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Post by PistolPete on Aug 29, 2023 16:08:04 GMT
... apart from the Fishman Rare Earth Blend- anyone use this one? I could in theory use this in any guitar then. I have a Rare Earth Blend in my 12 string. It sounds pretty decent, although I think still more "electric" than the Baggs Anthem SL I have in my Blueridge. I think if you like the sound other people have got from it you'll probably get on with it fine. For me sound hole pickups (even cheap ones) can sound pretty great, but they do have their own sound. The mic on the Fishman hides that to some extent, but there's still a bit of it going on and it really comes down to whether you prefer a bit of 'magnetic-soundhole', or a bit of 'piezo' mixed in with the tone of your acoustic when you plug it in.
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Post by forestdweller on Aug 31, 2023 7:26:43 GMT
I did a bit more digging about whether VAT should be charged on postage and came across an article that said that customers should not be charged VAT for Royal Mail services. I don't know if anyone on here, maybe scorpiodog could confirm? I am still annoyed that the distributor of Orchid stuff, based down in Exeter, wanted to charge me £12 for 2nd class Royal Mail delivery on a DI box, and charge me VAT on that delivery cost. Robbie
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Aug 31, 2023 9:00:17 GMT
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Post by scorpiodog on Aug 31, 2023 9:34:19 GMT
I don't know if anyone on here, maybe scorpiodog could confirm? Robbie Keith sent you the page I would have done. As with so many things, it all depends. I can tell you that these VAT changes are supposed to have been done in order not to give Royal Mail a competitive advantage over other couriers. Yeah, right. Insert your own interpretation. BUt Orchid do appear to be correct to charge VAT on the delivery cost.
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Post by forestdweller on Aug 31, 2023 10:35:10 GMT
Thanks Keith, I am not sure I understand it anymore than I did before!
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Post by forestdweller on Aug 31, 2023 10:36:35 GMT
I don't know if anyone on here, maybe scorpiodog could confirm? Robbie Keith sent you the page I would have done. As with so many things, it all depends. I can tell you that these VAT changes are supposed to have been done in order not to give Royal Mail a competitive advantage over other couriers. Yeah, right. Insert your own interpretation. BUt Orchid do appear to be correct to charge VAT on the delivery cost. Ah, just saw your post Paul. Oh well. I still think charging £12 for 2nd class Royal Mail is taking the proverbial Robbie
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Wild Violet
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Post by Wild Violet on Sept 2, 2023 17:10:15 GMT
Not sure if you've ordered the Orchid box forestdweller but I may be selling my Red Eye if you're at all interested. I should know one way or the other later in the week...
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Post by forestdweller on Sept 3, 2023 8:02:38 GMT
Not sure if you've ordered the Orchid box forestdweller but I may be selling my Red Eye if you're at all interested. I should know one way or the other later in the week... Thanks Wild Violet I will pm you I've had no contact from Orchid since asking them to justify the £12 (£16 plus VAT) 2nd class mail postage cost, so I am going to give up on them Robbie
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Post by martinrowe on Sept 3, 2023 9:34:05 GMT
Robbie I go through Exeter every Tuesday. I can pick it up for you and send it to you if you want. That would probably cut down on the cost. Martin
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Post by forestdweller on Sept 3, 2023 11:16:51 GMT
Robbie I go through Exeter every Tuesday. I can pick it up for you and send it to you if you want. That would probably cut down on the cost. Martin That's a very generous offer Martin. Can I see whether Wild Violet is selling her red eye first, but if she is not in a position to sell me hers then I will take you up on your kind offer if that's OK? Robbie
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Post by martinrowe on Sept 3, 2023 12:10:00 GMT
No problem Robbie.
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Post by shufflebeat on Sept 3, 2023 22:33:02 GMT
I have an Ultratonic in a Crafter dread. It’s a great pickup but the beauty of it is more in the onboard PCB with the DIP switches that counter-act the standing resonances. Otherwise it’s a K&K style pickup, albeit a very good one.
