Thanks Dusty! and yes, for sure...I probably have enough for two life times lol!!!
Maria
Glad to hear of your success, Maria. When you perform, I would suggest a new piece of that window decal stuff since it loses a bit of its stickiness every time you move it.
DUSTY YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!
check out the video I did and gave you kudos on screen and on the credits!! thanks so much your window decal did the trick!!!
I will post the video in the video section too!!
Maria
Thanks for the pictures, Tom. I'm glad to hear you're happy with the pickup. My Myers pickup does not have the soundhole mic; it just works off vibrations from the wood, I guess.
I updated the post. Pics should be there now.
Yes the pick up is Great...just not how to attach it lol....Your photos didn't work though?? but thanks for trying to help. I think I'm going to try what Dusty Suggested!!
thanks!
Maria
This is Fantastic info!
I'm headed to staples!!! thanks so much Dusty!
Maria
I love my Myers pickup. The suction cup didn't work for me either. I don't have a flat space that is big enough, and it doesn't stick all that well anyway. Also, had to work around my soundholes-are-knotholes design.
After several false starts, I settled on removable velcro. I like the decal idea, though, and will try the command strips. The removable velcro itself doesn't come off, but the two parts don't stick to each other very well. The cord to the amp can pull the pickup off.
Maria,
First, how to remove the suction cup. Yes, you have to unscrew the two little screws to open up the box. Once you get the screws off, carefully open the box, keeping in mind that wires connect the two sides and you don't want to dislodge them. Once it's open you will see that the suction cup screws into a small hex nut. At first I thought that nut was part of the plastic casing, but it is not. I used needle-nosed pliers to start turning the nut, but once it started I was able to unscrew the suction cup by hand. Once you get them detached, put the nut back onto the end of the suction cup post for safekeeping.
Second, no, I did not use the adhesive squares that came with the pickup. I plan to follow Ken H's advice and never leave the pickup attached for too long, so I will need far more than two of whatever I end up using. I experimented with things called removable mounting squares and restickable mounting dots but found the command poster strips got the most volume. I am probably going to try again with even thinner two-sided tape.
Third, when I strum fast, my fingers touch the top of my dulcimer. On my Ewing dulcimette, the cedar top has a clear grain, and my fingers cross that grain, leaving tiny but sometimes noticeable scratches. So I cut a piece of a clear window decal sheet to fit the part of the soundboard where my hand might touch. It is transparent and not always visible, but it offers some little bit of protection. You can see it on this video if you look closely. Look at the the top of the dulcimer near where my hand is strumming and you'll see that part of the dulcimer is shinier than the rest. That is the decal sheet. Yes, you can get it at Staples; in fact that's where I got mine. It is called "Staples repositionable clear window decals" and is intended for you to print pictures and then stick them on windows or mirrors. You can find it in the specialty paper section of the store. You could conceivable just use a square under your microphone, I supposed, and then take it off when you take off the mic. In fact, when you take the adhesive strip off it will pull the decal sheet off with it. I have left the decal sheet on my dulcimer for several months at a time. There is no real adhesive on it, but it can get a little sticky and require some clean-up with a damp sponge. If you never leave it on for more than a week or two you won't even have to do that. I would suggest that anyone concerned with damaging their instrument with puddy or tape should use a small piece of this plastic stuff to protect the surface of their instrument.
Dusty,
I'm really interested in the stuff you are talking about (the plastic) what is it called? We have a "Staples" near me. would they sell it? and are you using the little squares that Greg myers Provides with the pick up or did you buy the command strips?
I actually have found the recorded sound to be quite good. I used it on the last 3 soundcloud videos I did if you want to check it out!
Thanks for the info and also I'm still also trying to figure out how to get the suction cup off. Do you have to unscrew the two screws on the bottom like you would to change the battery? and is there anything inside you actually had to unscrew. I'm sorry I'm just not following as I have opened the back when I first got it to make sure the battery was intact but haven't tried removing the suction cup.
Thanks again
Maria
Skip, I did finally get the suction cup off. What confused me was simply the instructions to open up the mic and unscrew it, but inside there is no screw head. I thought it was screwed directly into the mic box, but eventually realized there was a small hex nut there. Once I loosened the hex nut, the suction cup unscrewed with no problem.
I used one of those command strips and it seems to be working pretty well. I think it is in between the thin double-sided tape and the foam. I'll certainly experiment with other methods of adhering the mic to the dulcimer. Maybe we can continue this thread and report our different results.
I have another suggestion that others might follow, especially if you are afraid of putting tape or puddy directly onto your dulcimer. The top of my Ewing baritone dulcimette is very pretty red cedar, but my over-aggressive strumming sometimes hits the top, so to protect the wood I put on a small piece of plastic. It is cut from repositionable, transparent window decal sheets, which you can find in the specialty paper section of any office supply store. There is no adhesive actually involved, but it works as a simple pick-guard. Right now I have the Myers pickup attached to that rather than directly to wood. I haven't really experimented enough to know if it affects the tone, but it is very thin, so any effect would be minimal, I think.
It would also be nice to do a side-by-side comparison of the Schatten Dualie and the Myers pickups. I like the fact that the Myers has a volume control knob, but the real issue is the sound. Someday I'll buy a Dualie and do the comparison. But if someone beats me to it . . .
