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Instrument
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Piano
For Upright Piano or Spinet click here
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| Pickup |
1 TWIN SoundSpot XL and
1 TWIN SoundSpot Classic |
| Position |
TWIN SoundSpot XL on the
soundboard beneath the piano, behind the bass strings’
bridge
TWIN SoundSpot Classic behind the middle strings’ bridge |
Applying
The
Pickup |
You can apply the pickup
using either of two methods. Quick way: Stick a piece of gaffer’s
tape over the plastic side of the pickup disc and press firmly
around the pickup’s edge. Permanent way: Use super glue
(cyanoacrylate).
Important Note: Each grand piano has different characteristics,
so you will have to find the best locations for the pickups.
Therefore, if you intend to permanently mount them on the piano,
use gaffer’s tape while experimenting; then affix the pickups
with super glue.
To find the bridges’ locations, use your knuckles to lightly
tap on the grand piano’s bottom. Where it sounds dull,
a bridge is attached on the other side of the soundboard; where
the tone is hollow, it’s wide-open soundboard without a
bridge affixed. Once you locate the bridges, mark them with
a piece of tape or a pencil. The optimum sound is achieved with
the pickups attached two fingers’ width behind the bridges,
with their metal sides facing the wood.
TWIN SoundSpot XL: The two pickups should be attached behind
the bass bridge about 10" (25.4cm) apart on the left and
right side.
TWIN SoundSpot Classic: Only the middle strings will be picked
up on the middle and high strings’ bridge. (The high strings
provide enough volume to be amplified without their own pickup.)
Place one pickup behind the low part of the middle strings and
the other one behind the high part.
Note: To get the best sound, move the pickups a little bit at
a time, listening to the amplified sound after each installation.
Use gaffer’s tape for this. If you intend to permanently
mount the pickups, use super glue only after you have found
the optimum placements. |
| Jack |
Both the TWIN SoundSpot XL and TWIN SoundSpot Classic are
wired to a 1/4" jack, which attaches to the piano with
a self-adhesive dual-lock hook-and-loop strip.
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| Usage Tips |
You can use these pickups
with guitar, keyboard, or vocal amplifiers. Obviously, because
the piano has a wide range, you want to use an amplifier with
great range and fidelity. Because the piano installation uses
two pickup systems, you can plug them into two separate channels
and adjust the balance to suit your taste. For mono applications,
the wires from both pickup sets can be soldered into one jack. For P.A. and recording applications, a high-quality direct box such as as the D-TAR Solstice or Equinox is suggested. |
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