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Location: Yokohama, Japan | elginacres - 2015-05-02 4:59 AM
Amazingly one annoyance (on any brand pre-amp)..can be the volume pot or fader...gotta be quiet...pots tend to be quieter than faders....in the orchestra pits...you will always see in the rhythm section cans of Cramolin....Broadway producers hate crackles and pops.
I played my '94 1861 Standard Balladeer last night. It uses the old "thinline" pre-amp with gain, bass and treble sliders...no knobs, no tuners, super simple. I played through the main PA using a DOD 265 DI box. The signal was absolutely pure and clean. Certainly not as robust as an OP Pro, but it does capture the beautiful acoustic sound of my 1861 accurately without noise, hiss or scratches (had a scratch problem once, due to poor contact between the bridge saddle/piezo). Despite the age of the technology, I still find it quite impressive.
It must be a pain to have to use Cramolin in an orchestra pit! People recommend De-Oxit, which is something I can't get in Japan ($$$), so I use a similar product called Fernandez 999s, but maintenance on these pre-amps will lengthen their useful life in spades.
IMHO Os have been endowed with excellent pre-amps throughout their history. Do you (elginacres) think DW needs to develop a new pre-amp for their upcoming line of guitars? |
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Location: Colorado | Arumako...no...I don't think DW needs to reinvent the pre-amp...maybe a few better components if they are available today...maybe something with a tad more air...but some of the older stuff was great. To you Facebookers...Davey Johnstone was playing his Adamas in concert with Elton last week...no real frills on the set-up...I find some of the electronics on newer Taks (last 8 years or so) are great...and some have no volume - no tone control...just a 1/4 out. I find that set-up with perhaps an old Countryman DI works great....in most pro set -ups - you don't need a lot of gain....the system will take care of that...keep the sound good and predictable...sounds like your setup works for you...I am also assuming you are not driving a butt-load of pedals...where you might need a lot of signal...for me - volume - and a little tone control are fine... |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | The volume and tone coming out of a second generation Tak Cool Tube preamp is, in my experience, beyond anything Ovation put out. Combined with the Triax dynamic aux sound hole pickup and a Tak DI box, plus reverb and chorus pedals, the tonal possibilities cannot, in my mind, be beat. I prefer my custom SSB Adamas for most stage work, primarily because of the comfort factor, but the sound of the Tak setup is superior. As always, sound preference is subjective and YMMV. |
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Location: Colorado | Prof...I was wonderin' when your love for SSBs would show up in this thread...ditto on the cool tube prof....nice sound....certainly flexible too...probably the best air in any pickup and pre-amp today that I've heard....you see a lot on the road with the pros...so they must be pretty dependable too. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Mark, you and Brad should continue this conversation over a couple of beers while listening to my band Liquor Biscuit this Saturday night. Music from the 60's and 70's. |
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Location: Yokohama, Japan | elginacres - 2015-05-04 10:18 AM
...sounds like your setup works for you...I am also assuming you are not driving a butt-load of pedals...where you might need a lot of signal...for me - volume - and a little tone control are fine...
Yup...need to keep things simple. I try to stay away from pre-amps with lots of IC chips (except my iDea because of the mp3 recording function), and effects pedals as much as possible. They do tend to make things unpredictable. Sometimes I do use a stereo splitter, and go into an amp and mains at the same time. I've found that keeping the tone flat on my Os works best (most of the time).
boltonb - 2015-05-04 10:33 AM
The volume and tone coming out of a second generation Tak Cool Tube preamp is, in my experience, beyond anything Ovation put out. Combined with the Triax dynamic aux sound hole pickup and a Tak DI box, plus reverb and chorus pedals, the tonal possibilities cannot, in my mind, be beat.
That really is a killer combination. IMHO, right up there with the OP Pro using the XLR (a bit of O bias there perhaps). It's ashamed that the Tak unit is too big for an SSB. Maybe DW can design a similar tube pre-amp with a footprint that accommodates the Os bowl back, and a "triax-like" system that can be used on Elites and Legends alike?!
Now, I'm talking way out of my price range, but I bet that would get the attention of a few folks in the industry!
