Members Randyman Posted January 10, 2012 Members Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hey- a friend gave me a Kaman (Ovation) Applause AE-36 guitar. This is a steel string acoustic with the plastic body made in the 80's. Here's a link to a post from a guy who took a lot of pics, including for the piezo pickup under the bridge:http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2404022-Dug-an-Applause-AE36-out-of-the-closet...not-sure-what-to-think. I'm not a guitar player- I like to have a guitar on hand for jams. I wanted to see if the electronics are easy to improve. The sound going through a pa is extremely low in volume and adds a lot of hiss. I know very little about electronics or pick-ups, etc. I go directly from the guitar jack to my pa. ? Can I simply switch out the volume and tone knobs for better overall volume?? Are there better piezo pickups that I could retrofit in the same place with better volume output?? Other suggestions for not a lot of money/time to improve the output level and tone of this guitar? It's got a piezo pickup under the bridge that goes out to a passive volume and tone pot. I pulled them to see the values: the volume pot has 3500k stamped on it, and the tone pot has A500k stamped on it as well as a green resistor (2A202J). Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted January 10, 2012 Members Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hey- a friend gave me a Kaman (Ovation) Applause AE-36 guitar. This is a steel string acoustic with the plastic body made in the 80's. Here's a link to a post from a guy who took a lot of pics, including for the piezo pickup under the bridge:http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2404022-Dug-an-Applause-AE36-out-of-the-closet...not-sure-what-to-think.I'm not a guitar player- I like to have a guitar on hand for jams. I wanted to see if the electronics are easy to improve. The sound going through a pa is extremely low in volume and adds a lot of hiss. I know very little about electronics or pick-ups, etc. I go directly from the guitar jack to my pa.? Can I simply switch out the volume and tone knobs for better overall volume?? Are there better piezo pickups that I could retrofit in the same place with better volume output?? Other suggestions for not a lot of money/time to improve the output level and tone of this guitar?It's got a piezo pickup under the bridge that goes out to a passive volume and tone pot. I pulled them to see the values: the volume pot has 3500k stamped on it, and the tone pot has A500k stamped on it as well as a green resistor (2A202J).Thanks! 1st, try it through a Baggs Paracoustic DI into an amp or PA...you'll likely be impressed at how much better a passive piezo can sound when it's properly buffered! Behringer makes a much less expensive unit, the ADI-21, that sounds almost as good...chances are that your local music store will have one or the other in stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TESmith Posted January 10, 2012 Members Share Posted January 10, 2012 Another good choice ' alt='>'> Pretty equal to the Baggs, usually can purchase a fair bit cheaper but as TAH shared these should make a difference for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted January 10, 2012 Members Share Posted January 10, 2012 If you're handy, you can probably install an endpin preamp in place of the existing jack. You can find them on eBay for $15 and up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Randyman Posted January 11, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thanks for the replies. Yes, those outboards preamps look nice. I didn't know before this guitar that there were any acoustic guitars that had passive pickups; makes sense they would need a preamp. The endpin preamps are a good tip- pretty inexpensive. But unlike the outboard preamps, there's no eq, which seems like it'd be helpful given the twangy, less-than-full bass of the piezo pickup. Any suggestions on the lowest price for a decent preamp like the ones mounted on the side of the guitar with tone controls and easily accessed battery compartment? Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted January 11, 2012 Members Share Posted January 11, 2012 . . . Any suggestions on the lowest price for a decent preamp like the ones mounted on the side of the guitar with tone controls and easily accessed battery compartment? . . . . You are going to struggle fitting a standard on-board EQ (the type that fits into the side of a guitar) to the plastic bowl of an Ovation. Artec do a few type of electronic EQ devices to boost passive USTs. They are reasonably priced and of OK quality. Here are links to a few examples: The first is the Artec CLE3. The unit fits inside the guitar and 4 small holes (approx 8mm) are drilled through to accommodate the shafts of the control knobs.It is a self-contained unit with a battery compartment accesed via the guitar sound-hole. It is meant to be fitted to the side of a guitar but would also fit on the top. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acoustic-PreAmp-3-Band-EQ-Piezo-Pickup-Artec-/180758991462?