Replacement pickup for a "fleur de lys"

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Re: Replacement pickup for a "fleur de lys"

Postby Skip » Mon Oct 27, 2014 12:41 am

I see DENNIS MADE HIS CHOICE AND IT SEEMS TO WORK I have that pickup and thats good to know. incase My 1993 Gibson Studio go's out, THANKS dennis THE END
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Re: Replacement pickup for a "fleur de lys"

Postby smokymtguitar09 » Mon Oct 27, 2014 3:48 pm

Denis,

I bought a couple of replacement pickups from Classic Ax in Nashville for my Gibson Chet Atkins Studio and CE models. Yours will most likely have a radius (arch) whereas the CE is flat so be sure you request the right one. The price is reasonable compared to the Barbara but doesn't sound as good. Also I didn't think the Classic Ax replacement sounded as good as the original Gibson hex pickup. I have a Barbara in my Buscarino Grand Cabaret it sounds great and doesn't need a preamp but it will work with your Gibson preamp.
Give Classic Ax a call http://www.classicax.com/
Good luck!
Ronnie Evans
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Re: Replacement pickup for a "fleur de lys"

Postby srgntschultz » Mon Oct 27, 2014 7:45 pm

I don't understand this at all. I'm glad you like the pickup you put in Gibson Chet guitar,but I cant figure out not buying the barbera because it costs too much? You have basically a guitar worth 10 grand or more and are worried about buying a cheap pickup to put in it. The barbera isn't costly at all,and its the best sounding pickup made for nylon guitar,and you don't have to rout the bridge or change the preamp or anything,it fits most guitars,the most you would need is an insert. I know I have spent a lot more on my guitars than that to get it where I wanted and I agree with Skip,,you do get what you pay for. I didn't hear anyone complaining about the prismatone costing 400.00 and then wrecking your guitar to get it put in,if you didnt already have one in the first place. It just dosent add up.
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Re: Replacement pickup for a "fleur de lys"

Postby PhilHunt » Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:26 am

The Prismatone is an excellent pickup, is hand made, and is one of the most well balanced pickups. It's one pickup that I have grown acustomed to the sound of the pickup. Then, while at CAAS I tried the Kirk San thinline Knowles model with the Barbera pickup....holy Moses! I was blown away by the natural sound of the Barbera pickup. The Barbera would be easier to install than the Prismatone. I'm still partial to the Prismatone. I just love the sound of it. Even Paul said it was one of the best pickups. But, Paul may have liked the Barbera as well....maybe even Chet also.
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Re: Replacement pickup for a "fleur de lys"

Postby bill raymond » Tue Oct 28, 2014 12:39 pm

I agree with Skip above: He made his choice and I hope he likes it (he does seem happy about it). Why must we continue to tell him that he made the wrong choice?
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Re: Replacement pickup for a "fleur de lys"

Postby denis » Tue Oct 28, 2014 3:53 pm

Oh, don't be wrong... I never said the Barbera transducer doesn't worth its cost.
I just can't afford one because of an "accident of life" (some here may understand what i'm talking about, as it seems to be something quite common, these days ;-)). And i'd rather not having to sell the guitar to buy it a transducer ;-)

I found an Ovation transducer that is a perfect replacement (no routing, better playability and, i have to admit... better sound, plugged and unplugged). The Hex piezo has left for someone who should be able to fix it, and i'd surely buy a Barbera as soon as i'll have money to buy one.
Meanwhile, i'm perfectly happy with this replacement trnasducer, thansk to you, guys.

DENIS
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Re: Replacement pickup for a "fleur de lys"

Postby BirdofParadise » Mon Nov 17, 2014 9:51 am

I put the new Shadow 2 wire pickup in my Gibson CE after the hexpiezo bit the dust. I found it on eBay for something like $70 delivered. It seems to work fine but still considering a Barberra as this a very early custom shop (#A002) instrument.


denis wrote:Thanks Jay and Gary.

I had an answer from Barbera, and indeed their transducers are about $400 and only have 2 wires.
There is no doubt that they are way better than Gibson's, but i don't have this amount of money :-/

I also did contact Shadows and the confirm me that they were the ones who built the HexPiezo for Gibson. But unfortunately they don't do them anymore and don't have any stock left.

But they build the transducers for Ovation, the model is Shadows SH066-09 and can be found very easily. No need to contact Ovation. They are the exact same size as the Hexpiezo but only have two wires.
So here is another Gibson replacement, probably not as good as Berbera, but esthetically near of the original and way cheaper.

I getting close to think that this is the best solution to my problem, using just one lead of the Gibson preamp six terminals.
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Re: Replacement pickup for a "fleur de lys"

Postby BirdofParadise » Mon Nov 17, 2014 9:56 am

Dennis, all:

I put the new 2 wire Shadow in my Gibson CE. I found it on eBay for something like $70 delivered. It seems to work fine but I'm still considering a Barberra as this is apparently the second instrument made in the custom shop (#A002)

Mike

denis wrote:Thanks Jay and Gary.

I had an answer from Barbera, and indeed their transducers are about $400 and only have 2 wires.
There is no doubt that they are way better than Gibson's, but i don't have this amount of money :-/

I also did contact Shadows and the confirm me that they were the ones who built the HexPiezo for Gibson. But unfortunately they don't do them anymore and don't have any stock left.

But they build the transducers for Ovation, the model is Shadows SH066-09 and can be found very easily. No need to contact Ovation. They are the exact same size as the Hexpiezo but only have two wires.
So here is another Gibson replacement, probably not as good as Berbera, but esthetically near of the original and way cheaper.

I getting close to think that this is the best solution to my problem, using just one lead of the Gibson preamp six terminals.
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Re: Replacement pickup for a "fleur de lys"

Postby Art Sims » Tue Nov 18, 2014 9:05 am

Reading this thread, I have a question about the pickups you guys have referred to. My trouble with saddle pickups has always been the 3rd string G. Every installation I have done on any guitar (probably a dozen over time) has resulted in the G string being too loud. You have to get the saddle slot absolutely flat and even when I do that the G string is still a problem. The great thing about the Gibson CE is that you can do some adjusting of the individual strings. With that in mind, I am curious about the pickups mentioned here.
Does the Barbera pickup have this problem at all? It seems logicial to me that it would have this problem because of comments that it only has two wires. How can the string balance be adjusted if you have only two wires? That being so, the price seems awful high for a pickup with no user control over individual string balance.
The Shadow option seems like an affordable possibility because of its fit in the slot of a CE, but again, it has only two wires and adjusting individual string volume wouldn't be possible.
So what about the Barbera? Can you adjust individual string volume with that very expensive pickup? Do you pay that much money and still have to deal with this problem?
Art Sims
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Re: Replacement pickup for a "fleur de lys"

Postby albertgen » Tue Nov 18, 2014 6:25 pm

Good question Art, Al
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