BB2000 Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 Anyone familiar with it? Or piezo bridges in general. One thing I miss on the P is the inability of the PUP to pick up a lot of harmonics (when playing them - think 'Portrait of Tracy'). Would a piezo bridge such as the one on the power jazz pick these up? I know I could drop in a jazz PUP at the bridge but don't want to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 I don't play using harmionics, but I do use them for checking tuning & intonation. I don't recall harmonics being particularly strong on the dean pace electric upright I used to own, which had a gotoh-type bridge with piezo elements & a complete absence of magnetic pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbloke Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 The only bass I've played with Piezo and magnetic pickups was an Ibanez EDA900. ThePiezo makes the bass sound very 'zingy' but I don't remember it making the harmonics stand out that much more. I don't know of any aftermarket piezo bridgesthat are a standard retro fit on a Fender. You'd also need to do some routing to the body for the preamp required by the piezo pickups. So,with all the mods required, A jazz pickup by the bridge would be an easier and more standard option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 Yes, sounds like a huge job... How about a Yamaha TRB5-P or a Status Electro, etc.? Something that already has the piezo system built in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB2000 Posted November 19, 2007 Author Share Posted November 19, 2007 The electronics wouldn't be a problem - I'd build that myself and (probably) provide the supply via the jack. I just don't know what these piezo bridges sound like, or if they're effective at picking up harmonics. The guitars that have then usually have some blurb about providing an 'acoustic' sound, but that can mean anything. In any case I thought the bridge on the power jazz (or something similar) would be available from fishman, but I can't see any bass bridges on their site. You mention the TRB5P - does the TRB4P have a piezo bridge? I might be able to have a play with one of those ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 The Graphtech Ghost system looks like a good bit of gear if you *did* want to try a piezo bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJA Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 (edited) the Yamaha Attitude Custom had a P pickup and a piezo in the bridge- someone here's just bought one. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=7985"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=7985[/url] Edited November 19, 2007 by SJA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB2000 Posted November 20, 2007 Author Share Posted November 20, 2007 Thanks Jean-Luc - the piezo saddles are quite expensive, perhaps I'll take advantage of Thomman's return policy and try a power jazz to see if such a bridge would actually do what I want before going further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I own an original 80's Fender Power Jazz Bass Special and the stock models do not feature piezos. I am not familiar with any newer versions that do. However, the bridge pup on mine is awesome, even with the now rather 'long in the tooth' onboard electronics. I have no need for a 4 string, but i LOVE this bass. I wanted one as soon as I knew I wanted to play Bass. Took me over 17 years to finally buy one, but they are a steal on ebay these days. Anyway, back to the point.. piezos can be useful for a good natural sound, but to be honest with you, I can get far clearer ringing harmonics from standard magnetic pups over and above that of my bass with piezos alone. I guess this could vary from bass to bass. My 7er with EMGs can sound clear harmonics right up to the 2nd fret.. mebbe there's a bit of technique involved in there too though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB2000 Posted November 20, 2007 Author Share Posted November 20, 2007 [quote name='dood' post='91462' date='Nov 20 2007, 01:34 PM']I own an original 80's Fender Power Jazz Bass Special and the stock models do not feature piezos. I am not familiar with any newer versions that do. However, the bridge pup on mine is awesome, even with the now rather 'long in the tooth' onboard electronics. I have no need for a 4 string, but i LOVE this bass. I wanted one as soon as I knew I wanted to play Bass. Took me over 17 years to finally buy one, but they are a steal on ebay these days. Anyway, back to the point.. piezos can be useful for a good natural sound, but to be honest with you, I can get far clearer ringing harmonics from standard magnetic pups over and above that of my bass with piezos alone. I guess this could vary from bass to bass. My 7er with EMGs can sound clear harmonics right up to the 2nd fret.. mebbe there's a bit of technique involved in there too though.[/quote] I think the ones I had in mind were only reduced last year - I guess they've recycled the name. It's just something I thought I'd look into. I've no problems picking out harmonics on any of my jazz's or on my P/J type basses, but on the P the placement isn't great for anything above the 5th fret. Although I don't use harmonics a lot, it would be kinda nice to have the option. One reason that I don't just drop in a bridge PUP is that I've started playing some stuff with a pick (after nearly 30 years using fingers only, although I started with a pick) and I find a bridge PUP gets in the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbloke Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 [url="http://"http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?partno=01364003032"]Power Jazz bass[/url] I'd be interested to learn how many they sell of this bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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