'Stimer' Pickup for Gypsy Guitar

**swingtoneman** · 06-23-2022, 01:18 PM

Those of you who play a Gypsy style guitar:

Do you use the Maurice Dupont 'Stimer' reissue ST48 pickup? Your views on the tone of that pickup? Good for rhythm playing?

Do you use a different pickup on your Gypsy guitar?

I play the 'D' hole gypsy guitar.

**Stringswinger** · 06-23-2022, 01:30 PM

I have owned three Stimer pickups and used them with a variety of Gypsy jazz guitars.

I had a Dupont Stimer reissue, an original Stimer made in the 1970's and a Stimer reissue made by Miller of Switzerland. I eventually sold them all. The Dupont Stimer like the original Stimer was very unbalanced and the B string was way too loud. The Miller Stimer was balanced but had a weak output. The Dupont Stimer had a flimsy mounting system that broke. All three pickups were stupidly expensive as well. At this point, I would advise other pickups for a Gypsy guitar.

I eventually got a couple of Krivo pickups which are well balanced and have strong output and were reasonably priced. I do find that a magnetic pickup is great for fat leads but does diminish some of the cut for rhythm playing. That said, I have done many gigs with a magnetic pickup and nobody complained about my rhythm playing. On last night's gig, the other guitarist was playing an Altimira oval hole with Krivo's latest pickup through a Fishman acoustic amp and his rhythm playing sounded fine to me, HTH

**swingtoneman** · 06-23-2022, 04:18 PM

Many thanks Stringswinger for your reply--much appreciated.

**drbhrb** · 06-23-2022, 04:36 PM

I also really like the Krivo pickups

**floatingpickup** · 06-24-2022, 08:09 AM

I also use a Krivo pickup on my Dupont when I need the extra volume of a magnetic pickup. It is well balanced and sounds great. Plus, it is easy to add/remove with a bit of putty.

A question for Stringswinger…Can you comment on the different versions of Krivo pickups? Mine is an early single coil/wood finish version. I have often wondered what the recent humbucker version would sound like.
Keith

**Christian Miller** · 06-24-2022, 09:34 AM

I have the Krivo micromanouche, and I used to have a Djangobucker till it stopped working. I also think I had a single coil Krivo that I left at a gig. I used them all on a D hole.

Out of these I prefer the micro Manouche. It’s a really good pickup, sounds fantastic, very transparent and ‘acoustic’, but it’s not the original stimer sound. It is however a lot better for rhythm imo.

Jason is a good guy to deal with.

**Stringswinger** · 06-24-2022, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by floatingpickup

I also use a Krivo pickup on my Dupont when I need the extra volume of a magnetic pickup. It is well balanced and sounds great. Plus, it is easy to add/remove with a bit of putty.

A question for Stringswinger…Can you comment on the different versions of Krivo pickups? Mine is an early single coil/wood finish version. I have often wondered what the recent humbucker version would sound like.
Keith

I have two of Jason's older designs, the Nuevo and the Djangobucker. The cat I played with last Wednesday uses the latest design, the Micro-Manouche.

The Nuevo is a single coil pickup without adjustable pole pieces and has a decidedly electric sound (think P-90). It is very slim and works well with my Dupont oval hole which has little clearance between the soundboard and the strings due to a high arch in the top.

The Djangobucker is a double coil pickup with adjustable polepieces and sounds more acoustic than the Nuevo. I use it with my Shelly Park oval hole as it does not fit on my Dupont.

The Micro-Manouche is a double coil pickup without adjustable polepieces and is very acoustic sounding and also as slim as the Nuevo. One of these days, I will probably get one.

**JSanta** · 06-24-2022, 01:25 PM

Tommy Davy over at Django Guitars recommended the Miller Fleche d'Or so that is what I went with. Should arrive in the next week or so. To be honest, I kind of do what he advises, hasn't steered me wrong yet!

**floatingpickup** · 06-24-2022, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by Stringswinger

I have two of Jason's older designs, the Nuevo and the Djangobucker. The cat I played with last Wednesday uses the latest design, the Micro-Manouche.

The Nuevo is a single coil pickup without adjustable pole pieces and has a decidedly electric sound (think P-90). It is very slim and works well with my Dupont oval hole which has little clearance between the soundboard and the strings due to a high arch in the top.

The Djangobucker is a double coil pickup with adjustable polepieces and sounds more acoustic than the Nuevo. I use it with my Shelly Park oval hole as it does not fit on my Dupont.

