Info On Piezo

[low end fuzz]

i tried a search here, and google and what not; and maybe im asking the wrong searches?

is there someone/where that can give a good outline of these?

i get that there lil pickups in each of the saddles, but are all piezos active? does it need a 'motherboard' of some kind?; do they sound good/att all while another pickup is on?

any help would be great; and i appoligize if there is a big long post all about them ,right under this one

[biliousfrog]

The pickups aren't active & they don't need a preamp but because of the massive impedence differences they really benefit from a preamp especially if you're using them alongside regular magnetic pickups. As for how they sound...well that's down to personal preferences & other gear. They're designed to emulate an acoustic & sound most acoustic-like when played through a PA system or dedicated acoustic amp. Most systems offer a stereo output so that the signal can be split between the piezo & magnetic outputs. That doesn't mean that you can't play them through a cranked valve amp....they have a really punchy sound that can sound great with the right gear but they won't sound like an acoustic.

I have a Graphtech system (which I've yet to install) which is the most modular system that I've found, it is used on the high-end Godin's. It also has the adventage of using their graphite saddles. Have a look through the Graphtech site, read the FAQ's, watch the videos, listen to the samples & report back if you have more questions.

http://www.graphtech.com/prodghost.htm

PS. watch for the (deliberate?) mistake in the installation video.

[psw]

There have been a few threads and guitars built here. A good quality graphtec system can sound great but you can make your own simple system out of a piezo element from a buzzer. There was a great installation here of one that was built onto the sustain bolck of a strat as I recall. I put one in the neck pocket at one stage too. The pickup pickups up vibrations so anywhere there are vibrations, it can pick up sound.

You don't need a preamp to hear how it sounds but it wont mix with other pickups and sounds better with a little tone shaping.

Basically it will sound similar to what you will find in an electro-acoustic...in fact people have taken the electronics from them and built them into solid body guitars, bridge and all. You don't get the woody quality of a real acoustic however and they can often sound "quacky" with a very strong attack.

It is interesting that you can add this sound to magnetic pickups to provide a punchy attack and complex harmonics. It wont sound acoustic, but an interesting other sound combination.

There are lots of guitars sporting "acoustic saddles", I know there are a few pevey models for instance, so if you check out a few stores you could try them out to get an idea...

pete

[low end fuzz]

thanks guys;

any schematics? or some info on what goes into wiring them?

thanx again