New Pickup in Premier Guitar
- Thread starter darthphineas
- Start date
darthphineas
New member
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
Yeah, these debuted at 2014 NAMM. This link just popped up fresh today on their FB feed.
Sent from my armored space station via iPad using Tapatalk
Yeah, these debuted at 2014 NAMM. This link just popped up fresh today on their FB feed.
Sent from my armored space station via iPad using Tapatalk
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
Luke Duke and I tried these out at NAMM at the behest of Frank Falbo. All I can really say is they're pretty . Totally quiet, very easy-feeling, excellent versatility without being overwhelming with options, very low magnet pull, great note separation, and the battery pack is genius. The whole setup just sounded dialed right from the get go.
Next time I get a Strat these things are pretty high on the list.
Luke Duke and I tried these out at NAMM at the behest of Frank Falbo. All I can really say is they're pretty . Totally quiet, very easy-feeling, excellent versatility without being overwhelming with options, very low magnet pull, great note separation, and the battery pack is genius. The whole setup just sounded dialed right from the get go.
Next time I get a Strat these things are pretty high on the list.
DreX
New member
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
Two things struck me in the article. First:
For many (most?) guitarists, rolling off the volume isn't just about reducing volume, it's about accessing the response and EQ changes that come with rolling back on the volume. Passive guitar electronics are full of quirks that active electronics can overcome, but there is substance in those quirks. If this is not a deal breaker, it's at least a serious blow to authenticity. I guess I can expect a battery happy company like Fishman to understand that, they had to hire a guy to study magnetics for them, after all.
What this tells me is that they have not given much thought to passive pickups in general, because I don't even do this for a living, and I think up strange ideas all the time that I'd like to try if I had the means on hand. Look at companies like Lace, they're willing to throw a lot of stuff at the wall and see if anything will stick, but here you have a company in business for 34 years, and only now they came up with an idea? Anything seems like voodoo if you don't care enough about it to understand it.
The second thing is that they claim that there is more to a pickup than it's EQ curve, but then EQ curves are all they go on to talk about. When you switch an A5 magnet for an A2, or a ceramic bar, the EQ response it not the only thing that changes. The attack and sustain, the "bloom" become different, it changes the feel of the pickup all around. From what I read, I don't have a lot of confidence that they're creation could emulate the characteristics of different magnet types. I think one day some sophisticated digital modelling will be able to account for every last details, and allow people to virtually change out magnets, but this isn't that sort thing.
It's also funny that they talk about 240 battery hours and plug in power on as if they are strong selling points. If they were truly innovative, they'd create a pre-amp that turned on or off depending on whether the guitar was actually being played or not.
All this sounds good, but unique unto itself. I'm not seeing words like "authentic" here, which I thought was this product's first job.
It looks like you get two sound choices per pickup, toggled with a push/pull. We have two or more sound choices per a single pickup now with coil taps and humbucker pickups, and even though it might not be as controlled, at least it doesn't require a battery, and you have countless options in what you can do and which pickups you can use.
In the market of inauthentic pickup recreations, it seems like the Variax is two decades ahead of this thing.
Two things struck me in the article. First:
For many (most?) guitarists, rolling off the volume isn't just about reducing volume, it's about accessing the response and EQ changes that come with rolling back on the volume. Passive guitar electronics are full of quirks that active electronics can overcome, but there is substance in those quirks. If this is not a deal breaker, it's at least a serious blow to authenticity. I guess I can expect a battery happy company like Fishman to understand that, they had to hire a guy to study magnetics for them, after all.
What this tells me is that they have not given much thought to passive pickups in general, because I don't even do this for a living, and I think up strange ideas all the time that I'd like to try if I had the means on hand. Look at companies like Lace, they're willing to throw a lot of stuff at the wall and see if anything will stick, but here you have a company in business for 34 years, and only now they came up with an idea? Anything seems like voodoo if you don't care enough about it to understand it.
The second thing is that they claim that there is more to a pickup than it's EQ curve, but then EQ curves are all they go on to talk about. When you switch an A5 magnet for an A2, or a ceramic bar, the EQ response it not the only thing that changes. The attack and sustain, the "bloom" become different, it changes the feel of the pickup all around. From what I read, I don't have a lot of confidence that they're creation could emulate the characteristics of different magnet types. I think one day some sophisticated digital modelling will be able to account for every last details, and allow people to virtually change out magnets, but this isn't that sort thing.
It's also funny that they talk about 240 battery hours and plug in power on as if they are strong selling points. If they were truly innovative, they'd create a pre-amp that turned on or off depending on whether the guitar was actually being played or not.
All this sounds good, but unique unto itself. I'm not seeing words like "authentic" here, which I thought was this product's first job.