Thanks Rob!! I appreciate and enjoyed your information. I will look into that Rodico there is some other stuff I saw for sale on Elderly instruments; Ever hear of this;
http://www.elderly.com/schertler-putty-for-dyn-series-pickups.htm
Marg, it looks like Rodico in a round tin to me. I think it's made in Switzerland, too. If you try it, take a small amount, roll it into a very thin strip and when you're done, you put it back with the rest of it. It lasts "forever."
Ken, you're right the thinner tape is the best to use. I cut it into thin strips so it attaches only to the edges of the pickup. I also take it off when not in use.
There are two kinds of double-sided tape -- the one that's like ordinary tanslucent Scotch tape, and the one that is thicker foam with sticky sides. I've used both to hold pick -ups on my dulcimers, and I seem to get a better response using the thin tape. I suspect the foam absorbs some of the vibrations where the thin stuff doesn't.
The "trick" is not to leave the tape/pick-up on the dulcimer for more than a day/evening/session. If you do, it can 'mark' the finish (my OpenMic dulcimer has an oil finish). I don't believe any tape or command strip would be powerful enough to 'break' wood.
I just picked up (yuk) one of the Myers Pickups, too. The suction cup works on my guitar and my ukulele, which have a shiny, laquer finishes, but not on the two dulcimers I bought if for. Mine came with a couple of squares of double-sided tape and I also bought a few other similar products, but the problem I have is getting the suction cup off. It is screwed in and I can't seem to unscrew it for the life of me. The seller told me to unscrew the two screws that hold the box together and unscrew the suction cup from the inside, but that doesn't seem to work either. I am at a total loss about how to get the suction cup off.
It would be a useful experiment for someone with a few pieces of spare tonewood to test the variety of products that one might use to adhere a pickup temporarily to the wood and see which ones work best. Considering the pickup will be attached to 1/4" instrument cable, it has to be pretty strong, but we don't want anything that will permanently mark an instrument's finish.
Thanks Rob!! I appreciate and enjoyed your information. I will look into that Rodico there is some other stuff I saw for sale on Elderly instruments; Ever hear of this;
http://www.elderly.com/schertler-putty-for-dyn-series-pickups.htm
Thanks Rob!! I appreciate and enjoyed your information. I will look into that Rodico there is some other stuff I saw for sale on Elderly instruments; Ever hear of this;
Don't know anything about that pickup, Maria; I use a Schatten Dualie. When I got it, it came with double sided tape. Still have some; still works. Now it comes with some tacky "stick 'em." They sent me some and it does work good. What I've wanted to try is "Rodico One Touch." I used to work on watches and clocks. That stuff would not mar a porcelain dial on a watch from the 1700's and would hold the gears in place for tricky setting of plates. (Now that probably meant nothing to any of y'all, but trust me, it's cool.) No residue; good and sticky; doesn't take much to work well, doesn't lose it's stickiness. Oh yeah, did you try moistening the suction cup? Seems like I used a suction cup pickup back in the day on a classical guitar. If I remember right, if you push it sideways as you mount it, it forces more of the air out and it stays on longer. I would put it about an inch or two closer to the soundhole of the guitar then as I put it on, I'd also push it back toward the bridge as I was pushing down on the cup. It would quit moving and be pretty close to the right spot most of the time LOL
dan this isn't for a pick. I need something to "temporarily" stick my pick up on....I have a Myer's Pick up which gives excellent results for recording but it pops off and that wont be good for gigging. The owner said he's had many musicians use the ones that I described and that "sanstew" posted about using for his picks...I'm just trying to figure out what to do short of just using it for recording but that's a shame as it cost 129 dollars
Take care
Maria
I wouldn't put an adhesive strip on any of my dulcimers. I don't want anything hanging off them at all. My picks go into a small pouch on my belt or in the watch pocket of my jeans. My capo goes on top of the scroll or below the bridge if space allows. Otherwise it is in a pocket.
Okay quick question. someone told me on another group that they would be afraid of two things with the command strips: one that when they pull the tab to release it , it pulls on the wood and it could possible break it with that much force and two is there a residue of any kind on the dulcimers?
Thanks so much and if you don't mind do you know if the one I listed is the exact one you use?
thanks so much
Maria
Hi everyone I'm enjoying the wonderful sound of this pick up called "Myers Pick up" I've put a few examples on soundcloud and many people have commented how good the dulcimer sounds. Here's the problem. The suction cup he uses to mount the pick up to the dulcimer pops off. I've had to just leave it "sit" there and play carefully and it works but I have a gig in two months that I can't have that happen with....I thought at first I could use that "tacky" stuff that I use to hang up pictures in my class room but it does leave a residue. Also I reached out to the owner who was very understanding as I thought I may have to upgrade to a different type. He told me that was no problem but that he's had many customers tell him they use 2M command strips. I just went on Amazon and it does look like they could work without damaging the instrument. If you scroll down it shows that when you need to "remove" the strip from the instrument you pull a tab down and it releases it without damaging the wall (normally use is to hang up stuff on walls) I do recall back in the day those types of strips would rip the paint and sometimes the board of the wall off...seems like they made an improvement and they are touting that "it won't damage walls" etc.
what is your opinion?
Here's the link:
