Ischell Inside BOX + CPJ

klaatu

Craig Bumgarner wrote:

How does the Ischell handle dynamic range? All the mag and piezo pickups I've tried have had considerably less dynamic range compared to a mic. Some form of volume control nearby is almost a necessity when switching between rhythm and lead. A mic is much better in this regard, even if you don't use the "lean in" technique for leads and is one of the main reasons I prefer a mic when I can. How does the Ischell stack up this way?

Hi Craig,

All three guitarists in my band ordered Ischells, and we're very pleased with them after playing a couple of gigs under demanding conditions. Tonight we played at a retro swing dance before about 500 people, very noisy environment in a large hall. We DI'd into the PA system, with an excellent sound man at the board. The Ischells came through with flying colors.

They respond very well to your picking dynamics. You can play soft or loud, the mike will respond to either quite well.We all play both rhythm and lead pretty forcefully, and the mikes don't distort, the sound stays very natural.

I've never use a Scherlter DYN-G, so I can't compare them. I have used a Schertler Basik and didn't care for it. I found it rather shrill. It needed a lot of EQ and benefited from being blended with a mike like the AT831b to give it some bottom and fullness. The Ischell stands very well on its own. We all use Baggs Para DIs or the like when going into a PA. They are excellent for contouring the sound if necessary. I find that the Ischell also sounds great going directly into my Schertler David amp with very little adjustment. I use the low cut filter, but then I do that with most any other pickup or mike.

We all like the sound of the AT831b, but tonight it would have totally wimped out. The Ischell is certainly not as feedback resistant as a Stimer or Peche a la mouche pickup, but you have to like the very electric sound of those or at least be able to tolerate it. We're looking for acoustic, and the Ischell delivers very well.

MichaelHorowitz

Craig Bumgarner wrote:

How does the Ischell handle dynamic range? All the mag and piezo pickups I've tried have had considerably less dynamic range compared to a mic. Some form of volume control nearby is almost a necessity when switching between rhythm and lead. A mic is much better in this regard, even if you don't use the "lean in" technique for leads and is one of the main reasons I prefer a mic when I can. How does the Ischell stack up this way?

Like most mics, the Ischell has a pretty wide dynamic range so you can control rhythm/lead levels simply by altering how hard you play. It doesn't have the kind of compression you get with magnetic pickups. Pretty much "set and forget."

klaatu

Michael Horowitz wrote:

Like most mics, the Ischell has a pretty wide dynamic range so you can control rhythm/lead levels simply by altering how hard you play. It doesn't have the kind of compression you get with magnetic pickups. Pretty much "set and forget."

I would agree with that. Michael captured what I was trying to say, using a lot fewer words.

Paulius Volkovas

Do you guys use these Ischell mics in combination with other pickups or by themselves only?
I have a biggertone pickup, but i just ordered Ischell, and i am thinking should i keep Biggertone pickup or should i sell it?

klaatu

So far, we've only used them by themselves. After using them very successfully at the dance Friday, we played a concert in a small (160 seat) theatre Saturday and opted for the AT831b mikes for the most nearly acoustic sound possible. It took a lot of tweaking by an excellent sound tech to get them right.

It's not a bad idea to have more than one option, although if we had to pick just one, it would be the Ischell. It's possible that there are some environments where the Ischell would max out and a bigtone or magnetic pickup could be a lifesaver. I don't think we're going to encounter that.

kevingcox

I would say it depends on how much audio control you generally have while playing out. These mics will still feedback, but not nearly as much as something like an AT condenser. I find they still lack a little bit of the full bodied flavor of the acoustic guitar that you would get from such a mic, but they certainly don't sound like a single coil pickup. Like Michael has suggested, they are an excellent compromise between the two (probably leaning more towards the mic end of that compromise).

They make a nasty racket if you hit your soundboard with your pick, so if you are that kind of player you will have to adjust your technique.

The biggest downside of these for me is that they are kind of annoying to install, especially if you shim your bridge like I do. As a result, I have simply installed mine semi-permanently.

I don't know how the tone compares to a Bigtone specifically, having never used one.

klaatu

Kevin, you can hear a bigtone in a lot of Angelo Debarre's recordings. It has a pretty distinctive piezo sound, somewhat on the hot side.

Paulius Volkovas

Biggertone = active bigtone pickup. I haven't tried the passive version, so i cannot say how they compare.

Ischell website has a lot of other mic models. Have you , Michael, or others tried any other system from Ischell?

constantine

Mike do you know why its mounted just forward of the bridge (vs just behind) ?

kevingcox

Personally, I think it's to give fits to those of us who shim our bridges