peche a la mouche pick up review

Paulius Volkovas

Anyone has any DI recordings? Also would you mix this pickup with some acoustic pickups?
For me the best acoustic pickup is by Patrick Inghilleri, but it lacks volume when i have to gig with a drummer sometimes. Maybe mixing these two pickups would allow for more volume. I still prefer the acoustic pickup soundwise.

wim

Yeah I try sometimes blending the AT pro 70 with the peche. Literally have them both clipped an the guitar at the same time. You can get a nice sound this way because each is missing something the other has. But I wanted a pedal or something to control the balance, because I feel the Peche sounds better for lead but a bit sucky pour la pompe, the AT mic sounds better for rhythm. I never bothered to find a pedal though, it all seemed like a bit too much mucking around ..

klaatu

Same experience as Kevin, the Guzz could sound exceptional when perfectly positioned, but it was extremely finicky. And I agree with Wim, the output level was comparatively low, it needed a good bit of boost from a preamp. The clip also had very sharp edges that gouged the soundhole on my guitar, which I did not appreciate. The Peche is not as well balanced between the wound and unwound strings as I would like, but it's better than some other magnetics, and all in all, a good compromise. It is my go-to pickup in challenging situations when a more acoustic solution does not work well.

nicksansone

I do love the sound of the guzz and hadn't experienced the positioning issue until yesterday when trying it on a favino size guitar; the b string disappeared until I found the right spot. The output is so low that you have to have the volume fully open, and then the sound if full of single coil signal buzz, which is a bit frustrating. I was thinking that some eq boost from the pickup to the amp would solve this, but I haven't tried it yet. I made some temporary "legs" to get the pickup height closer to the strings in an effort to increase the output, and it does help a bit. I also padded the still very sharp looking metal attachment plate, for extra safety. I hope his series 3 will be thicker and have a much higher output without sacrificing the quality of the sound, as the rhythm sound is the best I've heard from a pickup, while retaining the lead clarity.

Jazzaferri

I know I am old and probably set in my ways but I don't think I will ever quite get the pickup on acoustic guitar thing. Much prefer a good supercardioid mic and if necessary a tight notch filter. If one is going to play electric at least put a decent set of strings that work with a pickup. LOL.

Seriously though, I have found this review and the comments quite interesting and if I ever get to the point of giving up my Neumann I will give the Peche a try.

Gadjo_Jazz

Apologies for the essay

I also went through months of painstaking research trying to figure out which pickup I should get, as you guys have already said, they're not cheap and you want to make sure you know what you will be getting.

I too tried the Guzz II pickup, it sounded okay although I was only able to run it through an acoustic amp (not ideal I know) but the low output created so much noise I couldn't bear it and sent it back before my tube amp had arrived.

Jorge was a top bloke, and happily let me return the pickup to him, no questions asked. So top marks to him for customer service.

I did really like the idea of the mini XLR connector that kept the connection sturdy whilst playing.

I then took a gamble and went for the Yves Guen Original Stimer model (haven't seen many people post on here about owning one yet) and for me it sounds absolutely sublime.

Output is high, yes the B string is unbalanced compared to the others but it was built using the same blueprints of the original Stimer that Django used to my understanding. And once you get used to it, there isn't much of an issue, in fact you can really use it to emphasise certain notes quite effectively once you get the hang of it.

Overall I am very happy I decided to take a "gamble" on the Yves Guen model and running it through the Nuance VLT6-10 tube amp gives me exactly the sound I was looking for.


For those of you wondering about the attachment mechanics for it.....

The pickup (for D hole guitars) comes with 4 u shaped magnets. there is a sticky tape (held out well so far) that lets you stick them to the inside of the sound hole.

You then have 2 almost transparent plastic rectangles with 3 threaded holes in them spaced out (so you can adjust where the pickup sits over the sound hole)

These plastic pieces are also fitted with magnets at each end, you use them to connect to the U shaped magnets under the sound hole.

Next...

You then have 2 screws with a spring and a magnet that you thread through the desired hole, being threaded you are then able to adjust them to sit flush with the sound hole. You can just see them in the pic!

The pickup is also magnetic and simply attaches to the magnets on the screws.

It feels very sturdy and I've never felt like it may fall off whilst playing.

When wanting to play acoustically, simply remove everything bar the u shaped magnets on the underside of the sound hole.

The connection is phono and connects on the bottom (high e) side of the guitar. This is the only part that does feel like it may break after time and doesn't feel anywhere near as sturdy as the XLR connector.

The volume knob is made from bakelite

Sorry the pic is upside down!!

Anyone wanting to hear how they sound check out this link

http://www.nuanceamp.co.uk/sounds.html

Tant Pis Ou Tant Mieux or Besame Mucho are the best recordings of it.

2 mics for recording and just some subtle eq, compression and reverb on the tracks.

ya-honza

Been playing gigs with my Guzz II for a couple of months now, running it into a external preamp and into the Compact 60.

Have seen a lot of mention of the low output but haven't really experienced that myself, the gain on the preamp is only around '10 o'clock' and similar on the amp and I get plenty volume.

I do prefer the Guzz for the single note stuff and an AT381b mic for rhythm, I tried swapping between the two in a gig recently but they are such different beasts so ended up blending them for one sound. However I really tend to just use the Guzz overall as sound check is much quicker, no feedback issues etc.

Yes, the placement can be finicky as if its slightly out, you'll notice an imbalance but once in the right spot, it's close enough for rock n' roll...

ya-honza

On a related issue, I keep seeing guys playing with the magnetic pickups mounted upside down (ie the volume knob at the top). What's the reason for this - is there a better string balance or does it just give more room for Pete Townsend style windmill gypsy picking?

kevingcox

There's no trick, just that different pickups are designed differently. Some have the knob at the top and some at the bottom.

nicksansone

I think the Guzz output "issue" is directly related to your string height; the lower the action the more output. For medium to slightly higher action it's just a weaker signal; at least in my experience.