New Pickup

quincy451
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Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:59 am

AndyT wrote:
I'll try adding it here. If its too big then I'll provide a download link for it.

It was too big. Try this:

http://brutalizer.com/gfx_xp.zip
Ok a couple of questions:
1) what hardware did you put in your guitar exactly? Is this a under saddle pickup or one that is glued maybe to to the underside of the sound board. I have been toying with doing this to a couple of my guitars. I like the built in preamp approach. But I have to admit that is only for the flashiness of having buttons actually on the guitar. There is a diffinate school of thought which says don't do that. For off the guitar you can always do more. And you are not locked into this large hole yoou made.

2) I assume you pay the $20 and the nasty adware nature of this software goes away. I installed it to check it out and ran it. It came up with invalid handle 3 times and I didn't think it was going to come up and it did. I think it was failing to find all the ads it wanted pop up. It did pop up a casino webpage. I simply closed that. The software looks pretty slick in terms of features.

3) Ok cabling for this is from the guitar to the mic input on the computer. Makes sense. Only audio input the computer has without additional hardware. From there you cable audio out I suspect to your AMP. You using a accuoustic or a electric amp? What kind of audio do you get if you simply left the normal computers speakers hooked up? Last really dumb question...if you have your AMP hooked up and you do something on the computer that makes sound. Do you get that sound from your AMP as well? I would think so.

I am interested in duplicating this. But I am using a classical guitar. So if the pickup is under the saddle, the pickup size is different because the saddle size is
different. I was actually looking at a blended mic/pezzo setup. But the ARTEC unit I was looking at would require the full onboard preamp and seems to be a bit hard to find.


AndyT
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Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:24 am

Quincy,
Good questions. Let me try and answer them.
quincy451 wrote:
Ok a couple of questions:
1) what hardware did you put in your guitar exactly? Is this a under saddle pickup or one that is glued maybe to to the underside of the sound board.
I used a very inexpensive piezo transducer that is stuck to the underside of the soundboard. This particular one uses double sided tape. I wondered if it would be enough to pick up everything. It really is very sensitive and picks up everything. I have to really correct my hand position now to eliminate string talk with this system. It was a very simple installation, but I strongly advise you go slow and take your time installing it as you have to increase the hole size when you remove the endpin. Use a hand drill if possible. Going slow will prevent any suprises which are common to this kind of delicate work.

2) I assume you pay the $20 and the nasty adware nature of this software goes away. I installed it to check it out and ran it. It came up with invalid handle 3 times and I didn't think it was going to come up and it did. I think it was failing to find all the ads it wanted pop up. It did pop up a casino webpage. I simply closed that. The software looks pretty slick in terms of features.
Yes, you pay the $20 and it becomes a normal piece of software. Other than that, you need a good firewall and that will prevent most of the ads.
It has some very nice features. I looked at about 20 different programs for this and this one is one of the top 3 or 4. For the money it is number 1 in my book.
3) Ok cabling for this is from the guitar to the mic input on the computer. Makes sense. Only audio input the computer has without additional hardware. From there you cable audio out I suspect to your AMP. You using a acoustic or a electric amp? What kind of audio do you get if you simply left the normal computers speakers hooked up? Last really dumb question...if you have your AMP hooked up and you do something on the computer that makes sound. Do you get that sound from your AMP as well? I would think so.
Correct on the cabling. From the guitar to the MIC input on the computer. From the speaker out (headphones) on the computer to the Amp. I use a small 10 watt acoustic amp with an overdrive switch so I can get some electric sounds from an acoustic. An ok feature, but nothing fancy. When I go through the computer speakers, I get computer speaker sound. You know your system better then me. If you have a really sweet sound system running then use it. Otherwise, use the amp.
Any sound that the computer makes comes out the amp. This is pretty straight forward to me and acceptable. If I really wanted to, I could install a switch to the amp or just unplug it while I work on the computer.
I am interested in duplicating this. But I am using a classical guitar. So if the pickup is under the saddle, the pickup size is different because the saddle size is different. I was actually looking at a blended mic/pezzo setup. But the ARTEC unit I was looking at would require the full onboard preamp and seems to be a bit hard to find.
I did not want to punch a hole in my guitar to install some electronics so that is why I went this direction. Very minimal everything but I get great sound from it. Unless you know where to look you can not see any additional holes or marks on the guitar.

I do have a couple of minor regrets on doing this. When we did it, we did not lock the guitar to the table and pad under it enough and I now have some ugly marks on the back. I suspect most of it can be buffed out, but still, it could have been avoided. It doesn't bother me too much because the guitar had a nice selection of beauty marks on it when I got it. I just really hate to add to its collection.

Overall, I am very pleased with the results and I would do it again, but taking a few extra precautions to prevent damage.


quincy451
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Tue Nov 03, 2009 1:35 am

Thanks for the detailed reply. Yea probably go with the acoustic amp. My computer speakers are $10 walmart specials. Junk...

Yea for the drilling I would most likely go with a reamer bit set to bring the hole up to size without any surprises. Yea I have one guitar which has a end pin and one which does not which presents another challenge on that one. On that I figure to mark my spot well and go with the smallest bit I have to start the hole so I have something to expand from.

Final question: Did you have to solder any wires to get this to work? I know with some kits you do and with some they make a specific point that you don't. If you did it was most likely one or two wires. I could most likely take something like that to a computer tech and say ok...don't ask...just this wire to this point and this wire to that point. Ok done....good.


AndyT
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Tue Nov 03, 2009 3:06 am

No soldering. Once I had the hole made I just mounted the endpin jack and the transducer was pre-wired. I just peeled the backing off the sticky tape and stuck it to the underside.

There was some discussion of where to stick the pickup. The instructions said that if I wanted more bass, then put it further back from the bridge and higher up in the body.
For a higher end response place it more towards the floor and forward of the bridge. I put mine right smack in the middle back about 2 inches behind the bridge. I wanted the full range of sound to be picked up. It works really well.


quincy451
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Tue Nov 03, 2009 3:02 pm

String talk: got a suggestion/question: Are you using a coated string? Might want to try a elixor ployweb coated string. I am using them on my steel string. Me I have issues
with them and the guitar because I went with extra lights and that is too light for
the guitar in question. But otherwise I like them.

Definitely cancel that recommendation if you want a really bright sound. They do make the sound darker.


dennisg
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Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:41 pm

A little-known but startling fact about "Spirit in the Sky": Norman Greenbaum originally wrote it to be played on the accordion. Can you imagine that? Somewhere along the line, his producer must have said, "Uh, Norman ... let's rethink that one."

- Dennis (pondering his squeezebox)


BigBear
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Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:57 pm

haoli25 wrote:
Can "Spirit In The Sky" be far away now? :laugh: I'm looking forward to that video. You are going to have a lot of fun with that setup! Congratulations.

Bill
Where's Norman Greenbaum when you need him?!! BTW- Old Norman just lives right up the road from Neil in Petaluma!! Maybe they could jam together?! :silly:


AndyT
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 2:13 am

Quincy,
My guitar has huge amounts of Bass already so I use ultra light strings. I have it setup now for 9s. I was using 10s but it still did not have the high end I wanted. Now it does. And its volume and projection is stellar so no worries there either.


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