there’s quite a bit of debate on what works “better”…
one thing i want to ask is; if what i record with this pickup comes out muddy, because it does…is EQ’ing some more high end in, essentialy like having a better mic to pick up the high end in the first place?
because that’s what ive been doing 
just wondering what thoughts are on EQing to compensate for what my magnets arent giving me.
i guess it may be an easy question for most of you guys who know alot but im newer at this
again thanks for all the info you guys are great around here!
http://myspace.com/superfluouspleonastictautologies
you can ilsten to my mic and guitar here in a new song!
also it needs some EQ critiquing plz!
Yes eq will make a difference in all cases
I think the thing here or the confusion comes from the point of what sound do you want to hear. I play acoustic because I like a nice clean tone. With piezo you get a nice clean tone.
On it’s own the piezo does not sound like a natural acoustic. The signal is the result of the vibration in the wood of the guitar. So you can’t mimick the sustain of the strings. The high freqencies over power the lower frequencies but with a good piezo and an EQ you can get good representation of the overall guitar tone. Cut the highs, boost the lows. n
With the mags you get good mids, not bad highs, terrible lows, and buzz. The signal is the result of the strings in mag fields so you get good sustain. I like soft, fine gauge strings, silk and steel. These don’t produce a good signal. I like clean tones, pure tones. I do alot of fingerpicking and the buzz is more noticable. To me it’s not pure.
So it’s a matter of taste. Piezo if you like clean tones. The best combo (again a personal preference) piezo and condensor mic. No mag pu.
If you would like I could email you a wave or mp3 of my guitar without any post processed effects. Just the guitar. Monaural saddle pickup, 3 band EQ, with mid range shift.
Man Dayglo I’m blown away,just visited your webpage. Absolutely incredible.
wow such kind words!
it really honestly means alot to me man…you all seem to know so much and really know what youre talking about really well and i reaaally value an educated compliment. especialy such a kind one
thanks again
Dayglo - I own one of the DeArmond pickups that you have…in fact I bought it years ago when they were new new (showing my age, but that was the late sixties I think). So I’ve had a long time to play with it. Truth is you have already got more out of it that I ever have. It is harder to get a good sound out of it than almost any other pickup I’ve ever worked with. This pickup puts out lots of low midrange, but as you note, there is not much (high frequency) sparkle. So eq has to be extreme, and the low end is boomy at certain frequencies, so you have to compress the heck out of the low frequencies.
If you bring the tip of a screwdriver near this pickup you notice that the magnetic fields from the pickup’s poles are incredibly strong. I think that the field is so strong that it damps string vibrations some.
I think that you will find it much easier to work with a different magnetic soundhole pickup if you choose to go that route. Even then I think that you will find lots benefit from some of the ideas being presented by the others responding to this thread.
My own taste leans toward recording acoustic guitars with a pair of condenser mics, with one pointed at the bridge, and one at the 14th fret. Then you have opened up a whole set of possibilities with reverb, phase manipulation, and panning that you miss with a mono recording. Plus you get lots of sparkle and chime from the condenser mics. I think that the sound that you would get would go great with the excellent guitar playing that I hear on the music on your website. Check out the Marshal MXL-990 and 993 series of condenser mics. They are not expensive (the 990 can be had for less than $70) and IMO they sound great.
Tim
If you’re looking for an inexpensive condensor mic, I picked up this little kit last year, and it’s worked well for me. Obviously not the greatest mics ever made, but for the price, you can’t beat them.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product…=273166
The 993 is even better than the 991, I here, and there iis a new version of the 990 that has a pad and a lo-cut switch, but you’ll pay a little more for those. When recording an acoustic I use the large-diaphragm 990 for an ambient sound (2-3 feet back), and aim the small-element 991 at the 12th fret or the bridge for the close-mike sound.
If you’ve never used condensors before, bear in mind that you’ll need something to plug them into that provides phantom power. When I bought it at Guitar Satan, they had a special deal where they threw in an AudioBuddy pre-amp.
Good luck!
PR
wow thats a really good price! you cant beat that for 2 mics…pretty much what im looking for too, i believe that prescision with “dull” equipment can bring out a great product
know what i mean?
also about the strength of the magnets with this pickup, YEAH theyre actually pretty strong i had never even thought about it. strong enough to put a damper on string performance too.
one reason for me using a megnetic pickup is outside noise. i live near downtown vancouver and there are sirens all the time, its hard for me to get some nice quiet time. for now i like this pick up
thanks so much youre really putting me in the right direction!