Author Topic: PIEZO pups? (Read 8233 times)

Joe Dorcia · « **on:** September 13, 2005, 12:01:04 AM »

Does any one have them?? what do they sounds like?? who makes them and can I get one?/

I always wanted a guitar with no visible pups on it (sorry BKP) and have been intregued with the Piezo's for a while. can any one shed some light on em??

Shame BKP cant rewind em, lol

Joe

PhilKing · « **Reply #1 on:** September 13, 2005, 05:19:50 AM »

I have a Fishman set on my MM PRS clone. I use them into a Fishman blend pedal that I take into a Korg Accoustic processor. I have it for an accoustic sound rather than using an accoustic live. I have also played the Peavey with the piezo bridge too.

They are pretty good if you have something to process the tone, but I wouldn't use them as my only pickup (if I only had one, then it would be a either a P-90 on a Junior, or a Riff Raff).

HJM · « **Reply #2 on:** September 13, 2005, 08:08:11 AM »

I've got the Graphtec FAAS (now Ghost) in one of my Strats, I found the same thing as Phil - you have to process the sound, and even then it can only really get close to an Ovation type tone. Very handy on stage but not so good as the only sound source.

How about the guts of a Variax in a decent guitar - Warmoth do bodies and necks, as does at least one Luithier (reviewed in one of the guitar mags not long ago)

Joe Dorcia · « **Reply #3 on:** September 13, 2005, 10:39:38 PM »

I hate the variax's, they look cool but the i cant stand modellers. Jerk-offs!

Thanks for the info, i knew u would pop up HJM

tech33 · « **Reply #4 on:** September 15, 2005, 05:14:29 PM »

i made a nylon strung strat a while back using the ghost system and preamp, was bowled over by the quality. I also fitted a piezo system, i think it was a fishman set up, to a les paul for a customer. Which again sounded amazing.
Joe, i know your thing about no controls, i think either system can be run without controls, but need some sort of preamp for a decent output.
Think the ghost system is about £150+, and fishman a little bit dearer.

tech33 · « **Reply #5 on:** September 15, 2005, 05:15:42 PM »

by the way, i used to run my nylon strung strat through my marshall on full tilt, with surprising results!

tech33 · « **Reply #6 on:** September 15, 2005, 05:16:07 PM »

by the way, i used to run my nylon strung strat through my marshall on full tilt, with surprising results!

Joe Dorcia · « **Reply #7 on:** September 15, 2005, 10:40:36 PM »

Cheers kev (whats with the double posting, lol). How does the ghst system work? and can i put it on an acoustic bridge?? I know piezo obviously do acoustic bridges but are these as good as b-band style mics n preamps??

Cheers

FELINEGUITARS · « **Reply #8 on:** September 16, 2005, 12:15:28 AM »

Quote from: tech33

by the way, i used to run my nylon strung strat through my marshall on full tilt, with surprising results!

Surprising - as in no sound!!!

Magnetic pickups surely need a steel core string to make any kind of output

FELINEGUITARS · « **Reply #9 on:** September 16, 2005, 12:23:33 AM »

Quote from: Joe@fortyseconds

Cheers kev (whats with the double posting, lol). How does the ghst system work? and can i put it on an acoustic bridge?? I know piezo obviously do acoustic bridges but are these as good as b-band style mics n preamps??

Cheers

B-band make some great acoustic preamps and transducers
I am planning on making a solid flat body guitar from Korina with a B-band system - they used to make a system for Ibanez - dont know for how long

Piezo is only any good for acoustic tone, or for access into a synth or via modelling like Line 6.

I have some spare piezo equipped tunamatic bridges if anyone is interested
I have a Gotoh 510 series and a Shadow one too in a Schaller tunamatic

tech33 · « **Reply #10 on:** September 16, 2005, 08:16:01 AM »

Quote from: FELINEGUITARS

Quote from: tech33
by the way, i used to run my nylon strung strat through my marshall on full tilt, with surprising results!

Surprising - as in no sound!!!

Magnetic pickups surely need a steel core string to make any kind of output

surprising as in it sounded like a complete shred machine!!, U would have never guessed it had nylon strings and no humbuckers.

The pickups are impregneted into the strat type saddles with six individual outputs that run to a preamp. Dont think ghost do a true acoustic pickup, only mods for electrics, fishman are the ones for acoustic pickups for acoustics!

Joe Dorcia · « **Reply #11 on:** September 16, 2005, 12:13:08 PM »

Thats cool kev. Since im gonna be making acoustics this year i may as well make them electric. Whilst you and feline are in this convo i may as well as this too: -

I gonna build an explorer copy, but make it 25.5" scale instead or 24.75". I have planned this out on the comp and it looks fine and should work ok, is there anything i should look out for when doing a change like this?? Also, i think i will do it with a set neck, like gibson, so i can contour the heel and make the body flow into the neck. How hard are set necks and is there anything to be careful of when im carvig the heel??

Best regards

Joe

FELINEGUITARS · « **Reply #12 on:** September 16, 2005, 12:16:35 PM »

Quote from: tech33

Quote from: FELINEGUITARS
Quote from: tech33
by the way, i used to run my nylon strung strat through my marshall on full tilt, with surprising results!

Surprising - as in no sound!!!

Magnetic pickups surely need a steel core string to make any kind of output

surprising as in it sounded like a complete shred machine!!, U would have never guessed it had nylon strings and no humbuckers.

The pickups are impregneted into the strat type saddles with six individual outputs that run to a preamp. Dont think ghost do a true acoustic pickup, only mods for electrics, fishman are the ones for acoustic pickups for acoustics!

Ah - you meant the guitar had a piezo equipped bridge- now it makes sense. Otherwise nylon strings and magnetic pickups do not mix.

Was in a guitar shop a while back and watched a salesman trying to sell a soundhole pickup to a guy with a classical guitar- stood back and chuckled for a while before breaking in to point out the error in the suggestion.
Felt a bit like an interfering busybody , but stopped a sale going wrong.
The salesman may have felt a bit dumb , but had the customer bought it and had to bring it back then he would have felt a right dork.

tech33 · « **Reply #13 on:** September 16, 2005, 06:48:23 PM »

cool, only things i can think of is it will change the pickup spacing as you will be altering the space between the end of the neck and the bridge, not a big deal tho, and of course string rension will be markedly different, am presumimg thats why your doing it tho.
set necks are no harder than bolt ons, but if you really want to carve the heel away, make a through neck guitar. in my opinion they are easier to make and give a more zingy resonant tone. U can carve the heel to your hearts content then.

Kilby · « **Reply #14 on:** September 16, 2005, 07:04:34 PM »

So whe can we see the first Feline nylon strung Firebird (I prefer them to explorers) ;)

Kilby...