If your Ovation has the sound hole under the strings then I would say you don't need the access panel, but if it's like mine with the tiny holes, then yeah you would need something like that. I think it would be possible to make that hole like mine. I would draw the circle, use the dremel to start a slot on the line, then cut the circle carefully with the jigsaw (use tape to protect the finish). Keep that as your cover. Then you could make some kind of shelf out of plastic and glue it underneath so the cover doesn't fall in. And then either make an attachment like mine with a screw and a plastic or thin metal clamp underneath in the shape of a + sign that would hold the cover with pressure. Or you could do something fancy with magnets or just plain screws. I think the clamp system is best because it puts an even amount a pressure all the way around the hole. But I think the important thing to understand first is that your guitar should be a deep bowl and not a shallow bowl. I'm not sure the HyVibe control module will fit on the edge of a shallow bowl. Let me know if you have any questions. Would be a good project.
If the original case does't fit you can print out using a 3D printer the alternative case cap that I made. Therefore you will not need to cut any additional holes. drive.google.com/drive/folders/1J28GCMFo_E5snVnxVuSCPkCBZZ8YSkRz
It's African Royal Ebony. Thanks for the comment. I agree it's a great guitar. It's definitely the one I grab first. It does sound good and it also looks good, BUT it's the fact that it's so comfortable to hold and play and the fact that I don't have to tune it every time I pick it up or take it anywhere. I hope you all get to enjoy one some day. 😊
Thanks. I’m not technical and I’ve only been using the physical controls .I get really frustrated trying to set the octaver, it’s either too little or sounds like a grand piano. I got so frustrated that yesterday I almost pushed the button on a new 12 string. I will seen the morning pitting my will against the EQ.
When I go into the system and change the setting to 20 from the factory setting and I try to play I get feedback so I almost always have to turn the volume down which gives me a very low sound. I haven't been able to match any sound I hear on others playing the same guitar. I had to turn the setting down to 10 to avoid the feedback but the guitars have the same volume as when it's turned off. does the EQ have any effect on the volume? I know it does change the sound because I played with different settings.
It came with it and I don't believe I had to pay extra for it. I just looked on their website and I don't see them as an option so I think they all come with cases. Kind of expected for this quality of guitar, but you might want to doublecheck with them. Certainly puts your mind at ease for shipping. And I use it all the time. It's a great case.
Im waiting, I saw, on one of my internet excursions, a device (hardware/software thing) that will sense what you’re playing, add a click track drum track anticipate/ suggest an alternate chord prog. And provide harmony and fills. Very cool. I think that’s the next logical step for Hyvibe so I’ll wait it out. Also it occurs to me that the brains of the system doesn’t need to be mounted on/in the guitar, it could be in your pocket. Just thinking here.
I have the thinner body version of that Ovation. I'm wondering if there's enough room for the control box to fit on mine. It would be a squeeze I suspect.
Hmm. Possibly. I haven't taken a close look at one of those shallow body versions in person. But if it helps, the dimensions of the hole for the control box are 75x53mm. Measure that out on the flat part of the side where your existing control panel is. Maybe there is a chance it could slide in there. If it's like the pictures I see online, looks like you might have to deal with the curve of the guitar a little and possibly leave the battery compartment there although it will not be used.
@@greghowell3751 I measured. There is just enough room for the hole if cut flush with the top wood. The lip could rest on the white trim up to the surface, however the lip in that tight corner where the body curves back in, would be free floating without under surface support. Thank you so much Greg for responding.
impressive!! how would you estimate costs involved: equipment inside the guitar, your time and expertise, as labor. Have you been approached to do a similar installation for another ovation owner? Lastly, does it matter much which quality of Ovation you use? Thanks.
