Got Me A Krivo Micro Manouche Pickup

Mondoslug · November 23

Yeah the Sunrise I have came with an 1/8" also. I stuck a 1/4" female on there, it's a bit cumbersome but it works.

Yeah, the custom cable.

Buco · November 23

You could always use adapters though, there isn't a noticable signal degradation with good quality parts.

Mondoslug · November 24

Yeah, thanks Buco. Still not sure, the first cut's the deepest. :) I like the pickup, It makes you play differently, me anyway having a mag stuck to the top. I'm sure I'll be throwing some more money at the endless pursuit of "making it sound like the guitar...only louder." Hahaha. Thanks for the kind words on the playing.

MikeK · November 24

Mondoslug, you're wise to bring your pick-up/tone questions to this forum. And you're always going to get great advice when our resident guru Buco chimes in. I'm a huge fan of the Krivo pickups. I own 4 and I've played hundreds of gigs on them with satisfaction. In fact, I'm the guy that posted the pic of the Krivo mounted to the D-hole with the dot of putty on the fretboard extension section here many years ago. Here's my take on Krivos:

My 1st one was fair, but it was an old generation that clipped into an oval hole. After using it on a few gigs, the clip broke. I tried using putty at that point but the tone was fairly weak and thin.

My 2nd one was one of the wooden ones with adjustable pole pieces (Djangobucker). The tone was much improved over the previous one. I used that one for several years & loved it. But the pole pieces gave me the illusion of control over something that can't be controlled (the slight imbalance of string volumes) so I drove my self a bit crazy with the constant fiddling with the height of the pole pieces. I reality, I was trying to correct that which cant be corrected.

When Jason made the next generation (micro manouche), I bought one very early on. It's like yours, but the chrome version. I wanted a black one like yours but he was out of them at the time. To this day, that pick-up is my workhorse. I use it on both of my Altamiras (M-10 & M-30), playing 10 to 14 gigs a month in Asheville & it's never let me down.

I bought one like yours last year (black & gold) from a gentleman here on this forum so I would have a back-up. But it generally stays in my gig bag. There are slight tonal differences between the 2 of the latest generation (sealed with no pole pieces available) but I've learned how to modify the settings on my amp (Fender Blues Jr) to correct for the minor discrepancies. So there you go. To my ears, the Krivos (Djangobucker & micro manouche) are tops. You won't get the true acoustic sound of your instrument, but it's close (I prefer Django's electric tone anyway). And you'll never have to fight with the gypsy jazz feedback monster. Anyway, you sound great in the video. So congrats on your purchase from Michael. I'll send pics of my 4 Krivos for reference later, if anyone is interested in seeing them.

scot · November 24

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/118784#Comment_118784

I had an NOS original Stimer that was intermittent from the day I got it. I replaced the original 1/8" jack with a new Switchcraft jack and never had a problem again. I couldn't believe the poor quality of the original jack - the socket was too large and the contact was made of some really soft metal. But boy did it sound good!

Buco · November 24

Mike is back!! Welcome back Mike.

You know, I never went with "I want it to sound like my guitar, only louder" mindset. Even miced with the nicest mic, it doesn't sound exactly the same as it does acoustically. I only listen to what comes out of the speaker and decide if I like it or not. If it sounds good enough, I'll take it. Then I eq it not by asking what do I want out of the sound. I ask myself what is it that I don't like and try to remove it.

@scot you mean it sounded good in general or something changed after you swapped the jack?

voutoreenie · November 24

Ahh, the endless pursuit of trying to get a Django box to sound the same amplified as it does acoustically. I'm no touring pro but after gigging locally/regionally for years I've found the most approx sound to be a combo of magnetic pickup and contact mic - having both options not only gives a nice blended projection but also gives you the flexibility to increase the output on one or the other depending on the sound conditions in the space you're performing in.

Mondoslug · November 24

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/118802#Comment_118802

>>>I was trying to correct that which cant be corrected.<<<

Hahah, true. Hey thanks Mike, appreciate you posting on this, great stuff! Well you have a lot of experience with them.

I just got done playing it & it does sound good through a guitar amp, very fat. I'm interested in seeing the pics of the 4 Krivos when you get some time. Again, thanks for checking in.

Mondoslug · November 24

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/118804#Comment_118804

The only louder is pretty tongue in cheek...any time I see somebody claim that I smile. It's kinda fun in that, you can sorta get away with playing electric on an acoustic gig this way.