Peche a la mouche pickup

djorba

The pickup fits well on my Eimers D hole where the bar is very close to the soundhole. My (new) Stimer was pretty much impossible to place in the soundhole without damaging my guitar because of its dimensions and also due to the metal clips it uses. I can get the peche a la mouche in place very easily (and remove it as well) without any damage at all. You can rotate the clip if need be (unlike the Stimer) so that it gives you more options to fit it properly. The clip has a soft plastic covering which does not damage the guitar (and probably grips better). Clips are provided for O hole and D hole so this is far more flexible setup than the Stimer (which is either for grande bouche or petite bouche). I like the sound of the pickup alot, it is definitely warmer and fatter than the Stimer (more like a De Armond). And clean without any background noise. I find the balance is good (enough) for gypsy jazz strings. I have stuck the plastic stickers which are provided to raise the pickup if need be, on the bass side to ensure that the basses come out better in the balance (but that may just be my specific preference). Having the volume knob where it is may take a bit of adjustment at least care when playing to get used to, but is not a real issue as far as I am concerned (placement on the Stimer is not perfect for everyone either). This is the best option I am aware of for magnetic pickup of gypsy jazz strings (I can compare with my Stimer and De Armond 1100). The order and receipt of the pickup was quick and professional.

wildfire

I was wondering if you couldn't fix the problem by smearing a thin layer of some kind of shielding liquid, like epoxy under the e and b. That is, if you don't care if you modify the appearance.

Craig Bumgarner

I've been using a Peche a la Mouche pickup for about a month. I like it, but I'm not getting good string balance as advertised. Like a Stimer, the B is very hot, the high E is slightly less but the wound strings are all very weak comparatively. In a room alone, at moderate volume settings, it is not bad, but on a gig, it is very noticeable. As string balance is one of the main bragging point on this pickup, and some seem to have had success with it, I figure I must be doing something wrong.

My setup is a small oval Selmer style guitar, a Peche a la Mouche pickup mounted at the upper part of the sound hole up against the fingerboard, Argentine 11s, AI Clarus 2R Series III amp and NY8ER cab. I'm setting the EQ flat and using no on-board filters, external EQ, pre-amps or effects.

I saw Djorba's post on shimming up the bass side of the pickup. How has that worked out? Would think that might help the low E and A but would not do much for the D and G.

Again, I like the sound, just need the other 4-5 strings to join in, there is only so much I can do on the B string alone.

Craig

MichaelHorowitz

Hi Craig....do you have high action? Or a guitar with a very steep neck angle that creates a lot of space between the strings and the pickup? The balance seems to be better when the pickup is close to the strings.

I've gotten very good balance on every guitar I've tried it on. But it doesn't work as well on guitars with high action. Even so, it's never 100% perfect, although I don't know if any pickup is. But the balance is generally better than a Stimer.

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Craig Bumgarner

Michael Horowitz wrote:

Hi Craig....do you have high action? Or a guitar with a very steep neck angle that creates a lot of space between the strings and the pickup? The balance seems to be better when the pickup is close to the strings.

The strings are about 6mm off the pickup face. The string action at the 12 fret is about 3mm, but the guitar has a thick fingerboard, lots of top arch, a high neck angle and a 20mm bridge which is why there is so much clearance.

Michael Horowitz wrote:

I've gotten very good balance on every guitar I've tried it on. But it doesn't work as well on guitars with high action. Even so, it's never 100% perfect, although I don't know if any pickup is. But the balance is generally better than a Stimer.

Okay, thanks, that may be the problem. I don't need perfection, just a few more strings. I'll try shimming the pickup up some to see if that improves things. What string clearance has worked for you? Any thoughts on what kind of shims to try?

BTW, the pickup face has two levels, one that fits under the strings, the other has the volume control. I'm centering the thinner part on the strings. I assume this gets the different magnets lined up properly.

CB

MichaelHorowitz

The strings are about 6mm off the pickup face.

That's the problem...mine is only 3.5mm

Craig Bumgarner

Michael Horowitz wrote:

That's the problem...mine is only 3.5mm

Okay, I'll try shimming, thanks.

Craig

everett

davidschob wrote:

Has anyone tried one of these on a dhole... I have an early 90s dupont, and I can't figure out how the clip would fit... The brace seems really, really close to the hole.

i have an early 2000's dupont and no, it doesn't fit for the reason of the brace

i would love to figure out how to work this because i really love the pickup. it fits perfect on my stephane wrembel gitane, but the dupont mdc 50 is no good///

Craig Bumgarner

Deleted, somehow I double posted. (how do I delete a post completely? can't find "the button" for that).

CB

Craig Bumgarner

As a followup, shimming pretty much solved the weakness in the wound strings problem I was talking about. Thanks for the idea Michael.

I still play acoustic with a mic whenever I can, but the Mouche is the ultimate git-r-done option. I always take it with me on a gig knowing that if all else fails, it will work.

As an aside, if I wanted to try nickel wound strings that would react better to the Mouche, any idea what strings would give me something closest to a gypsy guitar sound? In particular, a better rhythm sound. I've heard because the Mouche is balanced for Argentines, it won't be balanced with traditional strings for mag pickups, but for the cost of a pack of strings, it might be worth a try. Any experience with this out there?

Craig