Clifton, I'm so sorry I didn't reply earlier. I had thought about it and then forgot. I haven't actually been approached by anyone yet to do another install. The cost of the HyVibe system is $395. I would estimate the time was about 2 hours to do the install. I've actually done 2 1/2 installs now. I say 1/2 for one because my Emerald came with one in it, but the transducers detached during shipping so I ended up removing it all and re-setting them myself after they sent me new ones. I've had the control units in and out several times. I put another unit in a 12 string of mine to test out a different size installation hole for LAG. If you cut the hole exactly the size they say (and that I did for the install of this video), then you have to slide in the unit before you connect the cables which is difficult. If you make the hole slightly longer, you can attach the cables outside the guitar and rock in the unit. It does make it much easier. So, anyway, pricewise, I would have to throw out a number of like $200 for labor because my time is never my own and I don't have the luxury of being able to work on guitars as much as I would like to. I have about 5983 projects inline before all this stuff! I can tell you though Matt Volsky is the COO at LAG and is a super nice guy to interface with. When I was having trouble with my Emerald, they offered to have someone in Nashville do the installation repair for me. I just didn't want to send my new guitar off and wanted to tackle it myself. But you could check with them on what their prices are like. If it is outrageous and you are still wishing to have it done, let me know.
thank you for your thorough reply. I've "moved on" from interest in an ovation and unfortunately bought a Yamaha Revstar II Standard electric guitar, for which I have what is termed "buyers remorse". Sound is so inferior to my other electrics, and yet universally this instrument had wonderful reviews. $800 is what I paid. I have a LoPrinzi (2005) acoustic which came with a piezo system. The earlier owner may have been dissatisfied with the low volume of output--and yet the tone (acacia wood) is exceptionally sweet. This install was shorting out all the time on me and in retrospect, it may have been just the jack. But I removed the interior system except for a metal angle iron shaped metal piece on the underside of bridge. I would like to install something nice into this traditional acoustic; however, the existing bridge plate on the interior needs to go. If you have no interest, could you give me the Nashville contact info so as to install different pickups in this Yamaha I recently bought. Thanks again for your assistance and possible work on an acoustic. Bye.@@greghowell3751
Really great review. I have a Takamine that already has the preamp hole. Apparently the split saddle pickup they use can be plugged into the Hyvibe preamp with an adaptor. I’m temped now. Thanks for your work.👍
Nice guitar playing Greg, and you have a beautiful Emerald there. I see that, between your Ovation, Emerald and Mitchell, you’ve gone all in on HyVibe systems. My guess is that you also have a HyVibe Essential in your future.
I still can't believe the combination of tone, spectrum, and sustain they get from these guitars. Most acoustics with good sustain are low on volume, or lack tonal spectrum... usually very tinny highs and no lows. With a relatively thin body style, the lows are great, the sustain is AMAZING, the highs aren't excessively tinny or overbearing, and there's plenty of midrange punch to carry through a group jam session.
Agree. This guitar has become my go to over all my other guitars for several reasons including all those you mention. It's more comfortable than any other guitars because of the curves. It's built like a tank and I never worry about it falling over and getting broken in any way. It's always in tune or really close no matter what the temperature or humidity. It is so easy to play with the best action of any of my guitars. And like you said it sounds great.
Thank you for your patience , good description , I’m sure it will help many , now i definitely want one , I have a tonewood amp , and have been bitten by the onboards
Question why not just go to the overall EQ (lower left button)? This is like EQ per preset. If tone shaping the guitar itself its better on the overall EQ. If EQ shaping per preset (like boosting mids/highs on dist/boost when soloing) then this is the way.