It looks like you get two sound choices per pickup, toggled with a push/pull. We have two or more sound choices per a single pickup now with coil taps and humbucker pickups, and even though it might not be as controlled, at least it doesn't require a battery, and you have countless options in what you can do and which pickups you can use.
In the market of inauthentic pickup recreations, it seems like the Variax is two decades ahead of this thing.
darthphineas
New member
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
I think comparing the Fluence to the Variax is like comparing apples and oranges. The Variax is a modeler with an internal processor. The Fluence is a magnetic pickup that is getting its tone from the vibration of the strings. We are talking an analog signal here vs. digital. The two distinct tones in the Fluence come from a process that is closer to coil tapping vs. coil splitting. Everything I have heard about these pickups has been amazing and this is just the start of the product line.
I think comparing the Fluence to the Variax is like comparing apples and oranges. The Variax is a modeler with an internal processor. The Fluence is a magnetic pickup that is getting its tone from the vibration of the strings. We are talking an analog signal here vs. digital. The two distinct tones in the Fluence come from a process that is closer to coil tapping vs. coil splitting. Everything I have heard about these pickups has been amazing and this is just the start of the product line.
voggin
Well-known member
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
Price is probably going to be the issue here. Great idea, but if I want a great PAF tone right now, I can buy a set of Seth Lovers for 200 bucks. To make guitarists (a notoriously conservative lot) change to a new system with batteries and usb ports, they're going to have to be priced right.
Although I am looking forward to the first magnet swap thread on these!
Price is probably going to be the issue here. Great idea, but if I want a great PAF tone right now, I can buy a set of Seth Lovers for 200 bucks. To make guitarists (a notoriously conservative lot) change to a new system with batteries and usb ports, they're going to have to be priced right.
Although I am looking forward to the first magnet swap thread on these!
DreX
New member
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
If I said I could give you a pickup that would sound like a PAF, for free, but would always require batteries in order to function, honestly, would you accept that free pickup and install it in your guitar?
If I said I could give you a pickup that would sound like a PAF, for free, but would always require batteries in order to function, honestly, would you accept that free pickup and install it in your guitar?
voggin
Well-known member
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
Very true. Especially if it required some sort of routing or other mod to a guitar I'm fond of. And even though I like "classic" sounds as much as the next guy, I'm getting a little tired of the constant high-tech search to recreate 1958. It's a bit like using state of the art laser and nanotechnology to recreate an original Lite Brite.
Still, nice to see there are companies out there trying interesting stuff outside the box. Something may come of it.
Very true. Especially if it required some sort of routing or other mod to a guitar I'm fond of. And even though I like "classic" sounds as much as the next guy, I'm getting a little tired of the constant high-tech search to recreate 1958. It's a bit like using state of the art laser and nanotechnology to recreate an original Lite Brite.
Still, nice to see there are companies out there trying interesting stuff outside the box. Something may come of it.
Masta' C
Well-known member
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
They had to start with the PAF thing, because that will raise the most eyebrows in the marketplace and makes the product more approachable. If they focused only on their "modern" option, the application window would seem too narrow for most to take interest. I wholeheartedly agree, though...funny spending years of research and developing new manufacturing processes just to recreate a '50s wire-wound humbucker. The "dual voicing" is a good idea, though.
They had to start with the PAF thing, because that will raise the most eyebrows in the marketplace and makes the product more approachable. If they focused only on their "modern" option, the application window would seem too narrow for most to take interest. I wholeheartedly agree, though...funny spending years of research and developing new manufacturing processes just to recreate a '50s wire-wound humbucker. The "dual voicing" is a good idea, though.
frankfalbo
In Fluence Y'all
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
Hah! no you can not. Sorry to those who have made mag swapping a lifestyle LOL I think it'll be worth it.
Some of these posts are cracking me up. That's the beauty of the internet. If you haven't played them, and have zero understanding of the actual technology involved, you can still have an opinion about what they probably sound like. With my history on this project, and this forum, its best if I keep my replies direct and only address inaccuracies. The world will decide to like and buy these pickups with or without my interaction on the SDUGF. I'm here as a long time member of the community first and foremost, from even before
The premise here is not to precision-copy or model the classic voices. You can do that with an Antiquity and some good bumblebees. But its with the ultimate respect for these time-honored classic tones that you offer something that improves upon the content within. I've been making pickups for quite awhile. These are sounds that you simply can not wind pickups to make. The point is, the dynamics, speed, and articulation, PLUS the near infinite frequency response and accuracy of these coils are (in my experience) unmatched by any wire-wound coil, machine or hand scattered. Distributed capacitance is lower than even hand scatter wound coils by a factor of 10x. So you're starting with a higher performing coil. Like the 5-6% increase in conductivity from silver wire on the Zephyrs, these coils just simply do things that other coils can not.
