Pick ups - Krivo vs Steimer ?

Andrea Vergani

Hello, I have been using a slightly older Krivo for many years, I found it to sound fairly acoustic-ish but sometimes it feels like it lacks of oomph when soloing.

I am tempted to go for a Steimer option but I was curious to hear from other Krivo players, especially in terms of setting on their amp - I use an AER 60 with it.

MikeK

I have 2 Krivos--a 5 year old Djangobucker and a 2 year old Micro Manouche. I love them both, but I prefer the Micro Manouche. It sounds a bit cleaner & warmer to me. I run it through a Fender Blues Jr and it gives me a fairly acoustic-sounding dark tone that I love. I use it on 10 to 12 gigs a month & it's never let me down. I haven't tried a Stimer, but I have a friend who uses one & it sounds a bit bright/harsh for my tastes. You asked about amp settings, here's where I set things:

Reverb-2/Master-2? (I adjust it depending on the gig)/Mid-2/bass-6/Treble-2/Master-9. And I engage the fat switch.

I dont sense a lack of oomph when I solo, but I get your frustration with that. No pick-up is perfect, but with the Krivo, I get a rhythm tone that I love and a lead tone that I like. I hope this helps.

Buco

I think try a tube preamp if you can. That's what I do when I use the Krivo pickup with my Lunchbox acoustic amp. Completely different amp from the AER but they are both designed to run acoustic instruments and in my case when I use a tube preamp with the Krivo, the change in sound is fairly subtle but makes all the difference. Makes is sound warmer and more compressed, in other words punchier. I use Art tube MP studio preamp, which is fairly inexpensive. Last night I used this combo at a gig and loved the sound. Was asking myself why don't I use this more often (well, because it's just easier to plug in and use the built-in Manouche mic). I felt the high e string is thinner sounding than the others but I can live with that. I want to buy a Stimer for a different sound but will be keeping the Krivo either way.

DoubleWhisky

If you want an acoustic like tone, why not use a lavalier mic like for example the AT831B? While I love the Stimer pickup sound it is completly something different than the acoustic sound of your guitar and regarding oomph: the blank sound of a stimer is actually fairly thin. The amps that were available back in Djangos time can be described as "wooly, bass heavy, muddy" compared to modern amps and todays players like Angelo Debarre tend to use amps like for example small blackface Fenders, which are quite mid scooped and have some grit in the tone even at moderate volumes. So the oomph doesn't really come from the pickup itself. If you have an electric guitar the sound is very comparable to stimer style pickups, as they are nothing else than clip on singlecoils.

So i'm in Bucos and MikeKs camp, maybe it's worth to tinker with the rest of the chain first.

MikeK

Andrea, you asked about pick-ups but also mentioned wanting more oomph when you solo. That's a fairly common issue with gypsy jazz guitars. If you haven't already tried it, you could switch to heavier strings. I use Argentine 11's (from Michael here at Djangobooks), but I buy single 12's from D'addario to use for the high E. (Buco mentioned this issue as well, earlier in this thread). I find that it helps. But it seems to be one of those things that we all have to make peace with to some degree in this genre.

JasonS

IMO use a mic or piezo if you want an acoustic tone. If using a pickup like the Krivo or Stimer embrace it for what it is and run it through a real tube amp... preferably something similar in tone to what would have been used in Django's day. I have never been impressed with the tone of clip on single-coil pickups through an AER, Bugera, etc.

Buco

I don't think Andrea is looking for acoustic sounding magnetic pickup, at least I didn't read it that way. I was under the impression it's a question of fatter sound, more oomph. Fwiw I use 10s on my guitar and high e works well for me as is. But for whatever reason, and it could be a matter of string gauge, when amplified with Krivo I feel it's noticably thinner sounding than others.

flaco

The nice thing about the Stimer over the Krivo is the built-in volume knob. You can dial it in with the louder, punchier sound for leads and then roll the volume back for rhythm. I suppose you could do something similar for the Krivo with a boost pedal or volume pedal.