Smoothing out the top end

[Tonedog]

Good Morning,
I have a 2008 Taylor GC-8, which is a shorter scale Grand Concert 14'th fret body joint guitar that has a Spruce Top and Rosewood back and sides.

The guitar has a bone nut and bone saddle, and has an Anthem-SL installed. There are a few notes on this guitar on the high E string (F, F# G) that tend to have a little bit more "zing" in their voice. I have compared this guitar to a few other similar Taylor GC series guitars, and this tonal trait seems to be common, it's not a fret buzz or something like that. Anyway... this zingy characteristic seems to get amplified, and I'm trying to determine if there is a way to reduce it, or if there is a different pickup that might work better (piezo only vs piezo / mic, etc.). This is definately more noticeable when strumming (vs finger style), and more so when strumming with medium to higher energy. (Light strumming sounds much better).

Have you dealt with this type of issue before? What would you recommend?

Greg

[Caleb_Elling]

Hey Greg,
This isn't something that I've really seen before, at least based on your description. If the noise is inherent in the guitar then I would think that any mic-equipped pickup system would amplify it. If you can't tame it with some EQ, you may need to use a pickup that will isolate a little better, like an undersaddle-only system. It won't sound as natural, but in this case, it sounds like that may be necessary.

[Tonedog]

Thanks Caleb, I'm still trying to be sure there are not any issues with the guitar that are causing this, but an Element or transducer type system may work better in this guitar. I hope I can find a way to keep the Anthem in it, as the Anthem is my favorite pickup.

[Nomanoba]

Hi, I have a Guild F130R CE which when new had a sonotone pickup which was rather harsh. I bought the Anthem hoping for a better sound, but it's still harsh on all settings. I realise the guitar is a tad over built, but the harshness on full mic is painful. I installed in the correct place but now thinking it would sound better anywhere else. Any advice would be gratefully recieved.

Thank you,

Gelan

[Caleb_Elling]

Hi, I have a Guild F130R CE which when new had a sonotone pickup which was rather harsh. I bought the Anthem hoping for a better sound, but it's still harsh on all settings. I realise the guitar is a tad over built, but the harshness on full mic is painful. I installed in the correct place but now thinking it would sound better anywhere else. Any advice would be gratefully recieved.

Thank you,

Gelan

Have you tried turning down the Mic Level control with the provided tool? That should bring the mic's harshness down significantly.