The Chetboard

Anyone have any reviews of the pickup that John Knowles is using in his guitar?
I think it was a Barbero or something like that. Does he have good customer service and
is he a reliable person?

Eddie Estes

Eddie,
Kirk Sand introduced me to Rich Barbera the last time I was at CAAS in 2012, and I talked to him at that time about a pickup for my Takamine Classical. I had some contact with him over time, and eventually, I ordered a pickup. I had to carefully take measurement of my saddle and the original Takamine transducer thickness so that he could make an exact fit. I think he also has a preamp, but he said that it sounds real nice even when wired passive. I was able to wire it right into the Takamine preamp. I didn't much like the "plugged in" sound before, but now it sounds very natural. I really enjoy playing it plugged in now. The Barbera is the one that John Knowles is using, and I think Kirk put one in Richard Smith's new guitar. It's a great pickup!

Rich stays pretty busy doing pickups for violins, cellos, upright basses, as well as guitars. I know that he makes pickups for Kirk and another high-end builder. Now I'm hearing that he will be making pickups for a Guild Doyle Dykes nylon string signature guitar designed by Kirk (similar to the Gibson Studio Classic). I'm not surprised at all after how his pickup gave my guitar a new electric voice. You should contact him and see what he can do for you. Here's his website:

http://www.barberatransducers.com/

Hope that helps!

Bill B.

Eddie.....Are you considering installing one in your Sand? As you know I have a Sand exactly like yours and I have toyed with the idea of getting one for my guitar. Bill really gives a glowing endorsement!!

I hadn't looked at the website in a while, and I went back and looked at it. There are several video clips as well as a list of guitar makers (Buscarino, Benedetto, Sadowsky, Collings) that use the Barbera pickup. He also makes a pickup for steel-string

http://www.barberatransducers.com/guitar_pickups.html

Bill B.

I am looking at pickups to replace the Gibson pickup in it in case it ever bites the dust.

I wanted a Prismatone 3 the one that is the same size as the Gibson but it seems to be hard to get those.

So I am shopping around for what is available.

Eddie

Kirk may be able to help you with a Barbera or a Prismatone. I think he makes a saddle piece that holds the transducer when replacing the old thick Gibson saddle pickups with a Barbera (and also one for the Prismatone). I don't know if he sells something like that, but he may. I'm pretty sure that I've seen something like that on a couple of Sand guitars.

Bill B.

Someone needs to come up with a Gibson style replacement pickup. They are prone to bite the dust (at least one string). Mind you that there's two different types: one with a radius and one without. Easy availability is the key.

Eddie, Bill, Roger, Phil,

Kirk Sand installed my Barbera pickup a little over two yeas ago. We used my existing Baggs end-pin preamp. The string-to-string balance is very good and it really responds to dynamics. Most importantly, it feels good on stage.

I visited Rich Barbera in his shop recently. Like Kirk Sand, Rich is a musician as well as a craftsman. He uses computer-controlled gear to make the pickups. Each one is tested with guitar strings up-to-tension. And he has several hi-end acoustic amps for evaluating the sound. As Bill pointed out, the demand for Rich's pickups is increasing. They are available on special order.

John