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Thread: Revelation Mandocaster Pickups

  1. #1
    Registered User stevemci's Avatar
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    Default Revelation Mandocaster Pickups

    I just got a Revelation mandocaster. On the whole I like it, but plugged in it has the "Low E Problem" in spades. The E string is about half the volume as the G string.

    Given the wide disparity in volume across the strings, is it reasonable to think that a good luthier/guitar tech can make adjustments to get E string up to par volume-wise? Or is swapping in Almuse pickups a more realistic approach?

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    working musician Jim Bevan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Revelation Mandocaster Pickups

    You're in the US – Steve Ryder, in Maine, makes excellent-sounding pickups.

    (I recently replaced a pair of Steve's humbuckers (which sounded amazing) with a pair of his stacked humbuckers (which sound just as amazing) in my Mike Marshall #2 5-string, and I can't put the instrument down. I also own one of his Tele mandos, and while it's not the best-playing mando I've had, those single coil pickups really do sound great.)
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    Registered User stevemci's Avatar
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    Default Re: Revelation Mandocaster Pickups

    I'm sure Steve Ryder's pickups sound great, but a matched pair would be half again as much as a matched pair from Almuse. I've always heard good things about Almuse pickups.

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    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Revelation Mandocaster Pickups

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Bevan View Post
    my Mike Marshall #2 5-string
    Jim, is that a Knutson?
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    Registered User Tom Wright's Avatar
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    Default Re: Revelation Mandocaster Pickups

    Quote Originally Posted by stevemci View Post
    I'm sure Steve Ryder's pickups sound great, but a matched pair would be half again as much as a matched pair from Almuse. I've always heard good things about Almuse pickups.
    They are good, but a different design than Ryder. Almuse uses small neodynium magnets under each pole, and there are models with adjusting screws. The E is given a larger magnet and is pretty effective. I found I could get decent E string response but had to replace the A adjuster with a smaller/shorter screw to even the two.

    I love my stacked singles from Steve but they are expensive and I push the E pole up and the A pole down. His design is alnico rod magnets as the pole pieces.
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    working musician Jim Bevan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Revelation Mandocaster Pickups

    Quote Originally Posted by mrmando View Post
    Jim, is that a Knutson?
    Yep – it's the one pictured on John's website (http://www.knutsonluthiery.com/mandolins/marshall.html).
    It came with Alembic pickups – the E-string was non-existent. Steve put in a pair of humbuckers, which took up all the real estate between the neck and the bridge, making it impossible to pick without clunking on a pickup. The stacked humbuckers allow for pick travel.

    John told me that he made a #3, and that's all.
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  7. #7
    Registered User stevemci's Avatar
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    Default Re: Revelation Mandocaster Pickups

    As a followup, I heard back from Entwistle mandolins, in fact from Alan Entwistle himself. Here's what he has to say on the pickups on the Revelation mandocaster:

    They are a single Ceramic bar magnet with 4 pole pieces, some of the really old ones have a single bar, however these are not Entwistle pickups, they are infact the only pickups in the Revelation range that are not Entwistle pickups.

    The problems mentioned have been noticed, and we remedied it by actually turning the pickups around, as the loss was caused by the connecting wires being directly under the top strings, rather than the pole piece, when the pickup is swung around this lack of sensing area is directly under the bottom pair of strings which give a powerful enough signal to override the loss.

    The entire problem has now been solved with our much updated JM 1 mandolin, which is more appropriately based on the Revelation RJT60, in this case we are using Entwistle "Undercover" technology and there is a powerful Entwistle UX3N humbucker mounted under the scratchplate, in all honesty this model is 100% up on the "Mandocaster"
    So, I can either have a luthier spin the pickups around or replace them. I'm inclined to replace them, in case spinning them doesn't work.

    Thanks for all the input.

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