So from that premise, the magnetic circuit becomes extremely important. I've worked very hard with Larry and Fishman's engineers to create magnetic circuits that do the things we like. In the Strat pickup, there are rods. In the Classics there are poles and a base magnet. In the Modern there are blades. It's all part of interacting with the string in the right way.
Anyway I'll try to answer direct questions (and abject fallacies) if/as they arise. I don't believe that goes against any rules, or the spirit of this forum. We've never allowed bashing competitors here, we talk about all kinds of pickups, etc. In the mean time they'll ship soon, and everyone will just have to play them. I was fortunate enough to have a review of my electric in the current Vintage Guitar magazine, and they seemed to like these pickups quite a lot.
So can we swap magnets in them?
Hah! no you can not. Sorry to those who have made mag swapping a lifestyle LOL I think it'll be worth it.
Some of these posts are cracking me up. That's the beauty of the internet. If you haven't played them, and have zero understanding of the actual technology involved, you can still have an opinion about what they probably sound like. With my history on this project, and this forum, its best if I keep my replies direct and only address inaccuracies. The world will decide to like and buy these pickups with or without my interaction on the SDUGF. I'm here as a long time member of the community first and foremost, from even before
The premise here is not to precision-copy or model the classic voices. You can do that with an Antiquity and some good bumblebees. But its with the ultimate respect for these time-honored classic tones that you offer something that improves upon the content within. I've been making pickups for quite awhile. These are sounds that you simply can not wind pickups to make. The point is, the dynamics, speed, and articulation, PLUS the near infinite frequency response and accuracy of these coils are (in my experience) unmatched by any wire-wound coil, machine or hand scattered. Distributed capacitance is lower than even hand scatter wound coils by a factor of 10x. So you're starting with a higher performing coil. Like the 5-6% increase in conductivity from silver wire on the Zephyrs, these coils just simply do things that other coils can not.
So from that premise, the magnetic circuit becomes extremely important. I've worked very hard with Larry and Fishman's engineers to create magnetic circuits that do the things we like. In the Strat pickup, there are rods. In the Classics there are poles and a base magnet. In the Modern there are blades. It's all part of interacting with the string in the right way.
Anyway I'll try to answer direct questions (and abject fallacies) if/as they arise. I don't believe that goes against any rules, or the spirit of this forum. We've never allowed bashing competitors here, we talk about all kinds of pickups, etc. In the mean time they'll ship soon, and everyone will just have to play them. I was fortunate enough to have a review of my electric in the current Vintage Guitar magazine, and they seemed to like these pickups quite a lot.
Aceman
I am your doctor of love!
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
Will those make my Ovation sound like a Martin? Basically like a switch for Al DiMeola vs Classic Dreadnaught??? :lmao:
Speaking as a guy who runs an acoustic through more pedals than some of you guys do electrics- I think it is pretty cool and very interesting.
Amplifying Acoustic is a WHOLE other game compared to electrics. If you don't do it - hush and learn!
Will those make my Ovation sound like a Martin? Basically like a switch for Al DiMeola vs Classic Dreadnaught??? :lmao:
Speaking as a guy who runs an acoustic through more pedals than some of you guys do electrics- I think it is pretty cool and very interesting.
Amplifying Acoustic is a WHOLE other game compared to electrics. If you don't do it - hush and learn!
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
I'm still looking for a pickup that will make my African thumb-piano sound like a Dobro, with sweet "bloom" and "bell-like lows."
I'm still looking for a pickup that will make my African thumb-piano sound like a Dobro, with sweet "bloom" and "bell-like lows."
bladefrenzy
New member
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
Im not against "new and improved" but I've been playing for over 30 yrs and I've seen a whole lot of so called breakthrough stuff fail. Im sure there will be a market and some will love them. But it all boils down to one thing, sound. If its so much better people will do the mods and use batteries. If not ....we will see.
Im not against "new and improved" but I've been playing for over 30 yrs and I've seen a whole lot of so called breakthrough stuff fail. Im sure there will be a market and some will love them. But it all boils down to one thing, sound. If its so much better people will do the mods and use batteries. If not ....we will see.
dominus
King Midas to Cheap Guitars
Re: New Pickup in Premier Guitar
I'm all for trying new tech, as long as it doesn't cost way more than the standard stuff. Do they have a pricepoint they're coming in at?
Edit:
Looks like Sam Ash has a preorder for a Strat set for $225, so it sounds like they're going to be priced like EMGs. Not too bad. $100 for the rechargeable battery pack. I think I'd stick with 9v batteries.
Oh yeah.. 18v mod?
I'm all for trying new tech, as long as it doesn't cost way more than the standard stuff. Do they have a pricepoint they're coming in at?
Edit:
Looks like Sam Ash has a preorder for a Strat set for $225, so it sounds like they're going to be priced like EMGs. Not too bad. $100 for the rechargeable battery pack. I think I'd stick with 9v batteries.
Oh yeah.. 18v mod?
Last edited:
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