Anyone got/experienced these soundhole pickups?

ICBM

shufflebeat said:

I'd qualify this point to some extent. Manufacturers are very keen to claim that "acoustic" strings, for most folks that means bronze and phosphor bronze, will work but as ICBM points out the pickup reacts only to the central steel core of these strings which makes for a very weedy sound, particularly in my experience on strings 3 & 6. This would be a relatively small issue except strings 1&2 are all steel and sing out very loudly. On the rare occasion of having a plain steel 3rd string on acoustic this would be even more of an issue.

If this is a problem for you then realistically there is no option other than all steel "electric" strings or some equivalent like nickel-bronze (NB) which work quite well.

I’ve found this too, with some soundhole pickups - although not all. The Duncan Woody was particularly bad, even the adjustable version with the G string polepiece raised so high it was a problem for snagging my fingernails and the B one as far down as it would go. The Fishman Rare Earth seems fine though, despite being non-adjustable.

There are other halfway-house strings which seem to help as well - DR Zebras are a dual-wound bronze and steel string, and Monels are largely nickel so more ferromagnetic than bronze.

Lestratcaster

Have pulled the trigger on the Schertler AG6 + the S-mic. Have to have it shipped straight from them in Switzerland but express/priority service incl handling fees is only 2-4 days so I should have it early next week.

Hope I made a good choice!

Supportact

Hope it works out for you! Interested to find out how you get on.

Lestratcaster

Thanks Supportact for mentioning the company, never heard of them before but glad I do now! Will report back with the findings once I get it.

Lestratcaster

To my surprise the pickup was shipped yesterday FedEx priority and it duly arrived at 9.10am this morning!

However, the experience hasn't been what I hoped for. Upon setting it up there was intermittent cutting out and washy noises when amplified - even when not playing there was humming and buzzing. I suspected it may have been a faulty battery so went out to get a brand new 3v C2032 battery (a 2 pack in fact). Swapped it out but this time I got no sound at all. When I reached inside to press the battery with my thumb it started buzzing and some signal was being picked up by the mixer I was using but no actual sound. I swapped cables and ran it into different hardware but still no sound.

Schertler have said they're going to send a tested new one out on Monday. I'm very disappointed on my first experience but hoping this just a faulty pickup.

Now excuse whilst I sit in the corner and cry.

Lestratcaster

Ok new replacement pickup was delivered yesterday, the guys from Schertler were very quick to process it! 

To my relief this one works fine, and it’s a pretty good pickup sound. Certainly nicer than a Piezo or normal onboard pickup in cheaper guitars. The external plug in mic is amazing though, gives it extra air and natural warmth. The blended sound is really nice but for online lessons I will use 100% mic as it’s so good for strummed chords which is what I usually teach 95% of the time. As I use in-ears I don’t have to worry about feedback.

I had a quick go playing it out monitors and I found I can blend in a little bit of mic (about 25% actually) and it sounds great. Will play around more later but I’m really liking how it sounds with my D28.

Supportact

Glad it seems to have worked out for you (in the end!). I've also found that when using it with speakers you don't need to blend in a huge amount of the mic for it to make a difference. Maybe 15-25% is enough.

Lestratcaster

Yes it was worth the wait and slight wobble. I actually used pretty much the whole mic when recording with audio playback from speakers, maybe cos I turned the pickup volume down to 20% meaning the overall volume was lowered. No feedback at all. And its a very very nice natural acoustic sound. Of course, it was during a lesson so little fiddling time was available but I will be messing about with it a bit more.

Supportact

That's good, I would have felt bad if it didn't work, having recommended it!  I think I'm right in saying the 'volume' dial is overall output volume including the mic, rather than the 'mic' and 'volume' controls affecting the mic and magnetic pickup separately. If that makes sense.

Lestratcaster

Yeah maybe I wasn't using the controls properly, as in the manual it says you can't use pure mic without any pickup, and if you do turn the pickup down to zero there's no sound at all. Perhaps if I whacked up the pickup volume over 50% it would have started feeding back. 

By the way how do you store your guitar when not using the pickup? I.e do you take it off the soundhole or leave it on there if you use a case? Mine goes into a hardcase when not being played and I unplug the 3.5mm jack from the pickup to avoid it scratching the body of the guitar if it moves around in the case. I think if you unplug the endpin side (where the guitar cable goes) this will switch the pickup off. But I remove it the other side just to be sure. Just wary of repeated plugging in and unplugging may wear out the jack.

Supportact

Someone may correct me on this but from what I recall the mic is really there to pick up the higher frequencies (so the 'air' and 'space'), where the bass frequencies are always dealt with by the magnetic pickup (where a mic could sound boomy or feed back). So, I usually set the overall volume to a useful level for the PA and leave it there, and then blend in the mic to taste (backing it off if starts to feedback).

Supportact

As for storing the guitar in a case, I leave the pickup in the guitar and all cables connected. The battery should disengage when you remove the guitar lead from the guitar, so you shouldn't need to undo any of the wires inside (I've always left them connected and the battery lasts ages). You can remove it for storage as it's not too difficult but I always think it's probably more wear and tear to keep removing something than just leaving it where it is. Obviously assuming the case is the right size.

Lestratcaster

Hmm yeah seeing as I'm not attaching the endpin jack permanently (as I want it move it between guitars) if I left the 3.5mm cable plugged in it'd be dangling out the soundhole and potentially scratching the finish in the case. Either that or I actually remove the pickup when not using it...

Supportact

Ah I see! I guess I'd probably unplug it from the pickup then in case it scratches the guitar. I've always had mine connected to the endpin so not really experienced that issue.

Lestratcaster

Yeah I only need to use it a couple of times a week so I just gotta be careful.

I may get a secondary (different brand) one as a backup or to use in another guitar although I can move this between guitars if I need to.

Supportact

I think my only worry would be, if you're repeatedly removing and attaching something from the soundhole, over time it could cause wear to the finish around that area. Which is obviously not such a problem if it stays put. Depends though I suppose, some people are more tolerant of wear on a guitar than others.

Lestratcaster

Hmm yeah hence why maybe I should get a 2nd/backup pickup. Maybe even the same one in another guitar as I like it enough perhaps to install the endpin jack permanently once I've paid it off next year.

I still have my nice AKG P170 condenser as well in case of emergencies, so I got good flexibility and options.

Lestratcaster

Just to let everyone know the pickup has developed another fault with an electrical component - the same issue I had with the first one they sent me. Emailed them and they've said after testing they've discovered a faulty component in the latest line of production batches, and I happened to get one of them! They have removed these from retail sale though and once the new line comes out I will be getting a replacement.

I did think getting 2 dodgy pickups in a row was pure bad luck but relieved to know its not!

I really enjoy using the pickup as well, the S-Mic is what sells it to me. Natural, warm and like an unplugged acoustic guitar!!

I might consider getting a Mag Mic though as a backup. I had to use my condenser mic as emergency for the past week.

Mellish

Isn't this in the wrong section my dear? Shouldn't it be in "Guitar"?  

Mellish

Didn't see "Soundhole" sorry. I'm afraid I can't help on pickups but I'm sure some will