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Archtop Jazz Guitar

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CPJ microphone kit, X48C and other versions for Jazz archtop guitar.

Equipment installation

  • Plan your cable route and system placement.
  • Clean the bonding spots. The places of installation of the microphone and the connectors must be clean and not greasy.
  • The transparent double-sided provided is quite powerful but can be used on a recent varnish in good condition without damaging it. Try it out. Turn the part to peel it off. Cut small pieces suitable for the part of the microphone kit with good scissors and avoiding touching the sticky part as much as possible. Replace it after each test.
  • Place the contact microphone in the desired location with the white putty as indicated in the instructions for your model, then a first cable clip fixed with a little putty 3 cm from the microphone. Make your first tests. Adjust the mic placement if necessary several times. See the positions below.
  • Then pass the cable along the tailpiece or under the tailpiece, under the bridge or around the bridge using the cable clips fixed with double sided.
  • Then attach the Jack on the splice at the tailpiece, upside down. By default, use the supplied transparent double sided or Velcro.
  • You can make a loop with the first cable clip 3 to absorb the excess cable if necessary.

Positioning of the contact microphone

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  • The default placement is under the strings, in front of the bridge, in the center, in the hollow of the V formed by the X bracing of this type of guitar.
  • Make your first attempts. Generally the tonal balance is good, but if you notice a flagrant imbalance with a lack of power of the high strings for example, then move the microphone towards the highs and vice versa. 
  • If you have a sound that is too closed or hard, move a few millimeters closer to the bridge, several times if necessary in order to move away from the barriers.
  • This microphone appreciates the proximity of the dams of the instrument but a balance must be found: Too close or above, the sound is hard and closed. If you stray too far from it, you lose precision and overall cohesion.
  • Other positioning is of course possible. All instruments are not made the same and you sometimes have to get the sound from other places on the instrument, like Alex Goodman who placed it along the dam that goes under the foot of the bridge acute side.
  • Your system is usually delivered to you with the low cut positioned at 360Hz. If after determining the best placement for the string power balance, you find that the sound lacks bass, then set the low cut to 180Hz. If you find that the sound still lacks depth in the bass, set it to Flat.
  • If the sound is too bright, try resting the mic in the same spot with the gray putty for a duller sound in the highs and rounder in the bass.
  • If any notes, overtones or strings are stronger or weaker and uneven, press the mic again to compress the sound, which may correct these problems.
  • Once the mic is positioned, check that the strings are not touching the mic even when playing hard. If so, remove some putty adhesive to decrease the overall height of the mic. You can remove up to about a third of the putty dose provided.

Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions about the installation or if you are not completely satisfied with the sound. https://www.ischell.com/contact-societe/

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