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The TB88/CR concert pickup
When the design of the instrument makes it impossible to electrify and amplify the acoustic or classical guitar with a pickup under the bridge,
the professional contact model TB88/CR is the solution because it allows us to obtain an electric signal without manipulating the instrument at all,
since it is enough to adhere it to the bridge or vibrating surface and the matter is resolved.
We show, therefore, on this page the results obtained in the design of a pickup for acoustic guitar, classical guitar and many other
plucked and bowed string instruments such as cello, double bass, even sitar and other exotic instruments with
excellent results, using as active element, suitably prepared barium titanate.
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The universal pickup revolution: electric sound = acoustic sound!
A gift for the eyes and ears.
Great sound with the banjo and the TB88 series
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The TB88/CR on the sitar
The transducer can be installed on top or on the side of the bridge or also on the body of the instrument very close to the bridge.
In both case, perfectly capturing the sound of the resonating strings. Double-sided tape is used to adhere it.
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The TB88/CR pickup on the hang
This pickup allows you to obtain a perfectly natural sound from instruments such as the hang and other similar instruments.
It also allows maintaining an orderly, clean presence of tripods and microphones.
Before installing the TB88/CR pickup.
After installing the TB88/CR pickup.
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In the first image we see Dominique Molard in a staging full of cables, microphones and tripods. In the second, the stage
is another thing... Clean of electrical accessories, the only protagonists are the hang's with the pickup TB88/CR and the
musician. Dominique Molard is a great french percussionist specializing in hang and other percussion instruments. With
Ivon Molard, also a percussionist, they have developed a very interesting research work in this field of music.
Other french percussionist musicians, such as Lionel Tessier and Mélaine Cogez, have joined the electric sound of the hang,
integrating this instrument electrified in the traditional set of percussion.
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TB88/CR Kit Contents
- Micro pickup universal with attached RCA connector.
- Double-sided adhesive tape.
- Shielded extension cable with RCA connector and 1/4" JACK.
- Data sheet.
Technical data:
- Mobile sensor.
- Instruments: Plucked and bowed strings. Also small percussion.
- Contact surface:
20mm. x 12,5mm.
- Impedance: 12K ohms aprox. (1Khz).
- Fixing: Double-sided adhesive tape, included in the kit.
- Cable for amplifier included: 3m. with RCA and JACK 1/4".
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Mechanical correction of frequency response
In our designs, the basis of transduction is barium titanate. The graphs presented below show that, on a medium-sized ceramic substrate,
apart from small, rather weak resonances in the upper part of the audio spectrum, easy to correct, there also appear one or two strong
resonances and their corresponding anti-resonances with a high Q factor in the mid-frequency area.
In the attached impedance graph you can see these resonances and anti-resonances reflected in the electrical part of a typical ceramic
vibrating in the air without support or mechanical damping.
These resonances also appear in the response curve, somewhat displaced according to the type of support used to obtain the graph
making it impossible to use them in the musical field, as we can see in the following response curve. |
Bad Frequency response for the music!
To make this first measurement, we have not applied any damping or correction technique.
The curves were made with a spectrum analyzer and logarithmic sweep adjusting its bandwidth from 50Hz to 15KHz.
By making a design with the appropriate measurements and choosing the appropriate materials, both for the active element and also for the substrate, in addition to using an appropriate damping system, we can move and/or attenuate the resonances to achieve an excellent frequency response. The following graph shows the response curve of our pickup, once it is
mounted in its housing and its own resonances corrected. It is a curve that is completely suitable for use for professional musical purposes. |
Good frequency response for the music!
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