Hey Greg, this was helpful. I just got an Emerald X7 with the hyvibe in it. I'm very lost at this point, but this is a start. I doubt I will be using the more sophisticated things like the looper etc. But I would like to get to the point where I can generate the sound I'm looking for and maybe use the reverb and tuner. Any other vid's that will lead me down that road? Thanks, Mark
Hey Mark. Thanks for checking this out. Yeah, I'm sorry I don't have any other video suggestions I can point you too. I haven't been doing research into this for a while, but I can tell you probably the best thing you can do is to experiment on your own. I have an Emerald too and, as I mentioned below, it seems to behave differently either because of the material of the body or because of the Ghost Piezo pickups that I have. They might be more sensitive than the piezo on my Ovation. If you have the more traditional piezo, maybe you don't have the same issues, but mine is really sensitive and can feedback easily, but with the HyVibe app, I can add some notch filters as an effect and it helped a lot - that and low-pass filters. I guess maybe I need to make a video on how to find the frequencies that are feeding back and then knock them out with a notch filter in the HyVibe. I probably need to reach out to HyVibe and see if they have addressed some of those issues now that they are producing a lot of them for Emerald. I think I had one of the first ones on an Emerald so I got to know them personally. If I find out something new, I'll let you know.
I'm thinking that if you avoid presenting your experience with this sort of tech, that you try to present it in a room that doesn't sound like your I'm a tub surround shower stall. It's really not presenting a fair assessment of the ambient abilities of the tone quality processor for any of the settings. Your demonstration room is not serving your intentions of a balanced sound regardless of your settings. It all sounds awful and like your I'm your bathroom. That is why recording studio techs are so insisting on getting all the unnecessary frequency that isn't helpful. And ovations, and I've owned my share of plastic back guitars, and I've had personal conversations some years ago with Bill Kaman,and his dad, regarding the initial release of the original marketing of the fiberglass back and sides guitar, that was originally a hull material for ovation helicopters and medical equipment chassis. It's probably not the best choice to demonstrate the timbre, and tone sororities, and acoustic enhanced sound processing for these sorts of demonstrations. It really does justice to the hivibe enhancements when we listen to the enhanced quality on quality instruments, that requires at least decent luthering. Ovations are just cookie cutter stamped out products that lack in every way, the true warmth and beauty of a nice quality wood guitar. Ovations classical guitar was really the only model that demonstrated some warmth and quality. So those would be a better demonstration of the hivibe inside an ovation guitar. Also, I have not played or heard any steal string ovation guitars that avoid the awful Melissa Esteridge,chiming, overtone,music killing sounds that ovation settled for in their general building. They really should have stuck to helicopter hulls and medical equipment.
I just picked my hyvibe guitar up 6 days ago and have been struggling with setting it up. Yours is the first video I have found the actually gave a tutorial on how it works. Thank you for the lesson it sure has helped me a lot.
Thank you for the video. My X20 is on the way. Your video makes me feel better about buying a guitar without playing first. Once again thank you. BTW, same thing happens to my ability to play when I turn on my iPhone camera to record. Funny how something like that can give you the jitters.
Awesome! I bought my first guitar at 67 years young in 2019! It’s an Emerald X10. Love it! I still remember seeing it for the first time on a shipping video. So excited to get my hands on it and it definitely didn’t disappoint! I aspire to play the kind of stuff you just played for us. I don’t see that happening, but at my age, it’s more about the journey than perfection. As long as I can keep myself entertained, I’m happy. Progress is the key. I’m still struggling, but videos like yours inspire me to keep practicing. Enjoy your new Emerald, Greg!
Hey Greg I was wondering if I could test your guitar knowledge. I have an x20 and there is a noticeable buzz when I play the bass strings. It's not fret buzz but it's coming from inside the guitar. Have you come across this before? I have the hyvibe x20.
Hi Kevin. So I would start by deadening the strings and then gently bang on the back of the neck and listen if you have anything mechanical that is loose. I had this on my 12 strung the other day. I thought it was strung buzz but my low E tuning machine nut was loose. Next I would reach in the hole and feel for the wires going from the HyVibe unit to the actuators and the bridge. They should have attached them to the body with some metal stick on wire ties. If those are loose they could be vibrating on the body. There's also wires going down to the in/out Jack. Oh and try to feel the actuators on each side of the bridge. They should be firmly glued and not move. But don't torque on them because they are fragile like a speaker cone.
@@greghowell3751 thank you so much. I'm nervous to do anything becuase I don't want to make it worse. I will try all your suggestions. It has to be deep inside because I've felt around a bit and never found anything.
