Members Gary in NJ Posted March 6, 2008 Members Share Posted March 6, 2008 Where did you mount the battery bag? I'd like to place it just below the sound hole so I can access it without removing the strings, but I don't want to interfere with any vibrations in the wood so close to the M1. What's the consensus on the best spot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jake7 Posted March 6, 2008 Members Share Posted March 6, 2008 Neck block, I wouldn't put it anywhere else, a battery is a heavy thing relatively. Plus, I'm almost convinced that weight added there helps sound abit, just from listening...but I may be crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary in NJ Posted March 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 Thanks, that's where I put it. I'm not at happy with how the system is working. I'm not getting any volume (I mean none) from the Element USP and the tone from the M1 is just not good. I tried playing with the pots on the iMix but couldn't improve anything. I'm tired of fooling with it for the day. I'll have another look tomorrow. This is not the first USP I have installed. In fact, this one went quite well. I really don't know what is wrong. It might be the iMix itself. I'll have to do some exploring by bypassing the iMix to see if things improve. I'm also getting a lot of buzzing. Something is wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jake7 Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 Something is definately wrong there....the buzz would suggest you have a short or the earth the wrong way round somewhere I guess. The m-1 is a passive going through the i-mix preamp yes?I think that is the issue, you are probably hearing a passive m-1 in it's unbuffered state, not a fair representation of it! I hope you figure it out dude, that setup should be incredible when it's rigged right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 12Pack Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 Wheres my soldering gun and duct tape - I'll fix it. Gary - if ya need help let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary in NJ Posted March 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 Thanks Jeff. Got an axe? Man, I was so friggin' pissed/confused last night. The install went so smooth. I got the saddle to the exact height my first shot (and yes, it is flat on the bottom) and the USP was about the easiest one I'd ever installed. The hardest part was just deciding were to mount everything. The iMix kit is very complete and easy to install. Before I put new strings on the guitar I swapped-out the tuning heads with Grover Sta-Tites. They were just a perfect fit. They look and feel great. I was so excited to sit down and play. Plugged in, turned on...and it sounded flat as a board. No big deal, the manual says that some adjustment is necessary. The first thing I did was play with the mix control. That's when I discovered that the USP was almost dead. I cranked up the volume on the amp and all I got was feedback - no change in volume. Strange. So I got a phillips screw driver and went to work on the adjustment pots on the iMix. The first one I attacked was the gain control for the M1. That's when I noticed the buzzing from the pick-up. This humbucker sings like a single coil. I dropped the gain down and started to adjust the EQ. After a few minutes I really didn't get anywhere. It's not easy to play with a screwdriver in your hand. Frustrated, I figured I'd try to sort-out the USP. I removed the iMix to ensure that the cable was well seated, which it was. I made sure that my saddle was well seated, which it is. I made sure that all other connections were secure, and they are. I tried to adjust the pots again assuming I had missed something. By now it was 10:30 and the friggin' buzzing was starting to piss me off. I touched the jack of the instrument chord and the buzzing stopped. WTF? It must be a grounding issue. My gut feeling is that the iMix is defective. I sent an email to LR Baggs customer support to see if they have any ideas. I hope LR Baggs has decent customer support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AugTPD Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 I hope LR Baggs has decent customer support. I've dealt with them once when I just had a simple question about pickup compatibility and the guy I talked to was more than helpful. I sure hope you get it all worked out. I have a feeling once all the bugs are worked out it should sound awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary in NJ Posted March 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 Something is definately wrong there....the buzz would suggest you have a short or the earth the wrong way round somewhere I guess.The m-1 is a passive going through the i-mix preamp yes?I think that is the issue, you are probably hearing a passive m-1 in it's unbuffered state, not a fair representation of it!I hope you figure it out dude, that setup should be incredible when it's rigged right. The new iMix has a phase switch. I changed the setting several times. I also used the phase switch on the amp. Buzzzzzz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jake7 Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 Sorry man, I bet that's frustrating as hell. Like you