warwickhunt Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 The under saddle transducer on my Simon & Patrick has died (lost output and then started to hum and generally not be well). I took out the UST thinking easy swap but the B-Band system fitted has a thin plastic transducer and you can't get them anywhere! Thought of just fitting something else but I'll need to do some jiggery with the fitting as existing is push fit connect and worse still I've heard that sometimes the output/impedance doesn't match! My dilemma is do I just fit a whole new system and if so are there any good systems that won't cost more than the value of the guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 Any chance of a few photos..? Our Eldest has just replaced the duff piezo on his Seagull acoustic with a generic one; it went well (he's a luthier...). You could also try contacting Simon & Patrick in Canada; they may have either spare parts, or suggestions..? Douglas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted July 1, 2022 Author Share Posted July 1, 2022 The UST is defo goosed as I tried to refit it to try different things but it just hummed and had zero output. The flat plastic lead had various breaks of material. I might well try S&P but I'm not even sure they are still trading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 20 minutes ago, warwickhunt said: ... I might well try S&P but I'm not even sure they are still trading. Simon & Patrick Guitars : Contact Us... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted July 1, 2022 Author Share Posted July 1, 2022 Message sent. I did find a replacement which I believe is called a 29R type but it was £110... almost 50% of the value of the guitar and I could likely buy a complete new system for that much! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 If the pre-amp is OK, but it's the strip under the saddle that's H/S, it's a pretty easy fix, and not expensive. I asked for a photo; could you snap the bridge itself, with the strip..? Any replacement will not have the connector, but that's a simple matter of either soldering to the pre-amp pins, or cutting the defective strip cable and soldering the new one to it. It's not rocket surgery, and the impedance of these things is much of a muchness, especially at the price ranges we're discussing. This is the transducer we bought from Amazon... Under-saddle strip ... For the princely sum of less than 14€, it was an easy swap for the original, after modifying the passage for the wire to leave the bridge a tad. If the issue is the strip, it'll be worth a try with something of the sort, I'd say. If it's the pre-amp, though, that's another ball-game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted July 1, 2022 Author Share Posted July 1, 2022 Preamp is OK as far as can be tested. The strip was earthing and buzzing like crazy when tested and went silent if I earthed it but the 'cable' is a flat strip of plastic like material, likely it is conductive on one side with the ground on reverse and an insulator strip between. The new strip will need soldering to the pins due to the make up of the existing 'cable'. The impedance was my worry as a local tech reckoned that they vary and if you get a low one the preamp will never boost it sufficiently but then maybe he was angling for the job. I've seen the strips for £5 - £110, I'd hate to buy anything for much more than your £14 @Dad3353 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 (edited) 17 minutes ago, warwickhunt said: Preamp is OK as far as can be tested. The strip was earthing and buzzing like crazy when tested and went silent if I earthed it but the 'cable' is a flat strip of plastic like material, likely it is conductive on one side with the ground on reverse and an insulator strip between. The new strip will need soldering to the pins due to the make up of the existing 'cable'. The impedance was my worry as a local tech reckoned that they vary and if you get a low one the preamp will never boost it sufficiently but then maybe he was angling for the job. I've seen the strips for £5 - £110, I'd hate to buy anything for much more than your £14 @Dad3353 We were a bit 'picky' in choosing the strip we did; maybe an even cheaper one would have been fine. The Seagull had a pretty decent electrified tone before the piezo clapped out, but having replaced it with the one linked, it's just as good as before, so we're very happy with the operation. If you're able to do the removal and fitting of a new strip into the bridge cavity (that's the only delicate part, to be sure that the strip beds in well, and that the bridge height is not affected, or is adjusted to suit...) it's a no-brainer, really. Piezo are very high impedance, and I doubt that the pre-amp will see any difference, at 10% - 20% more or less. It's certainly worth trying, for such a small outlay, I'd say. Your local tech would certainly be able to do it, if you doubt your own capacity, and it shouldn't cost more than an arm or a leg or so. Edited July 1, 2022 by Dad3353 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted July 1, 2022 Author Share Posted July 1, 2022 I'm certainly up for a DIY job. I've already cleaned out the base of the slot and I'm happy to file/sand down the bottom of the nut, in fact I'll likely fit a new bridge nut as the previous one is a bit chewed and chipped in places. I think at £15 ish I'll try that first... just got to make sure the slot is correct size for the UST. