Midrange "honk"

[JeffP]

Hi
I have three M1 Active pickups, in a Tanglewood Earth 1000, a Seagull SM12, and a mahogany Tanglewood TW130.
I'm having little success in gaining a natural acoustic sound. I recently purchased a Venue DI, after trying a Session DI with no success. The Venue DI is better but I'm still struggling to find a good, natural acoustic sound.

[Caleb_Elling]

Hey Jeff,
Thanks for posting.

I generally like to cut around 300-400Hz on the Venue's Low Mid, and around 700-800Hz on the Hi Mid as a starting point with the M1A. Those two cuts usually do a lot to balance out the mid-heavy nature of the pickup. That response is definitely an inherent quality of many magnetic pickups, and you can usually minimize it with the right EQ. However, since it is an inherent quality, much like "quack" in undersaddle pickups, it's very difficult to get rid of entirely.