Piezos on the 2027

[adamquek]

Hey guys I wonder if anyone can help me out. My 2027 piezos are distorting when I use a firm attack.. I have no idea why. When I use them with my amp on a clean channel it distorts. Even into a mixer, it distorts. Am I doing something wrong here? I just change the battery and it hasn't helped. I'm at my wits end
Any ideas, anyone?

[darren wilson]

If the signal is clipping when you plug into a mixing board, then chances are, it's happening at the guitar end.

I'm going to take a wild guess here... usually any active circuitry has a little "trim pot" on the circuit board. The 2027 might have a little pot on the board inside the control cavity (you may need to adjust it with a micro-screwdriver) that will allow you to roll off the maximum gain of the internal pre-amp. My Parker has this to allow you to balance the piezo volume. If it's set too high, the pre-amp will clip. Try rolling it off a bit.

Someone with a 2027 could probably clarify this for you.

[Kevan]

There is a trim pot on the 2027's preamp board.

Check out this pic:
http://www.jemfest.com/dewiring5.jpg

The trim pot is in the bottom left-hand corner.
Use it to adjust the level between magnetic and piezo volume, and to find the best level for straight piezo.
You'll need a SMALL screwdriver to adjust it.

P.S.- The slide switch next to it is the phase switch.

[adamquek]

Thanks kevan but I aleady fiddled with that. now my piezo has almost no volume and STILL distorts any ideas?

[gkelm]

Battery?

[Two hands31]

Originally Posted by gkelm

Battery?

Originally Posted by adamquek

I just change the battery and it hasn't helped.

[adamquek]

Help? *meep*
Sigh. This is awful No piezo on the 2027. At least, not if I strum hard
Kevan, wil I have to remove the preamp to gain access to the trim pot? I tried to adjust it WITHOUT removing it.. I think I may mave stripped the plastic pocket abit *eeks*

[Kevan]

Originally Posted by adamquek

Kevan, wil I have to remove the preamp to gain access to the trim pot? I tried to adjust it WITHOUT removing it.. I think I may mave stripped the plastic pocket abit *eeks*

Eeks is right. You'll need to remove the preamp (EASY to do) to adjust that pot PROPERLY. Be sure not to short anything out when you have the preamp out working on the adjustments.

Suggestion: I have about 10 different color nail polishes. No- not because Glen likes to do his toes when he comes over. They're to mark index or reference points. They also let me know if anyone has messed with a nut or bolt. I'm sure you've seen stuff like it in some of your gear.
Using a red/orange/bright color polish, just put a TINY drop where the arrow on the pot is facing BEFORE turning it anywhere. This way, you can always go back to "zero". The nail polish is quite durable, non-conductive, and easily removed.

Feel free to IM me if you run into more problems.

[adamquek]

Hey kevan I did just as you suggested now the volume of the piezo is the same as the mags. But there's still this annoying grainy/buzzy/distorted sound when I *smack* the strings, regardless of how low the trim pot on the preamp is! The battery is fresh too. Is there anything else that could be contributing to this?>

[Kevan]

Yeah: Stop smacking your strings.
LOL

I'd check the settings/tubes/spreakens on the amp you're using.
If it's not the amp, it could be your particular playing style that might need to be adjusted.

[vaijem777]

One other thing that you might check is your amp's reverb setting. If you're using an on-board spring reverb unit, that may be the cause of your problem. I've had the same issue with running peizos through all of my amps. For some reason, the piezo signals seem to be hot enough that they kind of overdrive the reverb circuit. The problem was expecially present when I tried to do any percussive "smacking" of the strings Try turning the reverb all the way down and see if you still get the noise.

[adamquek]

New batteries. Piezo output matches magnetic output. No solution! *sob* Even at moderate, strumming levels, it distorts. Like if you've playing a jengjengjeng type of Scenes from a Memory intro heh. The sound still gets grainy and distorted when I strums or play hard. I tested the output on my computer, and the mags and piezos have the same output. But the piezo is still distorting *WAILS* any ideas folks?

[Raffel]

Doesn't Ibanez have a manual for this? I want to get a 2127x from japan
but i don't want to dabble with all the axe's internal organs.

[Kevan]

Raffel- 99% of the time, you won't have to touch anything inside your 2127, except to change the battery when it goes dead.

Adam- I'm not sure what's going on at your place, but I don't think the piezos/preamp are the problem. Chris' suggestion of checking the reverb is a good one- remember that the piezo signal is technically amp'd before it hits your amp, so....

Remember that piezos work via pressure so the harder you hit the strings, the more signal they push. Got an MP3 of you playing so I/we can hear what you're hearing? Are you playing some odd string size- like Dick Dale 16's or a .007 high E?

[adamquek]

Argh alright a post. Kevan, as requested This is embaressing
But I'm willing to em embaressed if it'll help me ersolve my piezo issues heh. the first part is quite finger picking stuff, it doesn't distort. The bossanova part, you can start to hear the distortion I'm talking about. When I do the jangly strumming at the end.. all hell breaks loose This was recorded straight into my souncards line in. The signal never clipped, and the magnetic pickups, which the piezos have mathced output with, never distort. I'm pretty sure problems are strictly on my guitar

http://www.digitalsoundplanet.com/Vi...p?userid=80671