Can I Have A Piezo Bridge And Active Pickups In One Guitar?

[djhollowman]

Hey all,

I'm thinking about doing a guitar with active EMGs in bridge and neck. It'll have a tun-o-matic bridge.

But I've seen a TOM bridge with built-in piezos - can I use that as well as the EMGs?

I don't mean that I want to hear the piezo and EMGs at the same time.

I'm thinking more along the lines of the piezo arrangement being entirely separate.

Would I need a separate jack and pot(s) for the piezo?

I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts or suggestions etc.

Thanks,

DJ

Edited May 22, 2008 by djhollowman

[Myka Guitars]

Sure you can do that. I often have magnetics and piezos on the same guitar with a separate output for each system. I have put in blending preamps too for some interesting tonal variety. Since you are thinking of keeping the systems separate it should be as easy as making room for the controls and batteries.

Here is a guitar with mags and piezo, and another with mags and an undersaddle transducer.

I used the LRBaggs Control-X for the blender preamp. It works pretty well but I had to modify the circuit to work with 2 output jacks.

~David

[djhollowman]

Excellent, thank you David!

That Dragonfly Supreme of yours looks fantastic! I love the figuring on the headstock, and the tailpiece is beautiful!

That's really useful to be able to see what I have in mind in actual operation, thanks!

I've never fitted a piezo system before. Do I need a preamp? If so, what type etc?

Thanks.

DJ

Edited May 23, 2008 by djhollowman

[Myka Guitars]

Sorry to take so long getting back to this thread. I was out of town for a bit this month.

I use the LRBaggs Control-X preamp as well as one I make based on the Tillman preamp. It works great and you can modify it anyway you want to.

The advantage of the LRBaggs setup is the switching and blending ability. But with some effort you can make your own for less if you have the time to do it. For blended circuits I use the LRBaggs. For separate circuits I use the Tillman preamp.

I hope this helps.

~David

[erikbojerik]

Ho David!

Last year David sold me a Ghost Acoustiphonic preamp to use with my 8-stringer. The Ghost system has a separate input for magnetic pickups, which in my case were EMGs. I ran the EMGs through the normal pots and the final output went to the Ghost preamp.

It also came with a switch for mag-both-piezo, and with separate volume controls for mags and piezo, I can blend to my heart's content. I am quite happy with it.

[Myka Guitars]

Hey Erik!

I forgot to mention the Ghost preamp system. I usually use it for the hexaphonic output but it has a great piezo sound as well as a nice blending preamp. The great thing about he GraphTech stuff is that it is modular so you can go with either piezo or hexaphonic add the other later. I do like the separate controls too. With the LRBaggs you have a blender knob instead. Good but not as versatile as separate controls.

~David