Submarine Pickups SubSix

Ever wished you could process each of your six strings differently? With the SubSix, you can...

We occasionally see hexaphonic pickups on MIDI guitars, or guitars that are set up for use with Roland or Boss guitar modellers, but Submarine’s SubSix has been designed with a different purpose in mind: it provides six separate audio sources from the six strings of a guitar so that each one can either be recorded separately, or passed through different pedals to create effects that just aren’t possible with a regular guitar.

Overview

The SubSix pickup has small sliders on the rear to help you set it correctly for the string spacing of the instrument to which it’s attached (the range is 45.5 to 51.5 mm), and once fitted using the included adhesive strips that come with the comprehensive mounting kit, its height can be adjusted using an Allen key (also provided). The signals exit the pickup on two thin cables, which connect using a pair of TRRS mini‑jacks at the top and bottom of the pickup. Each one terminates in three colour‑coded quarter‑inch jacks at the other end. This arrangement allows the cables to be routed either side of the neck and to the rear of the body, where they’re out of the way.

The signals emerge from the pickup on two TRRS mini‑jack cables that terminate in the same three‑quarter‑inch TS jacks as are used on conventional guitar cables.

The pickup should be fitted to an electric guitar in between the existing pickups, rather than (as with guitar synth pickups) very close to the bridge. It can also be mounted across the soundhole of an acoustic guitar. With a thickness of just 9.3mm when mounted on its base plate, the pickup should fit beneath the strings of most electric guitars and pretty much all acoustic guitars, and without the base plate, the height under the two E strings is 6.3mm. The pickup impedance is around 2.4kΩ per output, which is a little lower than most conventional pickups, but the powerful neodymium magnets ensure that there’s adequate level available, and there’s a benefit to the lower impedance: when this pickup is fitted to an acoustic guitar, the high frequencies come across in a more natural way than from typical magnetic pickups.

Six String Possibilities

So, why exactly might you want separate outputs from all six strings on a regular guitar? There are several possibilities. For instance, feeding them into a simple mixer allows the strings to be panned across the stereo field, which can sound interesting. And plugging into an audio interface that can accommodate six inputs allows separate plug‑ins to be applied to each string. If using a mixer and, like me, you have rather more effects pedals than you actually need, it’s also possible to use different effects pedals on each string.

The result from compressing individual strings is audibly different from that of compressing a mix of strings.

In the plug‑in world, or course, it is no problem to call up six identical processors, for example compressors, if you need them and if excess is your thing, there’s not much to stop you. Actually compressors are a good example to start with: the result from compressing individual strings is audibly different from that of compressing a mix of strings, generally leaving you with a better‑defined note attack when playing chords. The sound from the pickup is clean and neutral, so its also a good starting point for adding effects such as pitch‑shifters, perhaps to drop the pitch of the bottom one or two strings, or modulation effects, with which you might treat only the high strings. While I did notice a little crosstalk between adjacent strings, it wasn’t lots, and it shouldn’t be enough to upset a decent pitch‑shifter.

Hex fuzz is also worth exploring. Having a separate fuzzbox for each string results in much cleaner note definition, and without the intermodulation that you hear when playing chords through a fuzzbox with a standard guitar. Add some global top‑cut EQ, a dash of chorus and a sprinkling of reverb and the result can sound almost like a vintage string machine!

The Joy of Six

I’ve run through just a few suggestions here, but really the point is that there’s no limit to creative permutations. So the SubSix hexaphonic pickup should be particularly appealing to those involved in experimental and ambient music — which includes me! It works well, it looks good, it’s easy to fit, and the price isn’t bad either. A pickup that could be well worth picking up!