say, touching the endjack earths it, you have a ground issue somewhere.....I've had this happen before, albeit with fishman matrix' , where the bridge has swollen with humidity and the slot has constricted, not allowing the saddle to sit on the pickup,it causes buzz and weak signal....can you remove the saddle with your fingers?Does the saddle definately sit down on the pickup element? The only other thing is to check that there's no imperfections on the pickup surface, or tears in it's sheilding, this would cause hum. My M-1 is seriously hum free, even in a bar where you could hear the dimmer switches through my rare earth humbucker, the m-1 is silent....the only way I can make it hum is to sit in front of a computer monitor screen when plugged in.Like everyone has said, that system oughta be spectacular, definately talk to LR Baggs......I have found them great to deal with, even from UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary in NJ Posted March 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 definately talk to LR Baggs......I have found them great to deal with, I'm waiting for a return email or phone call. I'm going to attempt to isolate the problem by disconnecting the two pick-ups and seeing if te buzzing goes away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 12Pack Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 I'm going to attempt to isolate the problem by disconnecting the two pick-ups and seeing if te buzzing goes away. This never would have happened if you had bought that Taylor like I told you too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary in NJ Posted March 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 This never would have happened if you had bought that Taylor like I told you too. Funny you mention that. One of the guitar stores I visited just called me to tell me that a Crafter SA just came in. I might go play it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary in NJ Posted March 8, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 8, 2008 OK, here's where I'm at. I uninstalled the entire system, and then reinstalled it. I rechecked that the saddle is flat on the bottom. It's damn perfect. I reseated all connections. The plastic cover on the USP was loose, but I don't think that is meaningful. . Before I reinstalled the saddle I hooked it all up to an amp. The Element USP was very sensitive. Tapping on it produced as much signal as tapping on the M1. With everything together and restrung it was time for another test. No change. But I think I figured out a few things: The run-away feedback (it's not dynamic string feedback, its like mic feedback) can be controlled by pushing on the saddle. That tells me something. I think I may have too much of a lean-forward angle on the saddle. I'm going to reshape it so it will sit more up-right and see if that improves performance. I find it strange that to tap on the unit directly provides so much signal, and I can't get close to that with the saddle in place. I'm now sure that it is a problem with the shape of the saddle. I tried various combinations of the iMix phase switch and the amp phase switch. I think the buzzing is less then it was. Touching the jack had no (or at least less of an) effect. I played with the tone pots a bit more and got a more natural sound. The mid-cut is in the middle position and the low cut is just about at zero cut. I think the problems are all installer related. I'll let you know how reshaping the saddle works out tomorrow. 12 Pack and I are taking the lady's out to diner this evening and then we're off to listen to the competition. If I'm right, I have about 5 to 10 minutes of work to get the sound I'm after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary in NJ Posted March 8, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 8, 2008 Success! The problem was as I thought last night. A poor interface between the saddle and the transducer. I removed the lean-forward angle from the bottom of the saddle, reinstalled it and was greeted with good volume and tone from both pick-ups. Feedback is still somewhat of an issue (at very high gain) for the USP but it can be controlled with minor EQ adjustments. I haven't really had a chance to dial it in yet, but I can already tell it's a winning combination. When I reshaped the saddle the first time I decided to increase the action by a 1/32. That was fortuitous because I had to remove a 1/32 to remove the lean-forward angle. I now have the action where it started before I made any alterations - which is to say "perfect". I let you all know how it works at rehearsal tomorrow night. That is a critical bunch and I'll know exactly where it all stands after they hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jake7 Posted March 8, 2008 Members Share Posted March 8, 2008 Awesome man I'm glad you got it sorted! I bet it's gonna floor you! All UST's are somewhat prone to resonant feedback if you gain 'em up, ironically the least prone ones seem to have the worst sound, I think you need a bit of that to get that "air" feeling. Reckon you could get any recordings of it in action?I'm pretty interested in pickup combo's as you may have noticed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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