@@canadianeavestrough So 2 more things I thought of. You might want to check the tension on the truss rod. I wouldn't tighten in because it's probably set right, but if they loosened it a bit too far then it might rattle. Just snug it. The Emerald doesn't really need one but they include it just for extra configurability. The other thing I thought of is the way the HyVibe is mounted to the body. There is a plastic mounting ring on the inside that the 4 screws screw into. Make sure those 4 screws are snug too but don't tighten too much as they might strip in that plastic ring. I wouldn't normally worry about that ring rattling but the way they install it with plugging in the cables to the HyVibe first and then rocking it into the body cavity, they are forced to clip the ring so they can flex it around the HyVibe unit after it's in the body. The other alternative is to install the unit first and then attempt to plug in all the cables which is very difficult on an X20 because all you have is that sound hole. On my Ovation it was still difficult and I had a big hole in the back of the body. Anyway, this all could be more information than you need. Let me know if you figure it out. I have a buzz on my Ovation that I can't figure out so I know it's frustrating.
@@greghowell3751 thanks so much. I sure love that guitar. I'm already saving for the 7 string x20. 😁. Do you use guitar pro? It has really helped me progress at guitar. I have a couple songs I tabbed out in that program I'd like to send you. I wrote two of my own but I also tabbed out a few classical songs you might enjoy playing as well. I added all the details, finger placement of both hands.
@@canadianeavestrough Hey so sorry I didn't reply earlier. I was on a vacation to Alaska and kind of off the grid for a while. Yes, I would love to hear those songs of yours. I've never purchased guitar pro but know exactly what you're talking about. I think I had it for a while many years ago but wasn't using it as much and found I was using similar programs for free. But it's been a long time and I see it's changed a lot. Maybe I'll get a trial version and check it out. Send me what you got.
Very helpful video. Answered my questions about boost,EQ and combining effects before I spent my money. I'm convinced this is the pickup system for me.
Aww. Thanks. Heck I wish I was there too. I'd love to do the install for you! It was a fun project. I've since done an install on my 12 string and also a repair on my Emerald. So I've done 3 of these so far.
I’m so afraid doing it on my own. And I can’t find a professional to do it for me. Furthermore, they all want to sell me a Lag guitar with the HyVibe system on it, but won’t sell the system alone. I have the ToneWoodAmp on another guitar, but then again, because of the round back it doesn’t fit on my new Ovation, and contrary to suggestions I received, I don’t want to fix it on the front of the guitar… So when do you move to Montreal??? LoL!!!
Very nice mate👍 4:45 What is the bridge set up you ordered here Greg: - Are these the individual piezo pickups or is there a single under saddle pickup in there? - Also, are they individually adjustable for height? Cheers to that Irish Whiskey🥃
Peter, sorry I didn't reply earlier. Yes, they are individual piezos on each saddle and yes they are individually adjustable. It is the Ghost piezo pickup system. When they connected it to the Hyvibe they connected the 6 wires to some kind of mux that converted it to the regular 2 wire plug that you normally have for a piezo output.
Nice unboxing and great playing, thanks a lot for the feedback on the neck (width and profile). I will need to play one before buying as I have had lot of problems with necks in the past and cannot risk to spend +3500€ if the neck is particular. Haven’t considered to order a custom neck? (I’ ve seen this is an option in the 3d builder)
Yeah I worried about it at first but honestly now I have gotten so used to it that I don't even feel it anymore. It's mainly the only acoustic I grab but I have gone back and forth between it and my electrics and other acoustics and it does feel slightly different but not enough for me to even care anymore. I guess your muscle memory changes to accommodate. The feel of the carbon fiber fretboard has its own attraction. It's just kind of slick and perfect.
The guitar sounds really resonant, but the high strings sound weak in comparison. I wonder if you mic isnt picking it up or if that's how the guitar dynamics are with this construction. These are expensive guitars.