The string imbalance you describe doesn’t sound like a preamp problem to me as much as a pickup placement issue. When an uneven frequency response exacerbates an existing string imbalance it can appear to be the cause - worth investigating.
I’m also a happy Tonedexter-ist and am very much sold on the impulse response approach. I’ve persuaded some of my compatriots to invest in Mooer Radar IR loaders. The input impedance isn’t very high so a buffer, even just a Boss EQ is a great front end.
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Post by forestdweller on Sept 4, 2023 6:41:17 GMT
I have an Ultratonic in a Crafter dread. It’s a great pickup but the beauty of it is more in the onboard PCB with the DIP switches that counter-act the standing resonances. Otherwise it’s a K&K style pickup, albeit a very good one. The string imbalance you describe doesn’t sound like a preamp problem to me as much as a pickup placement issue. When an uneven frequency response exacerbates an existing string imbalance it can appear to be the cause - worth investigating. I’m also a happy Tonedexter-ist and am very much sold on the impulse response approach. I’ve persuaded some of my compatriots to invest in Mooer Radar IR loaders. The input impedance isn’t very high so a buffer, even just a Boss EQ is a great front end. How do you find the tonedexter in use? Are you in the UK? In which case where did you buy one and how much? The distributor of ultratonic told me he wont distribute the tonedexter because he thinks players will find it too expensive. However, its got to be cheaper than that Grace stuff, and possibly even the LR Baggs voiceprint. Robbie
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Post by jackorion on Sept 4, 2023 18:35:53 GMT
I've gone pretty deep down the pickup rabbit hole over the years and here's what I've learnt:
The best 'turn up, plug in, play' pickup was the LR Baggs Anthem SL - I paired this with an Orchid for a long time and it always sounded great. The orchid was only really to allow me to mute and tune on stage and, after a while I ended up just using a boss tuner for that and just letting the soundperson do their thing. Or I'd take my AER and use that. It sounded great through everything. Easy to use (once you've got that little mic adjustment set up leave it and never touch it again - find the point where the treble strings just lose the piezo twang and that's the point), never really had any feedback issues, always got compliments.
Magnetic pickups sound fine and are feedback resistant - but the LR Baggs M1/M1a/M80 can be a bit tinny. The rare earth is a bit 'plinky' but I've heard it sound amazing through the right PA/with the right soundperson and the rare earth blend mic feeds back like no tomorrow. The Dimarzio black angel sounds really good but is passive and quite low output and probably needs a preamp.
I've always found the K&K to need some drastic EQ in the low end to make it useable - I know lots and lots and lots of people who disagree with me on this but, on my Martin, it is howling feedback city unless that bass is controlled. Currently I use the Grace Felix with a DPA mic in a dual setup and that is super nice but, to be 100% honest, complete overkill. When I was gigging a lot though it was worth it to me to have a really nice guitar sound although there were still quite a few times where soundpersons unused to a 'natural' sounding pickup would ruin the tone by applying their 'standard undersaddle settings' and my £1500 setup sounded like every Fishman equipped electroacoustic under £300...
Tonedexter is interesting - I reviewed it and like it a lot but had already invested in the dual system plus Felix so no need to go with it - I believe the v2 is coming but there's a chip shortage? However I definitely felt it could be a goldilocks device that I'd constantly be wondering if I could make it sound better with a different mic or placement.
And then the best sound I've got was when I was using a Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina - bloody brilliant bit of kit in the right hands! Basically had to have a soundperson that was prepared to kill the monitors and keep the volume sensible but I used it in a lot of venues and it did a fine job. I've got a couple of gigs this month for the first time in ages and I'm hoping I'll be able to use it but will definitely take my preamp to plug in as most soundpeople have an aneurysm the second you mention a microphone...
If I was starting out again I'm not sure I'd go the dual source route but I might go K&K plus some sort of preamp - possibly the LR bags align EQ (doesn't match the impedance but stick a Boss TU3 in front and you've got a 1M input right there) as the notch filter and HPF are excellent - £220 though so maybe too much?
