Epiphone piezo swap

[Storky]

I’ve got an epiphone masterbuilt century deluxe. It’s an acoustic arch top with a piezo in the wooden bridge. I like the bass but not the amplified sound so much; the E string is much louder and boomy compared with the others and generally it has a very scooped sound. I’m interested in changing the piezo system. Does anyone have any knowledge, recommendations or comments? I’d be grateful for any thoughts.

[Maude]

Uneven string volumes with peizo strip are usually due to uneven pressure being put on the peizo strip. Check that the slot the strip sits in is clean and free from any wood debris. I've evened out string volumes by putting a piece of paper under the peizo under the quieter strings to increase the pressure on the peizo. Even moving the peizo strip towards the treble end of the slot if there's room. Tiny adjustments make a big difference with peizos.

Obviously it won't help if you just don't like the tone. 

[Storky]

Thanks for the advice Maude; I’ll try those out! 👍

[pete.young]

Think @kristo had some success with Kent Armstrong pickups .

[kristo]

I’ve had three of these basses and all the piezo pickups were bad. I contacted Aaron at Kent Armstrong pickups and he made a floating pickup for me. It massively improved the plugged in tone. You can see it here:

 

[Storky]

That’s very interesting Kristo, mine’s the natural colour as well. I’ve had Arron make something for me in the past, that’s a good idea, although I must admit I’d rather keep a piezo if possible. I enjoyed your track to; I do something similar with my band, although it kinda stalled before it got out of the blocks in March for some reason 🤔.....

[kristo]

I had intended to try a K & K Pure Archtop in one of the Century’s I had, but never got around to it as was happy with the Armstrong. That might work better....

[pete.young]

I have the guitar version (the Zenith) and the piezo in that works pretty well, so I haven't thought about changing it.

[basstone]

Changing the bridge saddle material changes to tonal qualities of the sound so maybe worth experimenting with that. Even string balance does rely on good contact between the saddle and the pickup. Check that the saddle cavity is clean and the bottom of the saddle is smooth and flat. Better even pressure can also be achieved by chamfering the bottom edge of the saddle resulting in a smaller but higher pressure contact. It might also be worth swapping out just the pickup, they generally all have a mini jack connector for the preamp, so long as the thickness is similar it's a quick and easy job.

[Storky]

First off I took out the bridge piece and cleaned it off, then changed the stock D’Addario strings for LaBella medium scale white nylons, which were only just long enough even though this is a short scale bass. I have to say the tone is much improved! And the E is not booming and is more in line with the other strings, although the A is fractionally quieter, but it is vastly better, so I’ll see how I go before doing anything more drastic. The sound is still rather scooped, but might be fine with suitable e.q.

[franzbassist]

I would highly recommend putting a mag pickup in the bass instead of the piezo.  So much easier to use at giggable volumes and dial in a tone you like.  I had Krivo in the US custom make one for me, which I installed with some Schatten thumbwheel volume and tone controls, and it transformed the bass.

Edited October 11, 2020 by franzbassist