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Magic, all over again!


Gilliangirl

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Doug just brought Magic over with her new pickup. So much fun! I need to get a new cable now. Doug says I can even get a pedal! Is this how it starts? First it's an acoustic guitar, then the pickup, then the cables and pedal, then...... ???!!!

 

I played about 10 minutes and can already hear the potential.... let's see, I'll do that song on the J-185, and that one would sound great finger-picked on Magic, no wait, THAT one would sound great finger-picked on Magic, no better strum that for full effect, and so on.

 

Unfortunately I have a riding lesson in 45 minutes so I have to go! Ahhhhhh! But it'll all be here when I get back [biggrin] Elmo is awaiting new pins and a saddle too! And the J-185 is getting new pins with the tortoise shell inlay, thanks to Bob Colosi.

 

Last but especially not least, a big giant sincere thank you to Doug. :-)

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.... let's see' date=' I'll do that song on the J-185, and that one would sound great finger-picked on Magic, no wait, THAT one would sound great finger-picked on Magic, no better strum that for full effect, and so on.[/quote']

 

Arrrghhh! That was my trouble when I owned 3, 4, 5 or as many as 10 guitars at one time - which one to use!?!? So now I have but one and there's no question.

 

Congrats on the new hardware! I know you're happy to have the guitar back home!!

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Glad Magic made it back into your arms.

 

And I can relate. Last year, I needed to have the bridge reset on my SJ and it was out of my sight for about two weeks. I was thrilled when I got the call to come git it and more thrilled when I heard it with that bridge properly attached.

 

And no, pickups do not have to lead to other things. I have managed to avoid pedals, boxes and other whirlygigs even with electrics. But then again, I object to master volume knobs on amps. Just keep saying to yourself, I don't need no stinkin' pedals.

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Hey Karen! What kind of amp do you have? Do you have an acoustic amp to really hear what Magic sounds like amplified? I think it's great to have something to rejuvenate your music. You'll be playing more and more now!!!

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Just to be clear... [crying] I was just describing what is possible with her new iMix setup. The pickup is dual source, with the Element under the saddle and the iBeam under the bridge plate. The preamp is afixed to the inside back of the guitar and has a number of features. There is a light that shows when the guitar is plugged in to indicate the battery is good. There are four trim pots to contour the sound and there is a switch to put the preamp into either MONO or STEREO mode. Three of the pots are for the iBeam (Gain, Low Cut, Mid) and a single MID for the Element.

 

In MONO mode, the Mix thumbwheel pans back and forth between the Element and the iBeam. In STEREO mode, the preamp sends the Element and iBeam signals out individually to left and right channels on the stereo configuration of the output jack. So if you have a stereo Y jack (TRS plug to two TS jacks) you can plug into your mixer and go out stereo. This also allows you to put effects on one channel and just run clean on the other. The Mix wheel will control the level of the output of the iBeam and the Volume wheel controls the level of the Element.

 

I have two stereo guitars; Rick 360/12 and Rick 4003 Bass. These guitars do essentially the same thing, pumping the output of each individual pickup to a discrete stereo channel. Some players will send one pickup out to the amp and the other to the board or the PA. Other setups are with two separate amplifiers with one channel having effects pedals in line and the other channel clean.

 

I've found that a rotating speaker (leslie) type effect on one stereo channel with clean on the other going out to two separate amps creates an amazing swirling 3D stereo audio image.

 

DSCF2146.jpg

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How is that preamp device attached to the guitar's inside back? Does the installation have a big impact on the acoustic sound of the guitar when it's not plugged into an amp. Could you use one side of the stereo to run a separate monitor channel? Maybe EQ the monitor side "dry" (and run it a little louder) and then have any desired "effects" on the "main" amp side? I wonder if that might not help to make it easier to hear the monitors and at the same time control feedback?

 

Thanks,

Jack6849

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I just sold my tele today, thereby putting an end to the acquisition of amps, cables, pedals, etc. i'm back to just acoustic guitars. 3 or 4 have pups in them and i will plug them in now and then. mostly, i just like how they sound by themselves. chasing after all that other stuff just got to be too much. keep it simple. enjoy it karen but try not to get swept up in collecting electronic entrapment. glad magic is back home.

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How is that preamp device attached to the guitar's inside back? Does the installation have a big impact on the acoustic sound of the guitar when it's not plugged into an amp. Could you use one side of the stereo to run a separate monitor channel? Maybe EQ the monitor side "dry" (and run it a little louder) and then have any desired "effects" on the "main" amp side? I wonder if that might not help to make it easier to hear the monitors and at the same time control feedback?