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2a16135266#ht_1636wt_896 The other two Artec products also have pots that fit through small holes - these are not self contained units (and you would need a separate battery compartment - lots available on Ebay) but they are less obtrusive than the CLE3 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Artec-SE3P-A-Bass-Built-in-3-Band-EQ-Board-Circuit-/150678357034?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item231521442a#ht_4050wt_700 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Artec-AB1-Piezo-Pickup-Booster-Board-Circuit-/160711016648?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item256b1f80c8#ht_2782wt_700 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted January 11, 2012 Members Share Posted January 11, 2012 There's a company that makes a cable with a little preamp built into the end if it. That could be the ticket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lz4005 Posted January 11, 2012 Members Share Posted January 11, 2012 But unlike the outboard preamps, there's no eq, which seems like it'd be helpful given the twangy, less-than-full bass of the piezo pickup. A decent preamp it will solve the tone problem without needing onboard EQ. The poor tone of unbuffered piezos is due to the ohm mismatch between what the pickup is putting out and what the PA/amp/etc is designed to use. Once that's fixed you should have enough EQ on the PA channel to get it to sound how you want it to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted January 11, 2012 Members Share Posted January 11, 2012 I like the sound of my K&K Pure preamp. The gain control is plenty loud and clean, and the EQ sweepers work at least as well as my Baggs. I tend to use the Baggs more often, but only because it'll run off phantom power. The Pure has a belt clip, but I usually just park it on top of the guitar amp. http://www.kksound.com/purepreamp.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Randyman Posted January 11, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 11, 2012 Given that the endpin preamp both boosts the signal a bit and helps with the tone and is the least expensive and straightforward of these solutions, I think I'll go with that. When I've got the funds to invest in a better guitar I'd get something that has the preamp built-in from the factory along with eq anda tuner. This has been a very educational thread for me: learning of the difference between magnetic pickups (mostly electric guitars) and piezo pickups (mostly acoustic guitars); the inherent high ohm output of the piezo, different preamping possibilities, etc. Further possibilities arise with micing a kalimba and slit drum, but that seems inherently problematic 'cause I'd have to disassemble instruments that were not meant to be dis-assembled! Thanks again everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yamaneck Posted January 12, 2012 Members Share Posted January 12, 2012 Hey- a friend gave me a Kaman (Ovation) Applause AE-36 guitar. This is a steel string acoustic with the plastic body made in the 80's. Here's a link to a post from a guy who took a lot of pics, including for the piezo pickup under the bridge:http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2404022-Dug-an-Applause-AE36-out-of-the-closet...not-sure-what-to-think.I'm not a guitar player- I like to have a guitar on hand for jams. I wanted to see if the electronics are easy to improve. The sound going through a pa is extremely low in volume and adds a lot of hiss. I know very little about electronics or pick-ups, etc. I go directly from the guitar jack to my pa.? Can I simply switch out the volume and tone knobs for better overall volume?? Are there better piezo pickups that I could retrofit in the same place with better volume output?? Other suggestions for not a lot of money/time to improve the output level and tone of this guitar?It's got a piezo pickup under the bridge that goes out to a passive volume and tone pot. I pulled them to see the values: the volume pot has 3500k stamped on it, and the tone pot has A500k stamped on it as well as a green resistor (2A202J).Thanks! Pick up a used Boss GE-7 eq pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted January 12, 2012 Members Share Posted January 12, 2012 Pick up a used Boss GE-7 eq pedal. Mine is a little more noisy than the Baggs or K&K, but that's still a pretty good suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted January 12, 2012 Members Share Posted January 12, 2012 . . . It's got a piezo pickup under the bridge that goes out to a passive volume and tone pot. I pulled them to see the values: the volume pot has 3500k stamped on it, and the tone pot has A500k stamped on it as well as a green resistor (2A202J). Thanks! Missed this the first time through but the "resistor" is actually a 0.002uF (micro Farad) capacitor. "Normal" for a guitar is about 10X that. Both volume and tone controls are 500K ohms. Swapping out the pots won't help IMHO, although there are electric guitar/bass guys who claim to achieve profound improvements. If the bass is still weak after you install a preamp, simply turn down the tone control a bit. It will cut the high end and make the bass more prominent at the expense of volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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