acoustic preamp

#1 · October 12, 2009, 9:44 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on October 12, 2009, 9:44 pm
Posted by: srolfe <srolfe@...>
Two opposing viewpoints on this:

1. Guitars are essentially performance art objects. They only make sense, if they are used. Regularly. To not make a needed modification in order to keep it working, makes no sense.

2. Old, limited-production guitars are irreplaceable. To modify them in any way, is to deprive future generations of an essential piece of music history.

My thoughts?

1. The Ecoustic wasn't a huge seller, but it was factory made, and they cranked out quite a few. History schmistory.

2. The better Peavey guitars in general, and the Ecoustic in particular, are serviceable pro-quality instruments, but they're not iconic rock instruments in the way the instruments that Jimi, SRV, Clapton et al played. Their historic/collector value is pretty limited.

3. Still, why carve up your instrument, when there's a better,
less intrusive option? As a repairman, I hate onboard, side-mount preamps. The best of them still sound like heck in comparison to the alternative- a good active pickup inside the guitar, and a good external preamp/DI.

So my recommendation would be to do what I've done for a bunch of my friends- leave the stock preamp where it is, and bypass it. Coil the unused stock wiring up, and tape it to the back of the preamp. Put a conventional acoustic guitar pickup in the guitar, and wire it out to a jack. Use the preamp of your choice, and enjoy a whole new level of tone production from your instrument.

My gear recommendations?

For live work on loud stages, I like the Baggs Element undersaddle pickup. Punchy, forward sound, but not brittle like a Fishman Matrix. Installs easily, with a tiny pinhole under saddle being the only modification to the guitar. Nice little wafer volume control that just barely peeks out under the edge of the
soundhole, and sticks to the inside of the top with double faced tape. Battery is held in a little bag with a velcro closure, that sticks anywhere you'd like inside the body. The electronics are in the included endpin jack.

For quieter stages and a warmer, "studio mic" presentation with less bite, I like pickups that mount inside the body, under the bridge plate, a la Baggs I-Beam or K&K Pure Western. They don't cut through as well as an undersaddle pickup for strumming, but they sound very pretty for intricate, fingerstyle work. Feedback resistance is still way better than an internal mic.

External preamps come down to taste, and what you need in terms of features. They have room for bigger, better power supply components, and better
EQ circuits than an onboard pre. The really sweet part is that since they include a built-in DI, you can stop using the nasty-sounding mid-priced passive DI's that most churches buy.

And perhaps best of all, you can try them, swap them, and
change your mind at a later date, all without ever drilling a hole in your
guitar.

The newer modelling preamps like the D-Tar or Fishman Aura won't have custom settings to suit the Ecoustic, so I would go with a regular model. Pendulum rackmount preamps are the most expensive and probably the nicest, but lots of pros are perfectly happy with lesser models like the K&K or the Baggs Para DI.

--- On Mon, 10/12/09, klsluder <klsluder@hpcisp.com> wrote:

From: klsluder <klsluder@hpcisp.com>
Subject: [ChristianGuitar] acoustic preamp
To: christianguitar@welovegod.org
Received: Monday, October 12, 2009, 9:56 PM

I have a Peavey Ecoustic A/E guitar not to be confused with the ecoustic amp. It is a very thin body acoustic electric manufactured around 1991. Second nicest guitar I have ever owned. Last year I about this time I mentioned I was losing
volume. It is pretty much gone now. Our one and only local guitar shop looked at it and couldn't figure out what was wrong. I either need to fix it or get a bigger amp (kidding about the amp).

What are the odds that the preamp can be replaced without cutting more holes? How would I go about finding out what fits in the existing opening? Local shop while nice guys are not much help with this. There is no name on the preamp - at least not externally. Later this week I might pull it out and see if there is anything stamped on the back of the preamp or inside of it.

Also curious of your thoughts on replacing original parts on a collector instrument. OK it isn't a '57 Strat but it is pretty nice. Well except is doesn't work.

