Lowden S25... what have you done to me Keith???
Nov 27, 2017 15:21:18 GMT
ocarolan, Andy P, and 1 more like this
Post by jackorion on Nov 27, 2017 15:21:18 GMT
well the guitar is in the workshop having a rare earth blend fitted today - I ordered the REB as well as the K&K as I wanted to hear some other options before committing to the superglue!
The Rare Earth arrived this morning and I tried it through my AER at just about gig volume - it's a little hard to judge the sound as I always find I dislike the AER sound at home in a small room, but it always sounds great in a gig situation!
Although it wasn't the perfect sound, I found that with the microphone/mag mix at about 50% and with the mic facing into the body and towards the bass strings, I could get a pretty good sound, with some body and less of the plinkyness that I feel the regular rare earth has on the trebles. There was no hint of feedback, although there was a little low-end rumble - thankfully the recent Blend has a little switch that cuts the low end from the microphone which seemed to cure the rumble, although at the cost of a little 'body'.
I suppose I won't know until I gig with it, but I feel that the Rare Earth Blend gives me a few settings - 50/50 with no bass cut on mic, bass cut on mic if needs be, and then less microphone if needs be as well - that should hopefully make it a versatile plugging in solution for the Lowden that I should be able to trust in terms of both tone and robustness - although I tend to play small gigs with some control over the sound, often I'm in a position where I have a line check and have to get the sound adjusted to my needs as the gig goes on, or quickly adapt to the sound and play through it - having the ability to dial out the mic and go for the feedback-safe magnetic tone in those situations will be useful.
I still had a little thought about the k&k (which also turned up today and will probably be going back unless anyone wants it at my cost?) - Keith's guitar did sound good with it in and I've heard it sound good before, but my experience of it has been so mixed and I wouldn't know how it was going to sound until it was glued in, whereas with the REB I could judge if I'd be happy with the sound before committing (and, even installed, it's only the endpin that's been modified.) My other concern was, having had a peer inside, the bridge plate is very small in the S25 and it's a bit hard to tell when the saddles are and I know that placement can be crucial to getting a good k&k sound...
So I'll be picking the Lowden up tomorrow and I have a gig at the weekend which I'll take it to and will report back!
The Rare Earth arrived this morning and I tried it through my AER at just about gig volume - it's a little hard to judge the sound as I always find I dislike the AER sound at home in a small room, but it always sounds great in a gig situation!
Although it wasn't the perfect sound, I found that with the microphone/mag mix at about 50% and with the mic facing into the body and towards the bass strings, I could get a pretty good sound, with some body and less of the plinkyness that I feel the regular rare earth has on the trebles. There was no hint of feedback, although there was a little low-end rumble - thankfully the recent Blend has a little switch that cuts the low end from the microphone which seemed to cure the rumble, although at the cost of a little 'body'.
I suppose I won't know until I gig with it, but I feel that the Rare Earth Blend gives me a few settings - 50/50 with no bass cut on mic, bass cut on mic if needs be, and then less microphone if needs be as well - that should hopefully make it a versatile plugging in solution for the Lowden that I should be able to trust in terms of both tone and robustness - although I tend to play small gigs with some control over the sound, often I'm in a position where I have a line check and have to get the sound adjusted to my needs as the gig goes on, or quickly adapt to the sound and play through it - having the ability to dial out the mic and go for the feedback-safe magnetic tone in those situations will be useful.
I still had a little thought about the k&k (which also turned up today and will probably be going back unless anyone wants it at my cost?) - Keith's guitar did sound good with it in and I've heard it sound good before, but my experience of it has been so mixed and I wouldn't know how it was going to sound until it was glued in, whereas with the REB I could judge if I'd be happy with the sound before committing (and, even installed, it's only the endpin that's been modified.) My other concern was, having had a peer inside, the bridge plate is very small in the S25 and it's a bit hard to tell when the saddles are and I know that placement can be crucial to getting a good k&k sound...
So I'll be picking the Lowden up tomorrow and I have a gig at the weekend which I'll take it to and will report back!