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December 2002
Posts: 29
| I have an older (circa 1970) Balladeer, no cutaway, deep bowl. I would like to electrify it. I tried the Fishman Rare Earth Humbucker but it sounds too "electric". I would like to get something more acoustic sounding. I am returning the soundhole pickup and was thinking of trying the Fishman Acoustic Matrix Natural I bridge pickup. I think this uses the same pickup type as the Taylors do. The Natural I is supposed to preserve the "lows" of the guitar. Since the Ovation is kind of bright to begin with, I didn't think the Natural II (which suppresses the lows) would be a good choice.
Am I way off? Any opinions would be appreciated. |
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December 2001
Posts: 7236
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I like the Dean Markley solution. |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | With the exception of the Sunrise pickup, the Rare Earth is one of the most "acoustic" sounding magnetics available. The trick with magnetic pickups on acoustics is to use nickel rather than bronze or phosphor-bronze strings. This produces a fatter tone from the wound strings, as the pickup sees the wrap wire as well as the core & stops the tone getting over-bright & electric-sounding. |
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December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | lace sensor makes a stellar soundhole pickup |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Paul T is right about the strings. They will change the acoustic sound of the guitar however, make it sound not so acoustic |
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May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Just out of curiousity, how does an acoustic guitar sound with electric guitar strings acoustically? Has anyone here ever tried a set of nickle steel of the same gauge as phosphor bronze on a good acoustic? Just curious.
Bailey |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | I use 13-56 gauge nickel strings on my Legend, which is set up for slide & has a Vanden Mimesis magnetic (this is the pickup which Fishman licsense as the Rare Earth) I'm not keen on any kind of piezo pickup for slide & the Vanden/Fishman sounded the closest to my old Sunrise, which I should never have sold. Acoustically the nickel strings have a "softer" sound on the wound strings, with a little less ring & sustain than bronze. It's quite a good sound but different to rugular acoustic strings. It's a compromise I'm prepered to live with for the improved electric performance.
Paul
[ December 12, 2002: Message edited by: Paul Templeman ] |
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December 2002
Posts: 29
| I can get my hands on a Sunrise (at least it was available a couple of weeks ago) from a local guitar shop ($189). Should I do that instead of a bridge pickup (Sweet Spot or Fishman). I was a little spooked by the fact that the Sunrise is recommended to be used with their $300 pre-amp. I am using my Boss pedal as a pre-amp for the Rare Earth and it gives me a lot of flexibility (volume, EQ, effects, etc.). Maybe I could use this as a pre-amp for the Sunrise too. Possible? |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | The Sunrise is expensive, I paid over £100 for mine used, but they sound great & are worth every penny. You just have to check out who uses them (Lindley, Richard Thompson, Emmylou, Cooder....) to get an idea of the quality. I used mine with a Boss AD5 & it sounded fantastic. Sunrise make a couple of pre-amps both of which make a significant difference, but the basic sound of the Sunrise without the pre is better than any other magnetic I've come accross & I've tried most. The closest I've found is the Single-coil Vanden/Rare Earth but this is an active pickup with an onboard pre, the Sunrise sounds better & is passive, also it has adjustable poles so you can tweak the string to string balance. Even though Sunrise say that their pickups are designed for bronze strings they sound better with nickle strings.
http://www.sunrisepickups.com/
[ December 12, 2002: Message edited by: Paul Templeman ] |
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May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Interesting stuff, makes me want to get an acoustic round hole and experiment. Of course, everything makes me want to get another instrument, GAS pains are hard to live with.
Bailey |
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December 2002
Posts: 6
Location: Amarillo, Texas, USA | Bailey: If you want to know what an accoustic sounds like with electric strings, give Merle Travis' "Folk Songs of the Hills" a listen. Travis used electric strings on that D-28 with the Bigsby neck that he used as his main accoustic. :) |
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May 2002
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | Thanks mudshark
That is interesting, I,ll see if I can find a copy, I've got Merle Travis on the "Circle" album, do you know if he was playing that type guitar on that album? |
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Aftermarket pickups