Peace
Kevin

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Posted by: srolfe <srolfe@...>

Two opposing viewpoints on this:

1. Guitars are essentially performance art objects. They only make sense, if they are used. Regularly. To not make a needed modification in order to keep it working, makes no sense.

2. Old, limited-production guitars are irreplaceable. To modify them in any way, is to deprive future generations of an essential piece of music history.

My thoughts?

1. The Ecoustic wasn't a huge seller, but it was factory made, and they cranked out quite a few. History schmistory.

2. The better Peavey guitars in general, and the Ecoustic in particular, are serviceable pro-quality instruments, but they're not iconic rock instruments in the way the instruments that Jimi, SRV, Clapton et al played. Their historic/collector value is pretty limited.

3. Still, why carve up your instrument, when there's a better,
less intrusive option? As a repairman, I hate onboard, side-mount preamps. The best of them still sound like heck in comparison to the alternative- a good active pickup inside the guitar, and a good external preamp/DI.

So my recommendation would be to do what I've done for a bunch of my friends- leave the stock preamp where it is, and bypass it. Coil the unused stock wiring up, and tape it to the back of the preamp. Put a conventional acoustic guitar pickup in the guitar, and wire it out to a jack. Use the preamp of your choice, and enjoy a whole new level of tone production from your instrument.

My gear recommendations?

For live work on loud stages, I like the Baggs Element undersaddle pickup. Punchy, forward sound, but not brittle like a Fishman Matrix. Installs easily, with a tiny pinhole under saddle being the only modification to the guitar. Nice little wafer volume control that just barely peeks out under the edge of the
soundhole, and sticks to the inside of the top with double faced tape. Battery is held in a little bag with a velcro closure, that sticks anywhere you'd like inside the body. The electronics are in the included endpin jack.

For quieter stages and a warmer, "studio mic" presentation with less bite, I like pickups that mount inside the body, under the bridge plate, a la Baggs I-Beam or K&K Pure Western. They don't cut through as well as an undersaddle pickup for strumming, but they sound very pretty for intricate, fingerstyle work. Feedback resistance is still way better than an internal mic.

External preamps come down to taste, and what you need in terms of features. They have room for bigger, better power supply components, and better
EQ circuits than an onboard pre. The really sweet part is that since they include a built-in DI, you can stop using the nasty-sounding mid-priced passive DI's that most churches buy.

And perhaps best of all, you can try them, swap them, and
change your mind at a later date, all without ever drilling a hole in your
guitar.

The newer modelling preamps like the D-Tar or Fishman Aura won't have custom settings to suit the Ecoustic, so I would go with a regular model. Pendulum rackmount preamps are the most expensive and probably the nicest, but lots of pros are perfectly happy with lesser models like the K&K or the Baggs Para DI.

--- On Mon, 10/12/09, klsluder <klsluder@hpcisp.com> wrote:

From: klsluder <klsluder@hpcisp.com>
Subject: [ChristianGuitar] acoustic preamp
To: christianguitar@welovegod.org
Received: Monday, October 12, 2009, 9:56 PM

I have a Peavey Ecoustic A/E guitar not to be confused with the ecoustic amp. It is a very thin body acoustic electric manufactured around 1991. Second nicest guitar I have ever owned. Last year I about this time I mentioned I was losing
volume. It is pretty much gone now. Our one and only local guitar shop looked at it and couldn't figure out what was wrong. I either need to fix it or get a bigger amp (kidding about the amp).

What are the odds that the preamp can be replaced without cutting more holes? How would I go about finding out what fits in the existing opening? Local shop while nice guys are not much help with this. There is no name on the preamp - at least not externally. Later this week I might pull it out and see if there is anything stamped on the back of the preamp or inside of it.

Also curious of your thoughts on replacing original parts on a collector instrument. OK it isn't a '57 Strat but it is pretty nice. Well except is doesn't work.

Peace
Kevin

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href="/mc/compose?to=christianguitar-unsubscribe@welovegod.org">christianguitar-unsubscribe@welovegod.org



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