The Micro-Manouche is a double coil pickup without adjustable polepieces and is very acoustic sounding and also as slim as the Nuevo. One of these days, I will probably get one.

SS: Thanks for the detailed review. I have had a couple of the early Krivo’s. My current one is the Nuevo and I agree with your assessment of it sounding somewhat “electric”. I went with that one because I have the same guitar as you (Dupont MD-50) which doesn’t have a lot of clearance. From your description, it sounds like the Micro-Manouche might be better for my needs. Maybe I will order one and see how I like it.
thanks,
Keith

**Christian Miller** · 06-24-2022, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by floatingpickup

SS: Thanks for the detailed review. I have had a couple of the early Krivo’s. My current one is the Nuevo and I agree with your assessment of it sounding somewhat “electric”. I went with that one because I have the same guitar as you (Dupont MD-50) which doesn’t have a lot of clearance. From your description, it sounds like the Micro-Manouche might be better for my needs. Maybe I will order one and see how I like it.
thanks,
Keith

The clearance on the Krivo is incredibly low. I don't know if there's a thinner pickup out there.

**Stringswinger** · 06-24-2022, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by JSanta

Tommy Davy over at Django Guitars recommended the Miller Fleche d'Or so that is what I went with. Should arrive in the next week or so. To be honest, I kind of do what he advises, hasn't steered me wrong yet!

I had the Miller S51 which is a Stimer replica. The Miller Fleche D'or is more of a Dearmond replica. I have not tried that one, but would bet it is a good choice if Tommy Davy recommended it. Tommy knows his stuff when it comes to Gypsy guitars.

**JSanta** · 06-24-2022, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by Stringswinger

I had the Miller S51 which is a Stimer replica. The Miller Fleche D'or is more of a Dearmond replica. I have not tried that one, but would bet it is a good choice if Tommy Davy recommended it. Tommy knows his stuff when it comes to Gypsy guitars.

Tommy is a great guy, I am really happy to have him as a friend and resource in this world. He knows his stuff and is incredibly generous with his time.

I think I will ultimately end up with a couple of different pickups over time depending on sonic needs, and since I only play this style, it probably makes sense to have the variety. I'll provide an update to this thread once it arrives.

Unrelated, but he has some interesting internal mic propositions for the Dupont we commissioned, and I hope to have some more idea of where that goes in a few months. Only at 3 months from the deposit, so it will be a while longer.

**Stringswinger** · 06-24-2022, 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by JSanta

Tommy is a great guy, I am really happy to have him as a friend and resource in this world. He knows his stuff and is incredibly generous with his time.

I think I will ultimately end up with a couple of different pickups over time depending on sonic needs, and since I only play this style, it probably makes sense to have the variety. I'll provide an update to this thread once it arrives.

Unrelated, but he has some interesting internal mic propositions for the Dupont we commissioned, and I hope to have some more idea of where that goes in a few months. Only at 3 months from the deposit, so it will be a while longer.

I have performed with Tommy in concert and of the Gypsy guitar dealers in the USA, I can say that he is the most accomplished player to be sure. That said Michael Horowitz and Alain Cola can play pretty well themselves. I have never heard Jacques Mazzolini play, so I cannot offer an opinion there. Tommy is also an expert Gypsy jazz luthier, unlike the rest of the dealers, so his opinion carries great weight with me as well.

I have tried the above mentioned magnetic pickups, several Schertler and Schatten pickups, clip on microphones, Bigtones, Ischells and more and so far, the Krivo has been the best bet for the gigs I do (Bars, restaurants, weddings, corporate events and private parties.) Let us know how the Miller pickup works out!

**hotpepper01** · 06-25-2022, 02:12 AM

I have one of these Bigtone piezo´s in my Gitane. Is it any good? Mwah, it amplifies, but is no different to any other piezo pickup. Not very natural sounding. It requires a good equalizer

**Woody Sound** · 06-25-2022, 06:40 AM

Originally Posted by Stringswinger

On last night's gig, the other guitarist was playing an Altimira oval hole with Krivo's latest pickup through a Fishman acoustic amp and his rhythm playing sounded fine to me, HTH

That's important, using a full-range "acoustic" amp makes a big difference.

**Christian Miller** · 06-25-2022, 07:32 AM

Get an AER or whatever and use a Junior Barnyard or something for solos?

btw it’s not really what you are meant to do but I find if you plug a magnetic pickup into an LR Baggs Para DI it makes it sound more acoustic

it sounds to stupid to be true but it really does something to the high end