 

Thanks' date='

Jack6849 [/quote']

 

The preamp is attached with velcro to the back of the guitar. I has a negligible affect on the sound of the guitar since the back reflects sound. It is the top that vibrates.

 

Yes, I expect that using the iMix as you suggest would work as a monitoring system. The only drawback is the iBeam tends to feedback so you'd have to be careful how you used it with a speaker pointing at you.

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Hey Karen! What kind of amp do you have? Do you have an acoustic amp to really hear what Magic sounds like amplified? I think it's great to have something to rejuvenate your music. You'll be playing more and more now!!!

It's just an old Harman Kardan stereo amp. I've been spending a lot of time in the music room these days and the J-185 was the only one I could plug in. Now I'll have two to choose from!

 

Doug had the pickup installed early last week but I knew the new saddles and pins would be here from Bob so I asked Doug to just hang on to Magic til they arrived, and he sanded the new saddle down for me.

 

I'm nursing a wound tonight because I took a hit to the mouth with a stirrup this afternoon at the horse barns (my fault), so I'm not playing tonight, but will be at it tomorrow after work. Darn work, it gets in the way of everything!

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It's just an old Harman Kardan stereo amp. I've been spending a lot of time in the music room these days and the J-185 was the only one I could plug in. Now I'll have two to choose from!

 

Doug had the pickup installed early last week but I knew the new saddles and pins would be here from Bob so I asked Doug to just hang on to Magic til they arrived' date=' and he sanded the new saddle down for me.

 

I'm nursing a wound tonight because I took a hit to the mouth with a stirrup this afternoon at the horse barns (my fault), so I'm not playing tonight, but will be at it tomorrow after work. Darn work, it gets in the way of everything![/quote']

 

Oooo sounds painful Karen! Aren't you supposed to put your FOOT in the stirrup? Just askin'. [biggrin]

 

The Collosi saddles come pretty well polished and smooth but with square ends and tall... as you'd expect. When there is a lot of material to remove (about an 1/8") I generally move to my belt/disc sander but the drive belt disintegrated on me so I had to do it all by hand. Frank Ford's method of holding a pencil against a ruler with the lead at just the amount you want to remove and then sliding the saddle against the mark works like a charm.

 

action03.jpg

 

action04.jpg

 

And the rule of thumb (actually trigonometry) to take 1/32" for every 1/64" you want the action lowered makes the calculating easy. I generally sand until I'm half way through the pencil line and then check in the guitar.

 

Once I have the action where I want it (I left it a little tall for Magic 7/64" bass and 6/64" treble), I then smeared a bunch of Meguiar's Scratch X on it and rubbed it down with a soft cloth. Bob says toothpaste works too! I repeated the process (avoiding the bottom of the saddle) over and over until it buffed up with an amazing mirror like shine. I love the way polished smooth edge bone look on nuts and saddles... very classy.

 

Frank Ford's "Lowering Action at the Saddle" article

 

New Collosi Saddle and Bone/Abalone Pins On My SWD

DSCF2184.jpg

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Doug just brought Magic over with her new pickup. So much fun! I need to get a new cable now. Doug says I can even get a pedal! Is this how it starts? First it's an acoustic guitar' date=' then the pickup, then the cables and pedal, then...... ???!!!

 

I played about 10 minutes and can already hear the potential.... let's see, I'll do that song on the J-185, and that one would sound great finger-picked on Magic, no wait, THAT one would sound great finger-picked on Magic, no better strum that for full effect, and so on.

 

Unfortunately I have a riding lesson in 45 minutes so I have to go! Ahhhhhh! But it'll all be here when I get back [biggrin Elmo is awaiting new pins and a saddle too! And the J-185 is getting new pins with the tortoise shell inlay, thanks to Bob Colosi.

 

Last but especially not least, a big giant sincere thank you to Doug. :-)

 

 

New Cable?

 

Don't forget a new box of picks..... and a handful of new lipsticks. [laugh]

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Doug just brought Magic over with her new pickup. So much fun!

 

Glad to see you so excited about getting your guitar all electrified!

 

It helps to get me excited as well because I'm also getting an iMix installed in my (rosewood) J-185. Its at the shop now and it should be ready towards the end of the week. I'll be looking forward to the videos of you playing all the big venues now!

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Glad to see you so excited about getting your guitar all electrified!

 

It helps to get me excited as well because I'm also getting an iMix installed in my (rosewood) J-185. Its at the shop now and it should be ready towards the end of the week. I'll be looking forward to the videos of you playing all the big venues now!

I'm sure you'll love it! As for me and the big venues.... yeah' date=' the Grand Ole Opry is just putting the last coat of paint on my dressing room walls![biggrin ;-)

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