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I had Bill Comins install a Barbera Soloist transducer on my 16" archtop by him. Bill had to make a different bridge to hold the transducer saddle vs. the ebony one that it came with. The guitar has a KA 12-pole piece humbucker and I had Bill add a separate volume pot for the Barbera.
How I use it:
- You need a two channel amplifier and a Planet Waves stereo cable from the guitar that is plugged into each channel of the amplifier. I use an Acoustic Image Clarus 2R Series III as a two channel amp.
- I have found the Barbera needs to run at full volume out of the guitar (so much for the volume control on the guitar) and you need to control the volume with the amplifier. If you turn down the Barbera's output volume at the guitar, you begin to hear weird phasing issues.
- I have found having the sound primarily with the magnetic pickup and using the transducer to add ambience (e.g. think 80% magnetic, 20% transducer).
- You also need a two-way speaker to capture some of the higher frequency partials from the transducer. I use an 8" Buscarino Chameleon two-way speaker set on acoustic mode so both drivers are engaged.
So you primarily have the familiar electric sound from the KA but with some ambient complexity that the player normally hears themselves added to the mix. This works well for lower volume solo play.
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03-08-2021 04:41 PM
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I just ordered one of these used, really cheap, no box or anything, just to try. I don't expect it to sound authentic, especially that middle range thunk, but it's worth the experiment for a few bucks.
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Ha, I was about to post that you needed to wait for campusfive to cut and paste an answer to this, but he goes and writes a new one from scratch. I use his method with an AT pro35 and have been very happy with it for live play with a big band. For recording I would probably be better off with a more expensive mike. I have a Bud so I don't need a preamp.
If your guitar sounds like this one you have got it right:
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Originally Posted by Woody Sound
For instance, Tonedexter works great with Yamaha silent guitars.
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Originally Posted by christianm77
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I still like K&K Big Twins mounted on the underside of the top plate, one beneath each bridge foot area using super glue gel for maximum volume and tone. Enough output not to need a preamp and accurate tone. Versus a bridge pickup you get the sound of the top, different guitars sound like themselves, not just the bridge sound. Certainly a low impact way to get started without the need for special processing or preamps out of the box.
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Never seen it tried on an archtop, but if you have a built-in pickup as opposed to a floater.....
Would the K&K Trinity pro system be a potential solution? It has transducers to stick under the bridge AND a gooseneck mike that you stick to the inside side of the guitar. On a flattop the gooseneck points to the soundhole, and I imagine you would need to experiment to find the best focus point to target on an f-hole guitar. The external preamp has a channel for each source so you can mix (gooseneck and transducers) them as you like.
Maybe someone has tried this already, and could they comment?
PS it works fine on my Martin JM Mahogany jumbo
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I'm sure it is would work fine using the big transducers for the archtop, K&K would probably set you up with a package, their engineers are very helpful.
I use the big twins for the most output on thick tops like archtops and.cellos but some may prefer the smaller sizes ones for a different sound, the trick is to experiment with location using the adhesive tape before doing the glued installation. I've found in all my instruments I've done this to that the best spot is under the bridge foot area.
Playing live and getting the best sound from the...
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