Crowdster Plus pickup question

[vjcs20]

Hi Tom,

I finally received my Crowdster Plus from Indoor Storm as seen in this thread: http://andersonforum.com/board/showthread.php?t=4335

Just a couple of questions about the pickups. I tried plugging my C+ into my Audioengine A5 iPod speakers through the line-in input just to test out the guitar first, since I didn't have any acoust nor elec guit amp at home.

I realised that in mono mode with both pickups engaged (switch in middle position), there is a huge volume drop when I switch the blend from 100% acoustic to 100% electric pickup. Is this normal? Is the electric pickup output lower than the acoustic channel?
And is the electric pickup powered by the 9V battery? Or does the 9V battery power only the acoustic pickup?

Thanks in advance! :D

[tom]

the electric is always passive. there is a trim pot on the blend control pc board for level of the acoustic. so what you are really doing is lowering the output of the acoustic. i adjust that when testing them out to balance the two for mono use. you are welcome to adjust that to taste. it's not super convienient to get to, but it is the only trim pot. i usually play the middle strings because the crowdster has so much more bass that it can fool you about balance. i also usually have the electric pickup about as close to the strings as i can.

[vjcs20]

Thanks for the prompt reply, Tom! :D

So since the electric pickup is passive, the output will be lower than the acoustic pickup?

I just received my Crowdster Plus from Indoor Storm which just received the guitar from you guys at TAG around 3rd Sep.
I do suppose that the output for both pickups would have been adjusted for balance, prior to shipping out, right?
And the electric pickup distance from the strings should also have been set correctly beforehand?

Thanks again! :D

[tom]

since the acoustic has a preamp, itis capable of more output. all adjustments were made in my rig. depending on the bass response of your amp, balance can be affected. electric amps have a mid hump, and most acoustic amps have a bass hump, so i would expect some fine tuning depending what you run it through. remember that a stereo rig will give much better results for both sounds.

[Pietro]

You REALLY want to run this amp in stereo mode for best results. Mixing the sounds together on-board won't get you where you want to go, tone-wise, but separating the sounds, even if you do it in a "cheap" manner with just a modeling amp and an acoustic preamp or mixer, will make a HUGE difference. The Acoustic will shimmer and the electric will crank.

Are you planning on using this in mono mode long term? If not, don't touch that trim knob!

[Earthworm]

In about a week, I'm going to get the new POD XT3. It has two independent channels. My Crowdster is going into stereo mode--LOOK OUT BELOW!

Tom,
Do you recommend stereo mode for my hypothetical Crowdster Plus 12 string? ;)

[tom]

if i had a crowdster 12 string, i would definitely run it in stereo, or may quadraphonic so the octave strings could be delayed differently than the root strings:eek:

[Pietro]

Why not just 5.1 surround... That would be real usable and practical.