NGD Recording of Yunzhi Acoustic Archtop

[xavierbarcelo]

I see, what noise, if any, when you plug it in?
If you have a continuity tester, you could check ,at different stages, to see if there is current reaching the pickup, if not I would suggest a quick trip to a guitar shop or any electronics shop.

S

No noise at all. I will try the tester (when I find it) and then, most probably, take it to the shop.

And, sorry, Guy, for hijacking your thread. I now realize I shouldn’t have done that.


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[nevershouldhavesoldit]

IIf you have a continuity tester, you could check ,at different stages, to see if there is current reaching the pickup, if not I would suggest a quick trip to a guitar shop or any electronics shop.

There is no current at the pickup. True active pickups have a preamp chip in them with a separate lead from the battery. They use a 1/4” jack that has a 3rd contact to connect the battery only when a cable is plugged in. You can measure the voltage drop between the power lead and the ground, but you won’t measure current or voltage in the pickup leads because the pickup element itself is the same as those in standard passive pickups (except for a few oddball variants).

The OP’s setup appears to be a standard passive pickup (thus the 2 leads - signal & ground) with an external preamp board mounted under the guard. I assume that the little black box with the word “on” visible on its bottom is the battery box and that there’s a switch on it to power the preamp.

There are several simple causes of silence to check before deciding it’s defective. First, there are dozens of visually indistinguishable button batteries close enough in size to fit in the same holder. But voltages vary widely and it’s common to either use the wrong batteries or insert them upside down. Check the batteries for correct ID, test them to be sure they’re good, and insert them in the correct orientation.

Check the voltage between the red and black battery wires at the board. The contacts in those little boxes are flimsy and easily dislodged or broken.

Don’t assume which way the volume pot rotates. I once had a guitar with those wafer pots in which fully on was in the wrong direction because it was wired backwards.

Since the pickup appears to be a simple passive unit, I’d connect a coax cable to the leads and plug it directly into an amp. If it works and all else appears fine, there’s something wrong with the preamp board or connection to it. If it really doesn’t work, I’d ditch that setup and put a good standard pickup on it.

[xavierbarcelo]

Thanks so much. The button batteries are “twenty thirty-two” (it’s written on the box), brand new, and I checked the polarity, so that should be ok. I’ll try the rest! Thanks again!

[xavierbarcelo]

It’s been sorted! Thanks to the manufacturer. It was indeed a polarity problem. Now it works and the sound is pretty good. I’m a happy camper!


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[RJVB]

Because this is an acoustic Archtop with no pickup, I had to use a KNA transducer with a Peterson Strobe for setting intonation.

??

[RJVB]

That's not a Yunzhi, it looks like the work of Li Dan, who works under the name of Musoo/Batking guitars. Very fine Chinese handbuilt archtops in every way the peer of Wu, Yunzhi but distinguished by his use of higher archings and designs that follow closer to late Jimmy D'Aquisto than the main line of Yunzhi.
They tend to be louder because of his designs, and a really nice acoustic sound rich in overtones once they're broken in.

Interesting, do you know if he also builds pure acoustic 16" versions? None listed at the moment...

[Aris]

GuyBoden, I’m blaming you for pushing me over the edge! I bought a 17 inch Melo copy from Musoo (EDIT: I thought it was by Yunzhi, but Jimmy explained). Very nice. Well made, good sound. But the electronics just don’t work. Over the top and simply non-functional, so there’s this.

@xavierbarcelo I think this is your guitar:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...562481345.html

I mean, this is literally your guitar, the wood has the same marks, and the pickup has dirt in the same places.

I plan to buy a Yunzhi, and this beautiful model is one of my favorites.

[RJVB]

This one doesn't look half-bad either: https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...259812204.html . Except for the silly headstock of course

No idea how an all-hog archtop would sound (acoustically)...!

(description says maple top but it looks like mahogany).

[xavierbarcelo]

I’ve had the Musoo for a few months and I must say I really enjoy it. I had the frets made and my luthier installed a Lollar Johnny Smith pickup and a passive circuit. Now it’s really nice! Totally recommended!

How’s yours, Guy?


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[xavierbarcelo]

I know! I was asking how’s maturing, since you’ve had it for a couple of months now.


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[Aris]

I’ve had the Musoo for a few months and I must say I really enjoy it. I had the frets made and my luthier installed a Lollar Johnny Smith pickup and a passive circuit. Now it’s really nice! Totally recommended!

Hi Xavier, how does the new pickup and circuit sound compared to the original?
Also, have you installed strap buttons? If so where?

[xavierbarcelo]

The sound is much more natural. I was recording in a studio and the comment from the engineer was that previously it felt plasticky. In the end, it was an active circuit over a passive pickup and it had very artificial bass and treble frequencies.

I haven’t installed any strap buttons yet. There’s the endpin one already. I should install the other one, but I haven’t got round to it yet.


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[Aris]

The sound is much more natural. I was recording in a studio and the comment from the engineer was that previously it felt plasticky. In the end, it was an active circuit over a passive pickup and it had very artificial bass and treble frequencies.

I haven’t installed any strap buttons yet. There’s the endpin one already. I should install the other one, but I haven’t got round to it yet.

Thanks for the quick reply, Xavier.
I forgot to ask, what about the tuners, are they good enough, or do you plan to change them too?

[xavierbarcelo]

They’re good enough, I suppose. I’m not going to change them for now.


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[Jimmy blue note]

Since this thread has been rejuvenated, I thought I might add this bit of information. There are times when the Yunzhi/Wu sourced guitars are spoken of and considered somewhat equivalent options of a similar instrument: Hand built well crafted custom archtops built in China and delivered door to door for about 1-1.5K. While it's true I consider them both fine instruments, I want to point out that they have somewhat different feels to them, in part because Yunzhi and Wu tend to favour a 24.75 scale length often used by Gibson, Li Dan tends to build his guitars to 25.5, the length that was used on many classic old school archtops notably John D'Angelico and Jimmy D'Aquisto.
To my hands, the shorter scale allows a more pliable and expressibe "bendable" string tension while the longer scale imparts a more solid tension, holding intonation easier and making for an inherently louder instrument acoustically.
Not this is a complex issue and dictates the construction, archings, graduations of the guitar built around a particular scale and string gauge is also a determining factour for the player. I'm just saying that these are two somewhat divergent archtop designs and philosophies around which a guitar is powered by different engines.
Any further discussion is fun fodder for another thread. I just wanted to say if you want a 15, 16, 17 or 18" custom Chinese archtop you have options. You can keep the distinctions in mind when are choosing.

[Aris]

Hi Xavier, just curious, which Kent Armstrong pickup you put on your guitar? Also, where did you buy it?

I finally bought this guitar:


Just in case anyone wants to see more shots of this same exact guitar from Yunzhi:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...590714720.html
https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...037197990.html
https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...622306017.html

[xavierbarcelo]

I put the Johnny Smith style pickup. Really very nice. I bought it second hand, but you can find it from Lollar or Thomann.

Congrats on your guitar! Very nice!

Johnny Smith Style Humbucker | Lollar Pickups


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[Aris]

I put the Johnny Smith style pickup. Really very nice. I bought it second hand, but you can find it from Lollar or Thomann.

Congrats on your guitar! Very nice!

Johnny Smith Style Humbucker | Lollar Pickups

Ah, yes, sorry. I got confused about the brand. Maybe because just today I was taking a look at Kent Armstrong pickups. Of course, I was taking a look at Lollar pickups too, but not just today.