Yes they are. I'll agree. I did a little room recording last night to criticize my own playing and vocals and I'll admit the highs were a little bit quieter which is interesting because to my ear with it sitting on my lap it sounds great to me coming directly out of the sound hole. Very balanced and enjoyable. It's mainly the only acoustic I reach for and play.
Great guitar. I got my X20 last week and I love it. Mine was also more or less in tune and at pitch. Quite amusing since I had got a lot of negative comments a couple of weeks earlier from asking on a guitar forum whether a guitar should be shipped at pitch. People overwhelming said 'No', and often rather unpleasantly. I might add that every other guitar I have ever got through the mail was tuned at pitch, regardless of the supplier. Rant over and back to your X20, which is absolutely beautiful. I especially like how the veneer grain mimics where a soundhole would normally be, but in a subtle way. They take immense care with the customer to get everything exactly how you want it. I had a long discussion about nut width and neck shape, and eventually went with their standards, and I must say I was very happy, but they would have modified pretty much anything. A great firm of nice people to do business with. Hope your Emerald is everything you desire. Cheers
Hey Robert, I agree they seem to be a great group of people and care about making a good product. I'm very happy with it. It's pretty much the only guitar I've been playing for months. I hope you enjoy yours just as much. Cheers
Sounds good. Not a bad sound. The Lag guitar they sell with the system in it didn't sound great in a demo I heard on Ytube. Better to do what you did and find a decent sounding guitar to put the system in. Love the looper and Bluetooth idea. Would even be better with ability to run to amp or PA and be able to play simultaneously the guitar and a sound system and also be able to separate them as Tonewood does. Wish Tonewood would incorporate looper and Bluetooth.
Greg, Nice job on the video. I’ve been considering trying one of these and your video really helped me to understand what I might getting myself into. I really appreciate you taking the time to film your project.
Hey thanks. I appreciate it. If you would be willing to subject yourself to another video like it, I just released another of me installing the same thing in my 12 string. There's a few differences to note regarding the cutout template size. If you are considering doing an installation, I would recommend checking that out too, if not just to see why you might want to cut the slightly larger hole for the ease of installing the cables outside of the guitar. Thanks again for watching.
November 2021, I received my X30-12 with the HyVibe 'actuators' banging around inside. I had to ship mine to Chuck Thompson in Memphis, TN to re-install the actuators. Chuck had to reset the action on the guitar at the same time. The guitar arrived home the end of January 2020, repaired and is playing beautifully.
Hey Dennis. I'm sorry to hear that you had the same problem. The guys at HyVibe told me there was a very small number of those actuators that had that issue like we had. Guess you were "lucky" like me. I decided to fix mine myself which has turned out in the end and I learned a lot. The only other issue I had was dealing with some feedback which I think was due to the high sensitivity of the ghost piezos that I had put on my X20. We've worked it out with some tweaking of the settings on the HyVibe and utilizing notch filters. How does your HyVibe sound on that 12 string? I'm about to add a HyVibe to my Mitchell 12-string. The guys at HyVibe didn't know anybody that had one on a 12 string. You might be the first!
