Peizios??????

[superhairycamel]

so what are they? pickups in the bridge?
if so, can you put em in a floydy? and whats so good about them?

[darren wilson]

1) They are piezoelectric sensors, which incorporates a kind of crystal that responds to pressure and vibration, turning string vibrations into an electric signal that can be amplified. They are more commonly used in acoustic guitar pickups.

2) Yes.

3) Yes. GraphTech has shown replacement graphite saddles for Floyd Rose trems that have embedded piezo sensors. They should be available to the public soon.

4) They give a more true representation of what a vibrating string sounds like, compared to magnetic pickups.

[lyconxero]

Thanks for the info, man. I always wondered about those piezo things.

[superhairycamel]

thanks, but is it possible to put one in an existing floydy or zr? and is it worth it? also i suppose the pickup selector would need to be changed.

[darren wilson]

When the GraphTech saddles are available, you'll be able to add piezo functionality to an original Floyd Rose. I doubt GraphTech (or anyone else) will be making replacement saddles for a specialized trem as the ZR.

You would need to add a whole separate circuit to your guitar to control the piezo independent of the magnetic pickups. Piezos need a high-quality preamp to bring the signal up to a useful level, and you'll only really get the full impact of piezos by running their signal to a dedicated full-range acoustic amplifier or PA system (or direct to the board for recording). Piezos run into regular guitar amps aren't terribly inspiring.

[superhairycamel]

well, thanks for clearing that up buddy