound plunky, fine by me, but I try to improve my playing and sound.

 

Some of the acoustic pickups available, I would rather play a Strat than hear me like that...

 

Actually, I would take my 52 Gibson ES125 with the P90! Fat 50s neck, so really fingerpickable..for me, anyway and a great sound...and can't get any easier to setup! And loud before feeding back...

 

 

b9Mhr39.jpg

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Well, each to their own...if you want to sound plunky, fine by me, but I try to improve my playing and sound.

 

Some of the acoustic pickups available, I would rather play a Strat than hear me like that...

 

Actually, I would take my 52 Gibson ES125 with the P90! Fat 50s neck, so really fingerpickable..for me, anyway and a great sound...and can't get any easier to setup! And loud before feeding back...

 

 

b9Mhr39.jpg

 

 

BluesKing777.

 

Not sure where you would get that I would want to sound plunky. It’s noted that that is kind of an uncalled for out of left field assumption on your part, but so it goes with this thread, I guess. BTW, I can appreciate the sound of your 1952 Gibson 125. I have a thin-line 1965 Gibson 125TC, also with a P90 in my collection. Mine has the 60s thin neck on it. Agree, can’t get any easier to setup.

 

QM aka Jazzman Jeff

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All pickups are a compromise, but the M1A is a very good unit. To drop the prominence of that 900hz peak, raise each polepiece half a turn to start with and tweak from there. The 900hz comes from the body sensor part of the pickup, therefore raising the polepieces prioritises the magnetic element of the pickup which smooths out the 900hz spike...worth a tweak!

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The weird thing is, I had a Martin Thinline undersaddle pickup put in 2 guitars a while back - my Martin 000-17 and my Martin HD28V - I ordered Fishman undersaddles but they had run out and I had used a Thinline once before and thought it had way more level than the Fishman, all passive pickups, and they do! (even though I think they are made by Fishman...)

And through the Aura box - wow! The Spectrum has all these controls and I like the sound of the Thinlines with image but the eq flat, dead flat. Sounds great and no carving 900 hz or 80 hz etc off..... i don’t get to use the eq knobs, don’t need to!

I think people could get a Thinline put in and buy the cheapest Aura pedal for less than the Baggs M1A, well here in my country you could.

 

The HD28V comes up a real treat - the advert says something like : ‘The sound of your guitar mic’d in a top recording studio’...Well, run through a nice PA live and it is just that.....

 

With no plunkiness.....

 

 

BluesKing777.

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