Also have just had a look at your amp - is Prodipe somehow related to Schertler or Acus? If so that might be where the problem lies...
This is a slightly controversial opinion of mine as I really like the shcertler/acus amps but I found that they sound amazing in the store/home but get completely lost in a live environment. They've got a very rich and full sound which feels very articulate and inspiring, really good. Then you get them in a room full of people and they just turn to mush and you end up with a very boomy and uninspiring sound. It's weird, I've never experienced it with any other amplifier and I found it particularly noticeable with the K&K which is not exactly the clearest sounding pickup in the world.
AER on the other hand are the complete opposite - kinda harsh and non-forgiving in the shop or at home but, in a room full of people, they come alive - just enough bass to be heard but not get boomy and good coverage - easiest setups I ever had were the LR Baggs Anthem SL into the AER - sounded great everywhere.
Anyway, this might not have helped!
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Post by shufflebeat on Sept 4, 2023 21:34:45 GMT
I have an Ultratonic in a Crafter dread. It’s a great pickup but the beauty of it is more in the onboard PCB with the DIP switches that counter-act the standing resonances. Otherwise it’s a K&K style pickup, albeit a very good one. The string imbalance you describe doesn’t sound like a preamp problem to me as much as a pickup placement issue. When an uneven frequency response exacerbates an existing string imbalance it can appear to be the cause - worth investigating. I’m also a happy Tonedexter-ist and am very much sold on the impulse response approach. I’ve persuaded some of my compatriots to invest in Mooer Radar IR loaders. The input impedance isn’t very high so a buffer, even just a Boss EQ is a great front end. How do you find the tonedexter in use? Are you in the UK? In which case where did you buy one and how much? The distributor of ultratonic told me he wont distribute the tonedexter because he thinks players will find it too expensive. However, its got to be cheaper than that Grace stuff, and possibly even the LR Baggs voiceprint. Robbie The TD is a beautifully designed and produced piece of kit that has become an integral part of my setup. It's my preamp, my tuner, basic EQ (more later) and my DI as well as the host for other units via the FX loop (insert point, more later), and this is before it does it's own magic. As often mentioned, the creation of wavemaps is a bit of a rabbit-hole but I have a collection of w/m's backed up and indexed which I know to be "good enough", all much better than any previous setup I've had, including the original Fishman Aura blender, which was also a rabbit-hole - except of other people's "images" - only some very special people could enjoy trawling through those (guilty as charged). I'm also a fan of the Yamaha AG Stomp which was my go-to solution for a few years. My w/m collection has grown and evolved over a few years and when I get a new mic I do like to see how it co-operates with the TD. I now run a small pedalboard with the TD as in/out and a Zoom G1 four (not the acoustic version) and a Mooer Yellow Compressor in the FX loop. The Zoom allows for different variations on a theme so, for instance: Takamine: TD w/m #4 (sm57 with soundhole plug fitted - very stable, percussive but full sounding) Zoom 4a - EQ to taste, a little comp, no reverb/delay (strumming) Zoom 4b - EQ to taste, gain boost, a little comp, short slap delay (fingerpicking fast) Zoom 4c - EQ to taste, gain boost, treble boost, reverb (fingerpicking slow) Mandola: TD w/m #3 (Audio Technica at2021 SDC - bright, clear mids) Zoom 3a - EQ to taste, a little comp, no reverb/delay (chord strumming) Zoom 3b - EQ to taste, a little comp, tiny slap delay (tunes, melodies) Zoom 3c - EQ to taste, gain boost, looper function (haven't used this in anger yet) The system is fairly well balanced now so I can just use the TD EQ for adjustments on the fly. In the last s/w update James made the bass EQ (cut) into a high-pass filter with variable frequency while retaining the (boost) shelf EQ with fixed frequency and variable gain - genius. I use a Strymon PSU under the board or a 12v battery pack in emergency. I bought the TD (£400-ish if memory serves) in Sounds Great in Sth Manchester UK before they closed due to retirement on the recommendation of a friend who had persuaded them to buy a couple in. The only others I know who use it are those who picked them up touring in the US.
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