Under Saddle Pickup Question

[WJ Guitars]

Hi All

I am looking at various acoustic guitar pickups such as the 'LR Baggs Anthem' Microphone & Under Saddle combination.

I prefer to use a 6mm wide bone saddle that allows reasonable width for compensation setup. To install an under saddle pickup that generally have a narrow width may cause some problems with a wider saddle (see diagram below). The under saddle element needs to be installed under pressure to operate effectively. Would shims either side of the under saddle help? Or maybe router a secondary slot that is the width of the under saddle element to prevent any tilt occurring with the saddle. A tilt in the saddle could cause problems that may limit sound transfer to the under saddle element.

Any suggestions?

Regards
Wayne
WJ Guitars

[simso]

I think shims are a bad idea, for a shim to be of a height to stabilise the base, then it will realistically remove the downward pressure required to make the peizo work correctly.

So long as the saddle is a neat fit in the groove, then I cannot see any pickup system narrower than the slot being an issue

Steve

[vandenboom]

Wayne. I know this doesn't answer yr question but if yr looking at acoustic pickup options , have u checked at K&K's - yr problem then goes away.
Frank

[kiwigeo]

I installed a Fishmann mic/under saddle pickup system in a Gore OM build last year. I used a 6mm thick saddle and had no problem with the undersaddle pickup. Kym one of our members owns the guitar....he may have some comments.

[WJ Guitars]

Thanks for the helpful comments and advice.

I have installed an under saddle element some years ago with a narrow saddle and had no issues. However, I was not sure if there would be issues with wide saddles. Its good to know what works best when considering the clients expectations be it natural acoustic sound or combination options.

Regards
Wayne

[scripsit]

The piezo bit of the Fishman 'Ellipse Matrix Blend' pickup combination that Martin installed in the OM he built for me is the wide version, which is recommended for wide slots.

It works extremely well, although I use a preamp (a Radial PZ-pre) before hooking into my acoustic amp/mini pa. Most of that is about taming the microphone bit of the preamp combination, although the ability to play with EQ, particularly in the lower mids, really helps remove any trace of piezo quack.

I have the same pickup in the two Spira guitars I have, both of which also have a wide slot for the saddle. No problems here, either.

The falcate braced OM is much 'livelier' through the amp than the Spira guitars, which is easily handled by backing off the gain on the preamp when I'm swapping guitars.

I've got no experience with trying to accommodate a narrow piezo in a wider slot.

Kym

[Allen]

The best methods of making sure you have good downward pressure on your pickup is to route the saddle slot with a 7 - 9 degree rearward tilt. This assures that the strings will drive the saddle further into the saddle slot rather that want to roll it forward.

[Trevor Gore]

I don't often use under-saddle transducers, but on a couple of occasions when I've used narrow pickups in wide slots I've rebated the front, bottom edge of the saddle to make sure the pickup stays centered under that front edge. The rebate was a little shallower than the depth of the pick-up, and the inclination of the saddle under string tension to tilt forward in its slot keeps the pressure on. They worked fine and they've never come back. Not sure if its necessary, but it certainly didn't do any harm.