RMC piezo "low sensitivity" issue on 1st string

Started by vg99er, March 02, 2011, 02:26:09 PM

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vg99er

I have been experiencing issues with "low sensitivity" on the 1st string (top E) through my RMC pickups on my Godin LGXT guitar.  I've had the guitar for several years now and this problem only surfaced within the past several months. 

I've sent Godin an email but not had any response yet.  Anyone know of a better way to contact Godin?  I can't seem to find a phone number.  Or is it better to deal with this through a local music store?

My research online shows that I am not alone in this issue although I am guessing it is somewhat rare:   http://launch.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/midiguitar/message/25271

Anyone else heard of this issue or have a suggestion for a fix?
Thanks!

melodymann

I'm not sure if this is the same problem, but somebody will probably find this helpful. I had serious problems with volume fluctuations
with my RMC system. Through MUCH trial and error that involved long winded emails with Richard Maclish  himself(founder of RMC) I
discovered that my nuclear sweat was getting inside the saddle, then the humidity from my hand was shorting it out. The problem was
solved by using silicone to seal the small holes on both sides of the saddle. You can test for this condition by breathing in to the saddle
if the volume goes down and slowly returns....bingo, welcome to the world of acidic sweat!

By the way, my problem was mostly on the lower (E,A,D) strings where I rest my hand. Hope this helps.

bbob

#2
Quote from: vg99er on March 02, 2011, 02:26:09 PM
Anyone know of a better way to contact Godin?

My suggestion would be to bypass Godin and e-mail Richard McClish at:

info at rmcmusic.com

He has always been very quick to respond to any questions I had in the past unless he was out of the country.

Bob

TheGuitarPlayer

I've just came home from a gig where I've had this loss of sensitivity (had to switch to mags, haven't done that in a while), and I also believe it was caused by nuclear sweat off my hands.  I'm going to get some silicon tomorrow and plug those holes, I'll reply again when I've got some news to report.

TheGuitarPlayer

#4
Okay, I've plugged the hole's with silicone, but I'm still getting bad shorts, particularly on the bottom two strings. Anyone else got any ideas?

Elantric

#5
i suggest contact Richard  at RMC Pickups for advice.

e-mail:  info@rmcmusic.com


RMC Pickup Co.
1739 Addison #15
Berkeley CA 94703

http://www.rmcpickup.com/

TheGuitarPlayer

Thanks Elantric, I've already sent him an email as well, hopefully he'll have some good news. I think I can see where the problem lies. Each saddle is in two pieces, the steel piece, and the (golden covered) piezo element.  I believe the seal on this cover is not very good and is allowing moisture to get in and short out the signal.  Graphtech saddles don't seem to have the same potential for moisture to get in (I have the GraphTech saddles on my Moog), as the piezo element is contained inside a single piece of graphite.

At this point, I think either I'll try and use acrylic to improve the seal, or failing that, switch to a Wlikinson bridge with Graphtech saddles (but keep the RMC electronics internally).  I'll wait to hear back from Richard first of course, in case he has any bright ideas.

ntblade

Hi,
Just for you info, I had the same trouble on two of the saddles of my XTSA which showed up about a week after I bought the guitar (I had only played it twice at band rehearsal).  The shop replaced them under warranty and I was advised about the "sweat problem".  I'm not impressed by the suggestion that this may cause the pickups to die as I think that they should be able to withstand any normal useage.  As it happens, I don't have sweaty hands and don't do what I would consider to be excessive palm muting.

I think this is a design flaw and really should be addressed since these guitars are not cheap!

I know this doesn't help you but you're not alone!  It worries me that this will happen again to my guitar.

NTB
8o)

TheGuitarPlayer

I heard back from Richard, but after weighing up the options, I've decided to change to Graphtech saddles. Like ntblade, I tend to believe (regrettably) that the problem is caused by a design flaw. The piezo element is not well sealed on at least 3 of my saddles, and there's no guarantee that the other saddles are much better, or that any replacements would be any better.  Because Graphtech saddles are one piece, the piezo element is well sealed, and I've had no problems on my Moog E1-M.

I've looked at the wiring on the LGXT, and I believe the Graphtech saddles should be easy enough to install.

admin

Just know compared to RMC piezo saddles - the Graphtech Piezo saddles exhibit higher adjacent string mechanical "crosstalk:

this results in more warbling with DSP alt tuning and random mistracked notes during Guitar to MIDI

Piezo saddles changing sensitivity and output gain is often related to humidity under the saddle

Keep desiccant silica gel packages in your guitar case to help absorb excess humidity.



BRETTSEYFORTH

Quote from: TheGuitarPlayer on September 29, 2011, 02:39:27 AM
I heard back from Richard, but after weighing up the options, I've decided to change to Graphtech saddles. Like ntblade, I tend to believe (regrettably) that the problem is caused by a design flaw. The piezo element is not well sealed on at least 3 of my saddles, and there's no guarantee that the other saddles are much better, or that any replacements would be any better.  Because Graphtech saddles are one piece, the piezo element is well sealed, and I've had no problems on my Moog E1-M.

I've looked at the wiring on the LGXT, and I believe the Graphtech saddles should be easy enough to install.

Did you install the Ghost saddles on your LGX? If so, were you happy with the results?

Elantric

#11
Tested a stock Godin Freeway SA ( with Ghost Piezos Stock)

Poor tracking compared to my LGXSA or xtSA with RMC.

Installed Ghost saddles on my Variax 600 and that crippled the DSP Alt tuning ( lots more warbles)

If your palms sweat while playing , then RMC Piezos aren't for you.

I know a few who just installed a GK-3 on thier Godin LGX-SA because they perform better under humid conditions and it's true moisture does negatively Impact RMC Piezos