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I recently picked up an SA2200 and find it strangely unresponsive to picking dynamics compared to my other guitars (archtop with P90, archtop with HB, Tele). Appreciate the P90 isn't a good comparison, but the SA2200 pups seem flat compared to the other two, whether coil-tapped or not. It is strung with d'Addario nickel 12's and has quite a low action.
Any suggestions? Change pup height, change strings, change action? Or is this what I should expect - I've never had a semi-hollow before?
Thanks in advance for any guidance you can give.
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10-03-2024 05:24 AM
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Two truths I live by:
1. No book or pdf will ever be as good or helpful as real human instructor giving a lesson (in person or via zoom).
2. Unless you are already a skilled guitar technician, nothing beats a proper guitar setup by a trained and experienced luthier.
I would take it in to a pro tech and have it properly setup before passing it on.
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New or used? If used, do you get a clear and usable single-coil sound? That would indicate that the original PUs are in place. I had an SA-2200 long time ago (boohoo why did I sell it?) and felt that the original PUs were too hot. No recollection of lack of dynamics, though. Milder SD's (Jazz for the neck, JB for bridge) improved the neck jazz tone but made the single-coil mode useless. Lowering the PU's might do the trick.
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Thanks for the input - yes original pups and I prefer the single coil tone to the HB which is quite hot. I'll try lowering the pups and see if that makes a difference.
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So I assume you are saying unresponsive when plugged in? I always determine the acoustic response of any guitar irrespective of solid body,thinline, Archtop,etc. by it playing it unplugged first.
Pickups are fixable,wood is not. Many great options for more vintage response PAF output type of pickups as well.
But simply lowering them will help for the first fix.
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A semi hollow will have a different dynamic response to a solid body (or a good carved top). To me they can actually feel a bit slow, as the initial energy is absorbed a bit by the guitar. It has a sound though. You may or may not like that.
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Originally Posted by vintagelove
I'm getting to like the SA2200 as I play it more, and it helped to raise the action a bit. Most of all though it's just a different type of response and so I'm needing to work with that and adjust my picking attack.
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I don't know the Yamaha but wanted to buy it at one point. It's a very attractive and well built instrument. I bought a Japanese Ibanez instead which has all the resonance and dynamics I could wish. But the Yamaha has quite the pedigree as it's been used (stock, I believe) by such first rate players as Biréli Lagrène and Jon Herington.
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Experiment with the pickup and pole-piece height.
Too low action can kill the dynamics. My personal rule of thumb is to have at least 1.5mm between the bottom of the string and the 12th fret top, with minimal to no relief.
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The SA-2200 has a potential weak spot. The single-piece mahogany neck may twist. Mine did, not enough to be a problem. Last Friday I went through two brand-new samples at a guitar store. Looking along the neck from the nut down, they were quite different. One had the bass end of the nut higher up vs the bridge, while the other was the other way round. Enough difference to suffocate my GAS.
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The position of the volume control can also make a difference. You might try having the amp volume up high with the guitar volume down, and vice versa. You might prefer one over the other, or maybe somewhere in between.
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