Piezo pickups on electric guitars

[adrianli]

I am the only guitarist in the band and have to cover rhythm and lead, with a few acoustic parts in between. I've been toying with the idea of getting piezo pickups installed on my electric guitar(s).

Question is, it is worth doing? Before posting this I found some useful info here:

Electric Guitar Piezo Pickup Saddles & Bridges: Amplification - Paul Bothner Music - The Musical Instrument Specialists


Also had this useful piece of information from shioks76 from another thread:

I think it costs somewhat close to $300. Its been a while can't remember the exact price. Was installed for me by anthony of g77. Bought it at g77 too. Hopefully they do have some stocks left over. Gd luck. It sounds quite gd with an acoustic amp. For electric amp only on blend mode will it sound nice.

Try plugging in your acoustic to an electric amp and thats the same effect you'll get.

If due to some reason, I can only go from guitar -> amp -> house (mic-ed amp), will the piezo system still be worth considering, or will I be better off saving my money and using an acoustic simulator? (which is what I'm doing now with my G2.1u)

 

[kahuna]

not only g77 has piezos zen musicwerks/maestro also has, they got the graphtech ghost piezo system. What guitar do you use?

 

[Whitestrat]

Question is, it is worth doing?

Is is totally worth doing. i'm a huge fan of piezos... There's something a piezo thru an acoustic amp would deliver that a gadget cannot give you. I've tried simulators, and piezos, and to me, the latter is far more natural and responsive. Of course, nothing beats a real acoustic, but even those use piezos for amplification.

...and also, there are 2 different major systems to choose from. Fishman, and LR Baggs. I've had both, and the Fishman ones are far superior in terms of sound quality. They have an inbuilt EQ module to tweak your sound. The X bridge from the LR Baggs isn't as easy to use, and not as natural sounding.

 

[adrianli]

not only g77 has piezos zen musicwerks/maestro also has, they got the graphtech ghost piezo system. What guitar do you use?

My main guitar is a godin SDxt. It's a strat styled guitar with a vintage floating tremolo. Not sure if that matters.

 

[adrianli]

Is is totally worth doing. i'm a huge fan of piezos... There's something a piezo thru an acoustic amp would deliver that a gadget cannot give you. I've tried simulators, and piezos, and to me, the latter is far more natural and responsive. Of course, nothing beats a real acoustic, but even those use piezos for amplification.

...and also, there are 2 different major systems to choose from. Fishman, and LR Baggs. I've had both, and the Fishman ones are far superior in terms of sound quality. They have an inbuilt EQ module to tweak your sound. The X bridge from the LR Baggs isn't as easy to use, and not as natural sounding.

well I currently don't have the option of using an acoustic amp. My signal goes to the electric guitar amp now. Another option is electric -> amp, piezo -> PA. But even this option isn't readily available now. And I'm using the guitar amp as my monitor, so thats something to consider.

Whats the price range for the fishmans? Think it's possible to DIY?

 

[Whitestrat]

well I currently don't have the option of using an acoustic amp. My signal goes to the electric guitar amp now. Another option is electric -> amp, piezo -> PA. But even this option isn't readily available now. And I'm using the guitar amp as my monitor, so thats something to consider.

Whats the price range for the fishmans? Think it's possible to DIY?

The piezos are good even without an acoustic amp, though not that nice. I don't know how to get one, since my guitars are all inbuilt with fishmans. I know you can get the X Bridge, and yes, it's possible to DIY that one. Can't remember that price though...:mrgreen:

 

[dtrulez38]

how bout split coil?
split coil with middle or bridge pickup gives a good acoustic-like sound too...n it's cheap
but the thing is it's quite hard to switch from hum to split coil quickly n it could be a lil' noisy.