Bad Sound from Amplified Campellone

[Bluedawg]

My experience with floating pickups on archtops is that the amp makes a huge difference ....

I have a Hendriksen that sounds pretty good with my floater archtops ...

They also sound great with my Roland Cube ..... one of the best sounding amps for the least amount of money IMHO

They seem to do better with solid state than tube amps ... although my Deluxe Reverb Reissue sounds good with mine

No harm in trying other pickups, though

Good Luck

[mercosound]

My main guitar is a 17" Campellone Special. I'm playing thru an Acoustic Image Clarus, with a Redstone 10" ER cabinet, and really like the sound. Can't say that it's a traditional Wes-type sound; more of an amplified acoustic sound. Too bad that Redstone is no longer in business - the 10ER cabinet pairs well with the AI.

Although the overall sound of the AI/Redstone combo was good from the start, the low E string on the Campellone was still way hotter than the other strings. The KA pup on the Campellone doesn't have adjustable pole pieces, but switching to Thomastik Infeld BeBop strings really improved the balance of the (amplified) sound across the neck. I was amazed at the difference (previously, I was using D'addario Half-Rounds).

I don't get off on playing loud, but in situations where you need to goose the volume, I found that the Campellone has a resonance around Bb that can cause feedback problems. I've recently been fooling around with an Empress ParaEQ, which readily resolves that issue. In general, I'm liking the sound quality of the Empress a lot, and recommend it for anyone encountering feedback problems at higher volumes.

Hope these observations are somewhat useful,

Don

[Hammertone]

"I'm playing a Campellone Standard that I love acoustically. But when I plugged it in through an amp, The guitar just doesn't sound right."

I've been having a similar problem. :^)

[b_goat]

I had a Campellone Deluxe - it was as nice as any archtop I've ever played. I couldn't get the amplified sound to work for me...spent many hours trying amps, eqs, you name it. Finally sold it at a loss, of course. The good news is that I put the money toward a Ribbecke Halfling which I love equally.

Trying different picks is great advice - I use Golden Gate mandolin picks which warm up any guitar I play.

Best of luck figuring this out...it's not easy.

b_goat

[floatingpickup]

Hi, Greetings from South Korea.

I'm playing a Campellone Standard that I love acoustically. But when I plugged it in through an amp, The guitar just doesn't sound right. It seems to have too much mid-range honk. (I hope I explain this well with my limited english.) It doesn't sound that acoustic. Chords doesn't sound clear. The sound seems very harsh sometimes. I use polytone amps most of the time. I've also tried through ZT lunch box, AER and Deluxe Reverb Reissue. On the most of the amps, I put all the tone knobs at zero but still very bright and can't get rid of the mid range. I've changed my strings to flat wounds, then tried different picks. Still no improvement.

I'm wondering if any of the following would help ;

1. Changing the pickup - The guitar seems to have kent armstrong paf-0 (ebony looking cover)
2. Adding a tone knob and a capacitor or changing the value of the pot. (It came with one thumbwheel volume.)

I have had two Campellones and many other high end acoustic archtops with floating pickups. I have gigged with them for years and I was never satisfied unless I added a tone control. I think that is the most important change to make. Also, I avoid pickups with non-adjustable pole pieces, because I am very fussy about string balance. I have had several variations of Kent Armstrong's pickups and I found that the full sized floating "PAF" with 12 adjustable poles sounded best to me. It seems to sound more "electric" than the mini humbuckers. I have read good things about Lollar pickups, but I haven't tried them.
Keith

[Groyniad]

i think i'm going to get a 12 pole piece armstrong on my 17 x 2.5'' campellone and i'm going to attach it to the guitar a la johnny smith - via a neck bracket. i think that will smooth things out and thicken things up better even than a lollar js mounted on the neck like that (though the lollar would look a lot nicer).

and floatingpickup - how easy is to 'add a tone control' to e.g. a 12 pole piece armstrong pickup?

[jads57]

Is there something wrong w/ the OP's pickup or wiring? I'd start there first, and then replace the p/up 2nd. I have a 17" Eastman 810CE w/ a Kent Armstrong 12 polepiece hand wound alnico that sounds great through a fullrange (P.A.) or flat response Boss Cube 80 JC Clean tone settings.

[floatingpickup]

i think i'm going to get a 12 pole piece armstrong on my 17 x 2.5'' campellone and i'm going to attach it to the guitar a la johnny smith - via a neck bracket. i think that will smooth things out and thicken things up better even than a lollar js mounted on the neck like that (though the lollar would look a lot nicer).

and floatingpickup - how easy is to 'add a tone control' to e.g. a 12 pole piece armstrong pickup?

Groyniad:

I believe the only 12 pole KA pickup that is available with a neck bracket is a mini humbucker. I have never owned that model. The one that I was speaking about earlier, was the larger floating "paf" that Kent makes. I don't recall that one being available with a JS type bracket. I think they only come with a pickguard mounting flange. The downside with the PAF, is that you would have to increase the width of the cutout in the pickguard.

Regarding adding a tone control yourself, I have done it a few times and it isn't that difficult. There are different choices of pots and capacitors, but I'm not an expert. There may also be different ways to wire it, but others here probably know more about that than me. I just used a Benedetto wiring diagram, which I have attached.
Keith

[unamas]

Hi, I've just got the lollar Jimmy Smith on my Campellone. It sounds fantastic! It works with all the amps I plugged in so far. thanks for the help. I'll try and post some sound samples or videos.