peche a la mouche and dupont chorus

everett

i haven't used this pickup with this guitar, and just finally gave it a go. the pickup is held on with putty. it sounds OK, except the pickup is about 1-2mm thicker than the fingerboard extension, so playing any fret above 12 on the high e gets a buzz

also, the pickup is fairly heavy. since it's sitting right on the guitar's top, it really deadens it...a lot less sustain then when just played acoustic and mic'd.

anyhow, has anyone used a different magnetic pickup with this type of guitar? maybe a krivo or some kind of floating pickup? i'm looking for a more electric late django bebop sound...i do have an oval hole wrembel gitane, but really love playing the dupont!

guitarmike

A Lace Sensor Ultra Slim. And it is a humbucker ( double coil )
No background noise..

Al Watsky

If you continue to use the putty you can remove the 2 clear rubber pads on the under side of the pickup . That will lower the pickup and very likely give you the clearance you need. Take note that the pads are 2 different sizes with the thicker one on the bass string side. Also , you can get clearance with out removing the pads by moving the pickup about 1/4 inch closer to the bridge. One of the problems is that you seem to have a clear pick guard on the guitar which also raises the pickup. The Peche is a good pickup. These chorus models are oddballs . As far as the sustain goes , I'll bet you still have sustain, you likely have less volume acoustically though. Its a trade off.

Steveareno

Good advice from Al. I'd back it down a little ways towards the bridge and remove as much putty etc as you can to get more clearance. Looks like a super nice guitar. The slim Lace p/u might be a good option too. I think they were developed for Nationals and should sound good. I had a Krivo and it didn't seem to have the funky Django late 40's eally 50's tone, but a different amp may help.
Swang on,

everett

thanks for the info! the lace is actually a hair thicker than the peche a la mouche... i forgot about removing the little riser pads. i'll give that a try and mess with the positioning. i might try the lace and see what sounds better. it might help the guitar pump a little more since there's not a huge brass paper weight sitting on the top of the guitar..

Buco

Getting that Django electric sound will depend a lot on the amp as well. I have Krivo and going between the two amps the sound will go from that sort of Django electric type to acoustic archtop sound.
On a Lunchbox acoustic, high gain and desired volume will give a clean tone, leaning towards acoustic sound. On this tiny Traynor combo, TS-10, keeping master setting low and cranking the volume up will give that electric Django sound.
Keep the pickup since it's a great pickup, try some other amps or even changing settings on the amp you have.
Krivo, while lightweight, deadens the acoustic sound on my guitar, it just prevents the top from moving, they all do that if they make contact with the soundboard.

Al Watsky

If you want that old school tone you need a tube amp between 12 and 25 watts.
A TV front Fender Deluxe or low watt GA series Gibson amp . Late 40's to mid 50's .
Its automatic.
The Peche is good.
Everyone uses them.
They sound fine . I've had players get all misty about it, they dig the sound of the Peche that much.
I'm not trying for that 40's 50's sound myself. I've been using solid state amps, but if you want that old sound . Low wattage tube amps do it.

everett

yeah i think my next move will be to get a nice tube amp...i just have a low end solid state. i had a big tube amp, but it was way too much for this guitar/style, so i sold it.

i love the peche sound @Al Watsky ...it's just that it doesn't mount well with the dupont f-hole. works perfectly fine on my wrembel gitane. didn't work at all with my old 04 dupont mdc 50, because the bracing was too close to the opening of the grande bouche. this f-hole is my favorite of them, so i'd like to find a good solution that's easy to install and take off.

Stringswinger

Everett, I have a Krivo pickup. You are welcome to bring your Dupont over to my house in SF and try it. It is the slimmest pickup for a Gypsy guitar that I know of. I have owned a vintage Stimer, a Dupont Stimer and a Miller Stimer as well as both Krivo pickups. The single coil Krivo is the only one that fits my Dupont Oval hole. It does have more of a P-90 tone than a Dearmond tone though, so it may not get you the sound you want.

BTW, I am still playing the Dupont D hole I bought from you.

Regarding tube amps, Al is partly right. A low watt amp is part of the equation, older circuitry is another part of the equation. I have two low watt pre-CBS Fender Princetons (both are about 12 watts). The 1963 Brownface breaks up early and delivers the sound you are looking for. The 1964 Blackface stays clean almost all the way up to 10 (despite its low wattage) and would need a tube screamer to get that 1940's Django sound.

Cheers,

Marc
www.hotclubpacific.com

Al Watsky

Yeah its not a black face thing , its just not the right sound.
I have stuff from the late 40's .
Don't know if I think a tube screamer is the way to go ! A Rat maybe ? :rofl:

everett

had high hopes for this pickup! looks great, but it's actually the same thickness as the peche, and the B string is super hot.

Marc, I may take you up on trying the krivos. i'll probably just end up using the peche and finding the right amp!