M1A Lowering Pole Pieces

[MikeW]

Hi,

I have an M1A installed in my Martin 000-15S. With the volume on the pickup set at 5 I have to lower my amp volume and gain to 1 to get an moderate overall volume.

I would like to lower the pole pieces so I can raise the amp levels to about 4 or 5.

How much should I turn each pole to achieve this? The string balance is good.

[Bryan McManus]

Hi Mike,

I'm not certain the pole pieces can be lowered enough to achieve what you're after. The pole pieces will diminish the string response relative to a fixed amount of response to the body. There is also a limit to how much lower the pole pieces can be adjusted from factory default.

Is there a specific reason you want to be able to turn the amplifier's gain and volume up?

Normally, the stronger the signal you can start with - meaning the volume on the pickup should be at full - the better your signal-to-noise ratio should be because it allows you to use less gain at the amplifier input. When the signal from the instrument is as strong as it can be, and you can use less gain before overdrive at the amp's input, you then simply use the amp's master volume to set the overall level.

Generally, setting the levels through the signal path like that should result in the cleanest sound.

[MikeW]

Bryan,

Thanks for the info. My amp has pots for gain & volume. They are not lineal so the change from 1 to 2 has a greater effect than from 4 to 5. Just trying to make it a little less touchy. I've turned the poles down 1/4 turn and the results are good. I now can set the guitar channel to between 2 & 3.

[Bryan McManus]

Thanks for clarifying why you wished to lower pickup output. I admit that much of my knowledge of how the products should behave is anecdotal and intuitive and I myself don't have lots of hands-on experience with them. I would not have expected a big change in output but I'm glad you are able to get closer to the settings you were after.

[MikeW]

Bryan, The pickup works fine. It has a great sound and highly feedback resistant.