Wechter Guitar Pickup 3-pickup Amplification System

Back to Wechter Guitars

Piezo + Microphone + Magnetic Pickup

Below are some suggested settings for 3-pickup amplification system on the Pathmaker guitars:

- Start with the microphone level slider on minimum.
- Increase the microphone signal slowly to add more natural sound.
- The rotary volume knob controls the volume level of magnetic and piezo pickups only.
- The microphone volume is controlled by the mic level slider.

The preamp blends the signals from a Condenser Microphone, a Soundhole Magnetic pickup and an under saddle Piezo pickup.

It features a 3 band equalizer (Bass, Middle, Treble), a Magnetic/Piezo pickup blender, Microphone controllers (Sharpness and Level), a low battery indicating LED, a Phantom power LED, a phase reversing switch for feedback control, and a Master volume. It is powered by either a 9 V battery or by 48 V phantom power.

The Magnetic/Piezo Blender is a blending system that blends the signals from a Soundhole Magnetic pickup and a under saddle Piezo pickup.

The microphone controller is composed of two features - a level controller and a sharpness controller.

Bass controls adjust the amount of gain at 80 Hz. Middle controls adjust the amount of gain at 800 Hz. Treble controls adjust the amount of gain at 3 kHz. All controls can be boosted or cut 12 dB.

The 3-pickup system comes with a standard 1/4" jack and an XLR jack. The XLR jack carries a low impedance balanced line. A standard guitar cord fits into the 1/4" jack.

The standard 1/4 inch and XLR jacks can be used simultaneously. The signal cannot be split, i.e. the same signal is available at both jacks simultaneously. The only difference is the output impedance.

The pre-amp can be powered by an externally accessible 9V battery or by 48-volt phantom power through the XLR jack.

When the white LED glows, it indicates that phantom power is being supplied to the pre-amp. When the red LED glows continuously, it's time to change the battery.

A phase reversing switch squelches feedback.

Dimensions: 55 x 90 x 44 mm (width x length x depth)

Frequency Characteristics:

3000 Series Pathmaker™ with the 3-pickup amplification system won Guitar Player Editors' Pick Award in the November 2003 issue of the magazine.

In his review of the 3-pickup amplification system, Guitar Player Senior Editor Andy Ellis writes: "The Pathmaker’s sexiest feature is its electronic package, which comprises a preamp/mixer, a condenser mini-mic on a flexible stem, a single-coil magnetic soundhole pickup with adjustable polepieces, and an undersaddle piezo transducer. The sidemount preamp allows you to manipulate the level and tone of all three signal sources using a minimum number of controls."

"For starters, there’s a slider to adjust the balance between saddle and soundhole pickups, which can range from 100% of either to equal amounts of both. A volume knob controls the output level of the blended pickups, and a 3-band EQ lets you cut or boost signals at 80 Hz, 800 Hz, and 3 kHz by ±12 dB. The mic has two sliders that operate independently of the pickup section. One adjusts the mic level, and the other boosts the mic’s upper mids. Additional goodies include a 9-volt battery-access port, a handy low battery warning LED, and a phase button that flips the signal polarity of the saddle pickup. You can use the latter to fight feedback onstage, or subtly emphasize different overtones in the studio."

"The Pathmaker has two outputs—a low-impedance XLR jack and a high-impedance 1/4" jack—mounted on a plate near the endpin. These jacks carry identical mono signals, so you can’t split the pickup and mic outputs. But what you can do is feed your sound simultaneously to a P.A. and stage amp, and then wrangle the results independently. In the studio, the dual outs suggest creative options like recording a clean signal from the XLR jack, while connecting the 1/4" jack to an effects unit and then bussing the processed tones to a second track. If you gig a lot, you’ll really appreciate how the system runs happily on 48-volt phantom power supplied from a mixer via the XLR cable—slick! A dedicated LED indicates when the phantom juice is flowing."

"Plugged in, the Pathmaker has a huge repertoire of blended mic and pickup sounds. Whether you’re after crunchy chord riffs or warm lead lines, you’re bound to find what you need—plus variations thereof. The guitar’s mag and saddle pickups sound clean and robust, but it’s the hot mic that provides the magic. Some claim that a mic placed inside an acoustic picks up more sonic garbage than useful timbres. However, I found that by pulling the capsule out of the soundhole—so it hovers between the soundboard and the bass strings, angled toward the treble strings—the Pathmaker delivered a very credible miked tone. This proved especially useful in a studio setting, where I’d often let the mic do most of the work. Onstage, the mic is forced to play a more subservient role to avoid feedback. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much mic signal to animate the direct pickup tones."

Back to Wechter Guitars 3000 Series

Email

Ordering, Shipping and Return Policies

Why Buy from Adirondack Guitar?

Adirondack Guitar Home