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted July 5, 2022 Author Share Posted July 5, 2022 B-band no longer available... £14 substitute it is then! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 It seems that B-band was sold to Belcat a while back, quite a few UST's are supplied with a 2.5mm jack plug on the end so if you could add a matching socket to the preamp somehow that would allow you to easily connect up the new pickup (and swap it out if required) the 2.5mm jack means that the hole required to get the cable through isn't too big and it can easily be threaded in. by modding the preamp out of the guitar you also can remove the risk of accidentally damaging anything with the soldering iron. which preamp is it? (i'be seen quite a few different B-band ones in my brief google) I might have a UST in my bits box that you could test with if you want, think it is a Fishman one. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted July 8, 2022 Author Share Posted July 8, 2022 Hi Matt. It is this example of the B-Band. Externally the controls are on a curved triangular plate. I'd happily buy the UST off you if it is for sale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 hello, that link doesn't seem to work? the UST i have is part of a complete pickup/preamp system that i would like to keep together (it's a Fishman Eclipse Aura so quite a good one) it doesn't have the plug on the end as it connects directly to the board into a pair of screw terminals so it just has bare wires. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 if i were in your position i think i'd probably go for one of the Artec pickups, they're easy enough to get and the artec stuff gets pretty good reviews http://artecsound.com/acou/index.html matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted July 8, 2022 Author Share Posted July 8, 2022 I think I'll see if I can get the PG model @Matt P but I'll need to dig out my gauge to ensure it fits as I have a niggling feeling the dimensions on the B-Band was 2.2mm. I'll also need to look at getting a female socket to solder to the preamp as I'll be annoyed if desoldering will give me grief. The piezo @Dad3353 suggested appears to only be available from China on a 3 week delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 37 minutes ago, warwickhunt said: ...The piezo @Dad3353 suggested appears to only be available from China on a 3 week delivery. There are several readily available, such as ... Under-saddle piezo transducer for guitar ... Use this in Amazon Search and choose (I filtered by those with 4 or more 'stars'...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted July 11, 2022 Author Share Posted July 11, 2022 £6.99 free delivery (Amazon Prime), bare wire connection. We'll see how this one pans out; if it fixes the main issue but I don't like the tone, then I've sourced an Artec PG607 @ £15 which will be next. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted July 12, 2022 Author Share Posted July 12, 2022 Nearly there! UST fitted and soldered correctly. New bone pre-shaped bridge saddle bought (£2.50) and sanded to fit (height + length). It works... BUT the centre strings have greater output. I 'think' that as I've sanded the underside to the correct height, I've potentially applied more pressure to the outer edges and hence the centre is a whisker deeper/higher. I've also profiled the bottom face/edge to a 'U' shape as I'd seen somewhere that if the bridge tilts even a fraction in the slot (which most will) you get less contact area on the UST; maybe I need to flatten that to get a bigger contact area. We shall see. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blisters on my fingers Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 (edited) I had the exact same problem of uneven string volume after sanding the underside of the nut to lower the action on an Ibanez. I glued a square of fine sandpaper to a spare 6 inch wall tile and gently sanded it, just enough to remove the bare minimum of material. Checked it repeatedly by holding the nut to a straight edge and shining light through until it was absolutely flat. Only removed the burrs on the edges of the nut, so the contact area was flat and had as much contact with the UST as possible. It worked a treat, string balance was spot on. Clever old me Edited July 13, 2022 by blisters on my fingers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
