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leonard d rock
Silver Member
Philippines
301 Posts |
 Posted - 05/11/2008 : 03:33:23
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Hi everybody! is anybody using here a chinese-made acoustic electric sold as single or in a package and sold under the brands oscar schmidt, squier, stagg and other brands. the on-board electronics (eq and tuner) may differ, some may have fishman, others have other brands. the top is
cedar or spruce and the bridge is rosewood. overall, the guitar is quite good. however, i noticed that the guitar has some midrange the eq couln't remove. the compensated (material unknown)saddle also makes tuning the b-string a tad difficult. i removed the saddle and replaced it with a non-compensated saddle from an broken yamaha  and the eq and tuning problems disappeared. the guitar sounds sweeter and fuller now. does anybody have a similar problem? any comments about compensated vs non-compensated saddles?
regards LDR
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Edited by - leonard d rock on 05/11/2008 07:43:56 |
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Dr. Bob
Moderator
Australia
6593 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2008 : 05:40:28
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Hi leonard d rock
I have a Fender CD140SCE with the Fishman Classic 4T.
It's a really great guitar & competes very well head to head with mega dollar name brands.
I have noticed that as the Phosphor Bronze strings age, it get a little more difficult, to tune, but this is common with all guitars.
I haven't noticed anything strange about the Midrange.
Although aging-aged strings might account for the mids that you are hearing.
I would more likely put my money on the Piezo & pre-amp-EQ.
I know the Fishman Classic 4T tone very well, & that's why I picked it over guitars with other less well known electronics.
I have a cheaper but top of the range Ashton D-25CEQ WRS Cutaway, that I picked up as part of a bulk buy of stuff from a dealer.
Don't ask me who makes the Piezo pickup & pre-amp-EQ in my Ashton,
but is has such a sweet tone, I wash thinking about remove all the electronics & pickup, & fitting it into my other take to gigs acoustic.
While it's not a Fishman, it has a very nice tone with lots of EQ range.
What brand strings do you have on your Acoustic?
And what brand is it?
Were they old or new?
The mid tone that you don't like, do you also hear it when it's not plugged in?
Regards Dr. Bob |
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leonard d rock
Silver Member
Philippines
301 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2008 : 08:08:41
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hi dr. bob. well, the guitar is a Fernando dc200ce from jbmusic(jbmusic.com.ph) that sells them but i've seen the same guitar on other brands in other stores.
i've used d'addario bronzes as well as other brands since i was looking for a .10 set.
the mid tone is not as noticeable when unplugged and i think it contributes to its being heard better. but after using it almost always amplified thru a guitar amp mostly or in the house mix, i feel the mids are too much. i tried to cut it with the eq, the amps eq or the mixer's eq but its still there. its like a its plugged thru a very slightly open wah. anyway, the saddle i put in removed the problems. i've called two friends who own also the same guitar and will do some sound comparisons.maybe its some defect inherent with my guitar.thanks for your reply.
LDR |
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Dr. Bob
Moderator
Australia
6593 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2008 : 10:14:55
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Hi leonard d rock
You said you are using 10'a now?
This might be some of your problem, you may have lost some bottom end out of your signal.
Not to mention that the compensated saddle, may been cut/made for the offset required with thicker strings.
What gauge string gauge did it ship from the factory with?
Another thought I just had ..... Check the bottom of the saddle you removed, use a small steel rule to see if it is perfectly flat, & was sitting correctly on the entire Piezo pickup.
I once had one, that was slightly concave, & didn't touch the Piezo pickup all the way along.
But this manifested itself as more of a loss of volume under the affected strings.
I'm guessing more along the lines of the saddle being cut for thicker strings.
And the Pre-Amp-EQ not being designed correctly/cheaply.
You never mentioned what Piezo pickup/electronics are fitted to your Fernando DC200CE.
I will be interested to hear the outcome of the tests your friends are going to do for you.
BTW - I never string less than 12's, you loose too much tone & dynamics.
Regards Dr. Bob |
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leonard d rock
Silver Member
Philippines
301 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2008 : 03:37:25
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hi dr. bob. the guitar shipped originally with d'addario bronze lights starting with e string .012. now the guitar is strung with d'addario all-american bronze extra lights with the e string at .011.
the piezo sytem on the guitar is a generic/stock one, no brand and definitely not a fishman.
i had a comparison with one of my friend's guitar yesterday at his studio, thru a mixer and an amp, and we noticed that his guitar also had that slight mid but he didn't mind it being primarily a drummer. he couldn't cut it out, while i could get that mid sound if i wanted by setting the mid eq at center detent( middle of the slider). both guitars blended nicely with each other acoustically and plugged-in. regarding the bottom, i could always boost it on the eq and/or the amp if i needed more.
i think i'll look into the old saddle with a straight edge as you suggested and see if its really flat.
i agree with you about the 12's having good tone and dynamics. however i don't have really big hands to take on it. but i'll be changing strings again in about a month so i think i'll put on a .12 set and see if it those problems disappear.i'll use the new saddle for a while and see how it works in different gigs. nice to hear it with a slow and wide chorus and some delay.
thanks again!
LDR |
Edited by - leonard d rock on 05/12/2008 03:53:14 |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2008 : 04:22:06
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hi all
i bought a walden G3000 and it's made in china..i also bought one of their 12 strings a D552 the only faults i could find was the bridge saddle was a little high but nothing a bit of sandpaper couldn't cure... the D552 12 strings fingerboard and bridge looked a bit 'dry' so i rubbed a little olive oil into them and they came up nice and dark and much smoother to play....the G3000 is one of their top end guitars and has a ebony fingerboard and bridge...really nice acoustic for people on a budget like me...an all solid wood guitar ,i got both of them brand new including a excellent walden hard case and a padded gig bag for the 12 string for 620 euro....
the only thing is neither has a pickup but i plan on sorting that out soon...... |
Edited by - FRANZONI on 05/15/2008 04:22:30 |
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Topic |
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saddle on china-made budget acoustic guitars
