Active pickups in H555 - battery placement?

[mikehihz]

Hey folks:

 

I'm the owner of a new-to-me blond H555. Once I had the guitar Pleked and setup, I love it except for the bridge pickup. This guitar has the Schaller pups, and while the bridge pickup works well for me, the bridge pickup has a pronounced midrange honk. I'm not a fan of large amounts of EQ so I'm looking for a bridge pickup (and maybe a nicer neck pup as well.)

 

I'm grooving on the Fishman Fluence pups, but am at a loss as to where to put a 9V battery.

 

Has anyone put active pups in an H555 before and what is your experience with bridge pickups?

 

What about a bridge pickup with has a more balanced frequency response and moderate output? What have people put in this guitar?

 

Thanks!

 

Michael in SF

 

[DetroitBlues]

Typically when going to an active pickup system, it requires a battery compartment to be carved into the guitar. You might be able to hide one inside a F-hole, but I seriously doubt it. If it was a full hollowbody, its possible to place one inside a pickup cavity, but a 555 has a center block, so I don't know if there will be access through the pickup cavity.

 

Plan on carving a battery compartment on the back of the guitar is my thought. Or else, swap the pickups. But swapping pots and caps may help with the tone of the bridge.

[MartyGrass]

I wonder if it is possible to mount it under the pickguard. Alternatively you could cram it in the F hole and fish it out when needed. Apparently there is a USB charge capability. The battery may be able to reside inside the F hole with a USB extension mounted under the pickguard.

[HANGAR18]

What kind of amp are you using? I am of the humble opinion that one should improve their tone by first improving the amp that they use.

 

As for active pickups, did the Fishman Fluence people tell you anywhere in the literature whether or not you will have to replace all the pots and wiring? My H157 has active pickups (which really aren't necessary but I thought they were cool at the time) and I had to rewire the entire guitar and replace all the pots and the jack. A real pain in the blank.

 

I can't think of a good place to put a battery on a 555.

[Vanschoyck]

Maybe just try some Duncans. My 535 has a Seth in the neck and Pearly Gates in the bridge. A lot of people really like Seth Lover in both positions. Might save you the trouble of going with active.

[TalismanRich]

Mike, you said you don't like the midrange honk of the Schaller. Are you looking for something a bit more "scooped mid" style? If so, you might look at either the SD APH-1s or the JB for the bridge. They both have that scooped sound, with the JB being hotter and fatter on the bottom. I put the APH-1s into my H140 and they did the trick. The Schallers that were in there were very lifeless.

 

That said, not all Schallers are the same. The ones in my 157 and 535 are both clear and crisp sounding. The ones in the 140 were dull. All have 500k pots. I tried 50s wiring, and changing the caps but it didn't help.

 

The Fluence pickups look interesting but as you have discovered, finding a spot for the batteries could be a pain. No easy access ports on the 555s. Plus, its one more thing to go wrong when you show up somewhere and find the battery is dead and you forgot the spare!