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Location: Jet City | I don't have a Takamine currently, but I have. I'm totally biased on O's, but I agree with the Professor on all counts (except, I only have wood topped SSBs)
I've had a couple of Cool tube setups with the triax and they blow away ANYTHING that's been in a roundback, ever, period.
Unfortunately for me, the Tak doesn't feel right when I'm playing one. I haven't tried the newer models, but I can't imagine they'd compare the the TAN 16 and various Nashville series ones I've had.
Ovations just feel right when I'm playing them. Everything is easier, especially with the SSB.
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Location: Flahdaw | It's the neck. If Taks had an Ovation neck, then they'd be super sweet. |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | High end Laravee's have impressive electronics too. |
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Location: SoCal | Elvin Perry-Takamine Guitars
Follow · March 29 ·
More on Takamine Necks. The neck profile of the Takamine is offset like an asymmetrical letter "C", so that it fits the natural shape of the hand. Improves playability by reducing the distance the wrist must move when the thumb is moved toward the first string, resulting in a comfortable feel and an exceptional playing experience. Can you feel it...It was good for me...lol
Edited by Tony Calman 2015-05-05 5:06 PM
 (TAK_NECK.jpg)
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Gurians had that asymetrical neck too. |
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Location: Jet City | CanterburyStrings - 2015-05-05 2:35 PM High end Laravee's have impressive electronics too. My LV10 sounds better plugged in than any of my O's too. It has a blending system with a transducer instead of the magnetic like the Tak. The neck is better than any other wood box I've had too. |
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Location: Jet City | Tony, that picture says it all. You've got an image of someone holding the neck in a blues style fashion. I do a hybrid combination of both, but for the most part, I hold the neck classical style. This could be one of the reasons for my discomfort.
"resulting in a comfortable feel and an exceptional playing experience"
YMMV |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I swear I've seen that pic above as a demo of how to NOT hold a neck, or referred to as the "death grip". I don't know from Classical Style or Blues Style, but I always figured if more than the pad of my thumb was touching the back of the neck, I was doing something wrong. I guess there is no "wrong" but It seems I have just realized that. Very interesting. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Damon, you still got a TriAxe? |
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Location: Flahdaw | cwk2 - 2015-05-06 7:31 PM
Damon, you still got a TriAxe?
Are you kidding? He still has a Big Wheel and a Slinky |
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Location: Jet City | Nope. It's on the SBG that my buddy in Denver now has.
I do still have a Tak DI floating around here. |
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Location: Colorado | Hmmm...Mike Markure ...you reading this....Cool Tube 2nd gen....with aux input blender...will Tak play with DW?
Stephen - I gotta work sat night - but how late you going.....northglenn right? |
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Location: Yokohama, Japan | damon67 - 2015-05-05 5:26 AM
I've had a couple of Cool tube setups with the triax and they blow away ANYTHING that's been in a roundback, ever, period.
WOW! That good? The consensus seems to be unanimous too. I've never owned one, but the one's I've heard were not nearly that good...must've been setup issues? A re-visit is definitely in order here...great thread! |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Mark, 9-1 but I wouldn't try to come out if it's late. We are starting to play more and more so it won't be long before you can see us almost any week. I don't think you have seen the current band. I love this one and the music we play.
Shameless plug: www.liquorbiscuitband.com |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Arumako, be sure you are listening to a Tak model with the CoolTube II. As of about six years ago, these appear only on the top shelf pro models. After Mark Markure left Takamine, I lost my contact so I don't know what is current. The TLD (Takamine Line Driver) is a very clean no-fuss preamp without any controls. It came on the EF-75 Brazilian and is excellent, but it doesn't have the power or variable tones that the CoolTube has. I need to get active again on Dave's Takamine website and get caught up. |
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Location: Colorado | T28...I give it 60-40 I may come |
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| Are any of you using garage band, pro tools or any other usb interface? |
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Location: Sydney, Australia | I use garage band a little bit (haven't done much with recording), but not using USB. Would be nice to have a USB outlet on the guitar. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I use Cubase 8.
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OFC 3
