MoonBassAlpha Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I'm wondering if it's a worthwhile thing to have. I have a really decent fretless neck kicking around and am toying with the idea of getting a body made, possibly chambered, with magnetic Pups AND a piezo bridge for more acoustic tone. I have one on an electric guitar (Godin) and it works nicely for that. Does anyone have any experience/ comments they'd like to share on this? Cheers Jules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I've been toying with the idea of adding one to my fretless P - I've heard some great sound clips of a piezo-loaded solid body basses... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I've always liked the sound of the piezo on my Warwick Triumph upright, but I'll be able to tell you more about the electric equivalent when I get my Status Electro in a few weeks. Rich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Generally I like the tone they produce -especially in conjunction with another type of pickup. However I find that the increase in handling noise that comes with piezos unsuitable for my playing style Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 (edited) My Rick Turner Electroline has the best of both worlds, Piezo and conventional pickups and one can blend between the two or have totally one or the other. Consequently it's a bit hard to isolate the fundamental tone of the Piezo, compounded by the flats that are on it. Thinking about it , my Line 6 Variax had Piezo pickups too although the sound was obviously modeled. Edited October 27, 2008 by yorks5stringer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MythSte Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Definately mix the pair. Ive tried a couple of Piezo loaded basses and theyve all missed the lunch of a magnetic pickup. Great for a crystal clear tone though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Definately a great addition to an existing magnetic pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 I have a Dean B2 that I'm trying to get to grips with - along with the JJ pickups and the active EQ and the Piezo bridge, there are a huge range of tones and I'm still trying to get my head round it. But it does make some nice noises, and the Piezo is very usable on it's own without the magnetic pickups . In the top octave, it sounds almost like an acoustic guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggydolphinboy Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 [ yeah i got one on my 5 string dolphin its the muts nuts, is very active though as n noise but gies it a tasty precence!!!! but since i aquired a sei i havent plyed it much!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elros Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 IMO piezo pickups are great. They let me get away from the plain old magnetic pickup tone. Nothing wrong with that tone, but sometimes it's nicer to have something that's not quite so heavy and punchy, but more acoustic-like and natural. Both my [url="http://hallgeir.no/bass/conklin/"]Conklin[/url] and my [url="http://hallgeir.no/bass/surine/"]Surine[/url] have piezo pickups. Probably the under-construction fretless Warmoth will also have piezos. You can hear some sound clips [url="http://hallgeir.no/bass/sound/"]on my web page here[/url]. It says which ones are with piezo pickups. Go for good sounding piezos though - I've heard some that aren't so good sounding. My Conklin has [url="http://www.rmcpickup.com/"]RMC[/url] piezos and preamp, and the Surine has ABM piezos and a Bartolini buffer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 At the moment my favourite tone is from my Ashborys (with ashworth transducer). Of course the silicone rubber strings are what are really making the tone. I always mix in 50/50 magnetic & piezo on my NS CR5M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosebass Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 I like the sound of this thread as I have been wondering whether to import some piezos and see how they sold. Looks like I will be doing now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skelf Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 I like them as well. Just done a fretless with a piezo bridge and a mag really nice range of sounds. Also have a Ghost pre-amp with various extra in the for sale section. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cris the man Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 jeff schmidt has a review on one of his basses with the piezo pickup bridge, he really loves the sound they get the link is... [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WsctkSjnx50"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WsctkSjnx50[/url] personally i dont know much on piezo pickups, only the fact they're quite expensive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted October 29, 2008 Author Share Posted October 29, 2008 Thanks for all the feedback folks! As I mentioned before, in a guitar it sounds nice and acoustic-y, and I figured it would add some top-end zing, and air, especially on fretless bass. It's a little way off yet, but the next questions are going to be: 1) recommended types, price etc. or more to the point NON recommended 2) Will a straight buffer amp do, or is some EQ required? 3) A quick scan of eBay brought up this, [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BASS-BRIDGE-W-BUILT-IN-PIEZO-PICKUP-ACOUSTIC-BLACK-NEW_W0QQitemZ250314000832QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250314000832&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BASS-BRIDGE-W-BUILT-...p3286.m63.l1177[/url] Which seems reasonable and looks well made. Anyone Tried one of 'em? Thanks again for your views Cheers Jules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skelf Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 I use the Hipshot Type A with the Ghost saddles and have been happy with it. I use it with a pre-amp. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flychris Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 For my side, I have piezzos (RMC) on ABM monorail bridge... And 2 magnetic pick-ups... controls are : Volume / balance between the Two / tone for magnetic pick-ups... Volume / Tone for piezzos. By this way, you can have a dark sound (tone @ 0 on magnetics) composed with the brilliant piezzos ( tone full @ piezzos) and it sounds great ! (specific electronic made by fishman by the way) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhk Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 As you can see from my gear list ............... both the trb`s have the `p` suffix.Both have piezo`s in bridge as standard.There are times when thay are relly useful but as you can turn them off you get a very wide range of sounds available without any compromise to the mag pups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wotnwhy Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 i've got piezo on my shuker. best used very lightly in my case as it brings out ALL aspects of the sound (buzzes, sctratches and all). but is fantastic for bringing out a bit of clarity and zing to the sound. if i'm using the neck pickup for a deep and thuddy slap sound, i add a bit of the piezo to keep some sparkle and high end. also works well when soloing or doing harmonics. personally i don't think i'd ever use it on it's own. but thats just MY piezo system on MY bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmanady Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 (edited) [quote name='jhk' post='319323' date='Oct 31 2008, 08:11 PM']As you can see from my gear list ............... both the trb`s have the `p` suffix.Both have piezo`s in bridge as standard.There are times when thay are relly useful but as you can turn them off you get a very wide range of sounds available without any compromise to the mag pups.[/quote]I have the TRB 5PII,with the piezo's built into the monorail bridge,i find them usefull for certain sound requirements,but even then,usually no more than a 1/4 turn of the piezo volume control. Edited November 2, 2008 by bassmanady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Piezos are brilliant IF you have the right pre-amp for them. Otherwise they are a TOTAL waste of time. Piezos in a MM Bongo = pants Piezos in a Bolin NS5 = totally lush Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flychris Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 not a bad answer.... you have to choose the right pre for your piezzos... fishman are the best for that ! There in the piezzo market from time unknew from my grand-pa ' even in double bass, the fullcircle is the best IMO... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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