Stereo/Mono.....Piezo system - Need your opinion...

edo · #1 12-31-2000, 08:52 AM

Hey,

To my knowledge Parker Fly is the first one that have a piezo pickups built on its guitar but right now I have seen that many and many guitars have a piezo pickup on it and also many and many guitar manufactures at least have one of their product comes with this system. * They usually ( or always ?? ) have two output jack : stereo and mono.
Few co. who makes a piezo pickup are Fishman, Mike Christian (MC), and LR Baggs. *Fishman is the first one to regain a high name on piezo market because of it's works w/ Parker which turn out very succesful, it makes other company to follow their steps but lot's company ( I think ) who produce high quality guitars choose LR Baggs for their acoustic sound instead of Fishman, such as : Ibanez, PRS, Warrior, Mcnaught etc

Between them ( Fishman, MC and LR Baggs ), which one is better ?
Does anyone here know about how the stereo or mono
jack work on a guitar that have a piezo pickup on it ? *
I mean, why do you need two output jack ? *
How the piezo works and do they really produce a real acoustic sound ?

darren wilson · #2 12-31-2000, 12:45 PM

The two output jacks are so you can send your magnetic pickup output to a regular guitar amp and your piezo pickup output to an acoustic amp or directly to a mixing board. Guitar amps generally don't do a piezo pickup justice because their tonal range is so limited.

The sound you get from a piezo bridge in a solid-body electric guitar roughly approximates the sound of an electric-acoustic guitar. It's not a super-realistic acoustic sound, but for many uses, particularly stage use, it's very good.

Whether you go with Fishman, L.R. Baggs or Mike Christian is a matter of personal preference, like choosing Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio or Bartolini for your electric pickups.

I quite like the Fishman system in my Parker Fly Classic, and didn't really care much for the L.R. Baggs system in the Godin LGX i tried once.

Your best option would be to try the systems out and pick the one that best pleases your ear and will work best for your needs.

edo · #3 01-01-2001, 09:18 PM

Thanks,

Also I just read on a mag that if you choose mono the sound that will come out is a mix between piezo and the magnetic pickup.

Possibly someone can help me here,
I would like to know the sound from someone who have try this ? *Do you like it ? Is it good, unique or something weird ?

darren wilson · #4 01-01-2001, 10:45 PM

Yes, when you go mono out, the blended sound goes out on one wire.

How it sounds will depend on what kind of rig you're running it into. Driving a regular guitar amp with a piezo sounds thin and brittle. However, it can add a bit of a high-end shimmer to a muddy magnetic pickup sound.

The combined magnetic/piezo sound is much more interesting when you have two distinct signals running in parallel, rather than combining them. You lose the distinct character of each kind of pickup if you run them down the same wire.

Whether you like it or not is something only you can decide. Personally, i think piezos are rather pointless if you're not going to run them into an acoustic amp or a mixing board/PA. They just don't sound very good running into a guitar amp.

Kevan · #5 01-01-2001, 11:14 PM

Edo-
I love the sound of the L.R. Baggs system. *I'd choose it over the Parker, but just barely. *Both systems are high-quality and produce great tone. *Let your ears decide.

For more info about the wiring, click here.

If you have any other questions about Ibanez's setup with the L.R. Baggs piezo, feel free to contact me.

edo · #6 01-02-2001, 10:43 PM

Kevan,

Your system looks great ! but I think you can only applied this to guitar with two output jack right ?
I wish it could be made to a guitar with one output jack only .....

darren wilson · #7 01-02-2001, 11:15 PM

Edo, if *you want it to work with one output jack only, you could always install a single stereo output jack instead of two mono jacks, like the Parker guitars. The main drawback is that you would need to use a stereo patch cable, which Parker supplies.

Or do you only want to use it in mono mode through a single output?

Kevan · #8 01-02-2001, 11:51 PM

It *was* a crying shame that no one makes a stereo switching jack that fit the RG bodies. *

It's a good thing I invented one. *Wanna see the prototype? *:-)

I'll keep everyone updated and let you know as soon as they're available.

edo · #9 01-03-2001, 02:08 AM

I was skeptical when Parker first came out with piezo pickup but years later heard from lot's of people including my friend who live in US that piezo sound good/excellent, that's the main reason I want my next guitar to be equiped with piezo but the problem is I have never heard the sound from a guitar which equiped with a piezo on it. You can't blame me, I live in Indonesia and there's only Gibson and Fender lying around in here and most of it are the cheap model from them which in the US you can buy it for only under $1000.

I want there's only one output jack on my guitar, and I prefer that's to be the stereo jack with a stereo/mono switch.

Darren, the cable that you talk about is a Y cable, right ?
Kevan, can you post the pics ?

ryan · #10 01-03-2001, 10:40 AM

Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm pretty certain the jacks in ALL of my RG's (including the 2027) are TRS jacks. *The stock wiring simply ignores the lug for the ring connection... *

You could easily wire these for stereo operation.

Kevan · #11 01-03-2001, 11:45 AM

Ryan- you're absolutely correct. *The output jacks are TRS jacks, and they can be wired up for stereo output, but....

The problem isn't if they're stereo or not- it's that they can't peform the switching operation (to turn the battery for the preamp on/off). *It's not their fault; they're just metal. *LOL

The difference between a standard TRS jack and a switching jack is that a switching jack uses the input "housing" as a switch; to turn on and off a battery/circuit. *Yes- other manufacturers make switching jacks, but none of them will fit RG-bodied guitars (surprise- they only make them for Str*t-style/pickguard-type setups). *My prototype DOES fit RG-style bodies, and it can do the switching that the battery requires so it doesn't go dead in a day. *

Building this prototype was NOT fun (I put a nice deep gash across the palm of my left hand while de-constructing one day), but I think the results will more than make up for it. *

Please be patient. *I'm kinda new to this whole inventing thing. :-)

seanp · #12 01-04-2001, 01:50 PM

I have a question? I have an RT650 that has a Fishman bridge in it(it has a Stereo jack in it), and I got a stereo y-cable for it. I was going to run the Magnetic output into my amp and the Piezo into the PA. Will I have any major problems? I was going to control the volume for the Piezo via the PA.

Also,(sorry for all the questions)I thought I could I put in a 3 way switch to just control the output selection, example "up - mag p/u", "middle - both", "down - piezo". *So I could leave the PA volume set and just use that tone when I need it (like during "Wanted Dead or Alive" *LOL). *If this doesn't make any sense, sorry, kind of new to this "project guitar" stuff. *Thanks for any help.

Sean

darren wilson · #13 01-04-2001, 06:29 PM

Another thing you could do, which might be a bit easier than trying to flip a switch on your guitar while playing, is use a stereo volume/pan pedal on the floor that would allow you to dynamically mix your magnetic and piezo sound, or go from one extreme to the other as fast as you can rock the pedal.

With regard to your first question, just make sure everything's grounded okay and you won't get killed.

edo · #14 01-05-2001, 07:50 PM

Hi Seanp,

Here's a link that Jay Ratkowski told in the old forum :
http://www.parkerguitars.com/FlyEvolution/magpiezo.htm

seanp · #15 01-06-2001, 08:56 AM

Thanks Edo, That is awesome info(thanks to Jay too.

), now just gotta find the time to mess around with it