Dear Prudence

“Dear Prudence, won’t you come out to play
Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It’s beautiful and so are you
Dear Prudence won’t you come out to play”

These words played in my head as I pulled her off her case. Now she can plug in to an amp! Once I played my first song I got so excited with the brilliance of the sound. I appreciate the melody even more now as the amp just boosts every detail.

Unfortunately, there’s a slight feedback on the E string when idle. I still have to get a feedback buster from the music store and scout for a good pre-amp or a graphic or parametric equalizer.

What was installed? The Duncan|Turner Acoustice Research (D TAR) SADDUCER.

The Sadducer™ is an under-saddle-transducer for acoustic guitar that uses six discrete piezo crystals, one for each string. The result is a high-output pickup designed for even frequency response. It’s exceptional for melody players, especially those who play over the entire fingerboard. But perhaps the biggest benefit is that, unlike other piezo pickups, the Sadducer does not require a built-in or off-board preamp to boost and smooth the signal. That means no batteries required!

A normal guitar jack plugs into the Sadducer and any guitar amp. I recommend an acoustic guitar amp for the best acoustic sound.

It doubles as a guitar strap nut. So I also had the old strap nut moved on the neck. Not she can be played standing up. Excellent for gigs!

If you want to be more technical about it here are the features:

Feature	Benefit
Uses discrete piezo crystals	Better string to string balance. Increased responsiveness to the guitar top’s vibrations for great tone
High output response	No need for expensive on-board electronics to boost signal
Lower output impedance than film type transducers	No buffering preamp required, no battery required, simpler installation
Thin height profile	Allows for optimal saddle placement in bridge slot, generally without need to modify slot
Thin width profile	Accommodates both 1/8″ and 3/32″ saddles
Available in steel string and nylon string versions	Optimized for type of guitar

The men responsible: Ramon and Jenner of Audiophile Greenhills.

What’s in a name? Lucy and Prudence

Last night I thought of naming my guitars. I can’t believe that after all these years I have neglected to give them names! “Across the Universe” was playing on HBO so I realized this fact after hearing The Beatles movie soundtrack.

LUCY

She’s been with me for more than 15 years. Got her as a gift from my parents after I hit my targets in school. I love her so much I used to sleep with her in bed.  🙂 I picked the green color because it was similar to a Honda Accord car color I liked back then.

Just recently, to improve it, I had the volume and tone knobs fixed. I also had the action lowered and intonated.

Washburn Mercury II Series Electric Guitar

Grover Tuner Knobs
Floyd Rose Ends
Rosewood Fretboard
Two Single Coil Pickups and One Humbucker Pickup
Tremolo Bridge
One Tone, One Volume Knob

PRUDENCE

I got Prudence when I got my first bonus while working in the Supreme Court. During the lunch break, I went to a Perfect Pitch Store in Robinson’s Manila for her.

She sounded so good because of the Canadian cedar wood she was made of. I picked her over a Washburn acoustic with pickups. But last week, I decided to have a Seymour Duncan pickup installed so I can plug it in my amp. Later, I will also have a pre-amp installed.

Art & Lutherie Folk Cedar Antique Burst
Back & Sides: Wild Cherry
Neck : Silver leaf maple
Top : Cedar (Pressure Tested Solid Top)
Fingerboard & Bridge : Rosewood
Finish : Semi-Gloss Custom Varnish Finish
Tusq® nut & saddle by Graphtech

Added Seymour Duncan Pickup and Guitar Strap nut