Pickup problems please help!!

RomanS Posted 2010-04-07 8:09 AM (#374890) Subject: Pickup problems please help!! Joined: June 2009 Posts: 22 Location: Brisbane,Australia Hey everyone! I have just bought a Fishman Loudbox 100. I plugged my Adamas U681T into it, and the top E string saddle makes a crackling sound when you touch it or the string itself . I haven't really had an acoustic amp before but my other Ovations don't do it. Can anyone give advice?? FlySig Posted 2010-04-07 10:03 AM (#374891 - in reply to #374890) Subject: Re: Pickup problems please help!! Joined: October 2005 Posts: 4072 Location: Utah Sounds like a pickup problem. If only that one string is doing odd things it is probably the piezo element below that string. Each string has its own piezo element in the saddle. The pickup plugs into the preamp with a small 1/8" plug. As a positive diagnostic you could swap the saddle out with another Ovation and see if the problem follows the pickup. I'm guessing it will. A new saddle from the factory should fix it. Alternatively you could try the Shadow SH 066-9 which is a direct replacement. If you are the original owner of the Ute it should be covered under warranty by the factory. The price of a new saddle is about $86USD, and I see one on a UK site for about 75 euros. So if it isn't covered under warranty I would try a little surgery on the saddle to see if I could find a bad connection and solder it.