@@greghowell3751 Hi Greg. Thanks for your reply. I suppose you noticed I put 2020 where I meant 2022 .... my Faux Pas. I was physically unable to fix the HyVibe actuators (both dislodged/broke) because my forearms are too large to fit in the sound hole. Thus far, I have to say I am not impressed with my HyVibe performance. I am experiencing feedback but, more importantly, the 'reverb' and 'chorus' do not equal my brothers Trans Acoustic Yamaha. I realize the HyVibe is adjustable using the blutetooth on my phone however I have not reached that point as I am having to rebuild callus on my fingers again and vastly improve my playing technique. So I know the sound or lack of is not yet 'tweaked' to perfection. I was told, by Chuck,that I had the only X30-12 with HyVibe but as of last Friday's Shipping Video, there is another soul with the same exact guitar. I would be very interested in his/her opinion once received. Regards,
@@dennisbarton7373 So I can give you some pointers that might help. First power it up and turn the effects off. Then go to the system menu to adjust the gain. You want the gain to be set so the maximum level when you strum really hard is -6dB. Then calibrate it a couple times. (they told me you can do multiple calibrations and it's useful). Then if you are still having feedback with the effects on, connect it to your phone via bluetooth and use the HyVibe app to add a LowPass filter at the beginning of each effect. Set it for about 2khz because the highest frequency the guitar generates is around 1200Hz. The other way you can do it is record the guitar with a microphone connected to your computer with feedback coming out. I use Audacity because it's free and it has a frequency analyzer. You can highlight a section of the wave and analyze the frequency and see what the feedback frequency is. Then you can use a notch filter to eliminate that frequency. That has worked for me and now I can crank up the level of reverb etc. to get a better sound. I'd be happy to explain any of this in more detail if you like. Or even make a video of it if others think it might be useful.
Wow, first of all, let me note how incredibly well you play! Next, you are helping me make the decision to take the plunge and order an Emerald. I'm going with the X20 and the only "difficult" part will be to decide upon the features and finishes. Those are, needless to say, wonderful problems to have.
Thanks for the kind words! I thought it was a little sloppy but we're always a little more critical of ourselves. Overall, love the guitar. I think you'll be happy with it. Took me a while to get used to the neck profile as it feels a little wider and more of a D shape than a C shape. But now that I play it a lot, it's no big deal. I agree about the difficult part. There's lots of great options. Whatever you pick should still be a great guitar. Hope you enjoy it.
now that was reeeeal cool'' i just bought an old ovation that has an aluminum neck on it that looked in pretty bad shape, but that was just all cosmetic'' im gonna strip it all down and redo it ta were it looks and sounds like a guitar kicked out of hell'' lol,,, and i gotta have that setup now that seen and heard it'' and you said you couldn't play that good'' bullshit' that lead riff was bad ass''' and that should be your next project video' puttin a whole song together with that system you installed,, i for one and ery body else i think would love it'' soooo whats ya waitin on '' gits busy'' were waitin'' lol.,. thanx for the info, and video.,.,.
Thanks Anthony. You're too kind. Yeah, you're right. I need to get busy working on something. I actually will have some videos of my playing any singing soon. My neighbors have all been asking to hear something so I've been working on some covers to start with. Might record them to see how it sounds. But writing an original is something I haven't been successful with yet, but I know it's in there. Thanks again for all the kind words.
Please make a video of that guitar when you do it. I would love to see it. That's one of my favorite things to do is take a pawn shop guitar and make it awesome. I've done it to about 3 so far. I've gotten really good at fixing necks and leveling and crowning frets so they feel awesome when they are done. Good luck on your project.
That's a really good question. I'll admit at first I didn't know but you made me really curious so I had to check it out. I thought it first the jack felt like a stereo jack when I inserted a cable (i.e. thought I felt 3 clicks), but I wasn't able to get any signal out of one channel. I don't know if I'm doing anything wrong. Sure seems like it's possible. I'm going to reach out to HyVibe and ask the guy I know there. I have another system partly installed on another guitar where I can still look at the wiring. The actuators have all 4 wires going to the controller and each of the input/output jacks have 3 wires going to the controller, so it appears they could be stereo jacks. I'll let you know what I find out from them. Hopefully it's something I'm missing.
I noticed too but we`re talking fractions of semi-tones off. Not bad for right out of the box, which it sat for weeks in shipping. Once you change to your favored brand of strings you`ll love this guitar even more.
Not just “close enough for jazz”… tuning is close enough for a gig… pretty darn good after several thousand miles in transit! In 30+ years on stage, I have never had a wooden guitar,(even $2,000+ instruments), manage to stay in tune for a complete set, due to heaters in the winter, A/C in the summer, etc. This is Emerald is still in tune “enough” after a Trans- Atlantic journey… calm down Harry, you’re nit picking.
