Single string pickups - 6 of 'em

[David King]

I read somewhere, (perhaps earlier in this thread?) that some singer bobbins have a 3/16" id and are very cheap in largish packs at walmart. It might be worth a trip just to see what's out there in the sewing dept.

[David Schwab]

Six Rats would be really something!!!

I had an ARP Avatar (guitar synth) once, and it had a hex fuzz. It's very cool because you don't get the intermodulation when you play two notes at once. And even though it was a very fizzy fuzz, it got a nice clean type of tone because of that.

It would sound really good with a better sounding distortion circuit, like a Rat.

[Corvus]

Yeah the increased clarity of chords and the ability to get spacial/panning effects are big reasons I'm after multi-channel output. And just being able to tweak the tone of each string is a great feature.

[gabgar]

Ghost Piezo Guitar Saddle Pickups

Corvus check this out.

http://www.graphtech.com/products.ht...1&CurrencyID=2

I have an email to GraphTech about how to get output from each single pickup.
They have 2 types of preamps, but not for what I'm looking for.

Does anyone on this forum do custom preamps for pickups?
Excuse the wrong wording, I'm not an electronic engineer.

[David Schwab]

Does anyone on this forum do custom preamps for pickups?

(sticking my hand up)

[gabgar]

Hey, David
I sent you an email as well as a PM.

I also read your response on my first PM.

[Corvus]

Have you seen these gabgar?

http://www.emginc.com/displayproduct...5&catalogid=26

they have multi-channel outs

[gabgar]

Corvus,

I just read this on there page
>EMG's OEM products are not available for retail customers.

So I can't get that.

But that's exactly what I need.

[dpm]

The problem with piezos in my view is they just don't have the same characteristics as magnetic pickups. The Line 6 Variax is a good example, no matter what degree of filtering is applied it still has that piezo sound, and palm mutes just don't work. I feel that particular instrument would work better with magnetic pickups.

[gabgar]

dpm

From what I've seen, that's pretty much custom work to do that.
I have no issue with that, it's just that I'd like to have something now for what I'm trying to use it for.

btw - check out the intro video for GraphTechs piezo saddle pickups
http://www.graphtech.bc.ca/ghost_downloads.php
That sounded really good for the little he played.

Corvus, it appears that you can order that EMG - 6CH mixer, thru an Authorized Dealer.

I'm going to a dealer in Sherman Oaks after work to order it, along with the GraphTech piezo saddle pickups

[Corvus]

The problem with piezos in my view is they just don't have the same characteristics as magnetic pickups. The Line 6 Variax is a good example, no matter what degree of filtering is applied it still has that piezo sound, and palm mutes just don't work. I feel that particular instrument would work better with magnetic pickups.

That's what I've suspected about the Variax though I haven't had a chance to try one yet. I like to have piezo sounds as an option but magnetics are more important to me.

How's the new 8-string pickup design coming along Dan?

[dpm]

Just put the PCB order in this afternoon so the parts should be ready a week from now. I'm actually a bit nervous about it because I've never done PCB design before.

Was about to say that I'd hit a wall with the single string assembly, but I might have just had a brilliant idea. Or a crap idea. Not sure yet, I'll look into it.

[Corvus]

Heehee I'll bet it's brilliant, or you'll find a way to make it brilliant.

If you haven't already done this, you should post pics here of your pickups with the gorgeous wood & carbon fibre work like you did on ss.org. Best looking pickups I've ever seen!

[Mark Hammer]

I have this unit made by Guild in what I believe is the late 1960's called a "Tri-Oct". It is the missing link between early stompboxes and guitar synths. It is essentially a hexaphonic octave divider and fuzz that came with its own proprietary divided pickup, encased in epoxy. I'll have to post pictures of it some day. The pickup is butt-ugly and looks basically like a homebrew piece of cast epoxy about the footprint of a P-90. It was intended to be retrofit on the top of the instrument. Unfortunately, as Jason has pointed out, effective use of a hex pickup requires that the pickup be situated at the point of least lateral string travel - near the bridge - in order to prevent bleedthrough from adjacent strings. In the case of simply feeding strings to a separate channel for greater spaciousness, this is less of a problem. In the case of octave dividers, this is the kiss of death. Probably one of the reasons why very few were made or sold.

A wise person pointed out to me that at the time of its production, probably a lot more players were disposed to using heavier gauge flat-wound strings, which probably would have posed less challenge to the octave-detection circuitry within an environment where the divided pickup may have been sitting squarely between a neck and bridge pickup, taped to the surface of the body.

I cannot emphasize strongly enough that the requirements for simple spacial distribution are considerably less stringent than if one's intent is to impose differential or unique processing to each string. That latter context absolutely demands either something like a Roland GK pickup, or alternatively the piezo Strat saddles you can get from Stew-Mac and similar places.

[David Schwab]

Hey Mark, I remember that thing! Does your still work?

I bet that's worth something now... I'm shocked at how much some old effects go for. I just saw a 1972 Maestro Bass Brassmaster on eBay that ended up selling for $885! I used to have one of those too. I'd still have it if my bone head keyboard player at the time didn't break it on me... on purpose. He didn't admit to it, but I know it was him. He hated the thing.

I used to have a Guild Foxy Lady too... a rebranded EH Big Muff.