Piezo Bridge Recommendations

loopfiend · #1 09-01-2003, 06:30 PM

Hi,
I'm having an electric 5 or 6 String bass built for me and I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for a Piezo bridge system.
This bass will have 2 Bartolini soapbars for main PUs and I wanted an added tonal element.

The body will be sculpted from Bubinga and the strings will be thru the body so I wanted to capture as much wood tone as possible. It would be great if I could dial in as much of the Piezo PU as needed with a separate volume and/or EQ.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance!

mikezimmerman · #2 09-02-2003, 12:07 PM

The piezos which seem to get the most consistent praise are the RMCs (http://www.rmcpickups.com). John Turner has them in a couple of his Conklins, and Jeff Rader has them in is new Nordstrand--I'm sure there are others.

I haven't played them yet, but I have a Curbow being built which will use the RMCs for both piezo/magnetic blend and for driving a 13-pin output for Roland V-bass and MIDI conversions. However, they are rather pricey compared to some of the other options out there.

Mike

loopfiend · #3 09-02-2003, 04:00 PM

Thanks Mike!
I appreciate the tip. I'm just beginning the process of designing my dream bass and need all the advice I can get!
Take Care!

mikezimmerman · #4 09-02-2003, 04:28 PM

No problem. Not sure how long it will be before the Curbow is done (the RMCs were a last-minute decision, and they may have delayed things a bit), but I'll be happy to give a report on the setup once I have it in my hot little hands.

Mike

geshel · #5 09-02-2003, 06:07 PM

I have one bass each with the Shadow piezos and the RMC piezos. The former is fretted and the latter fretless, among other differences, so it's not a straight comparison. However, the RMCs sound much better to me. Also, I've had problems with the Shadows being seated properly in the saddles - they seem to be very sensitive to things. It might be due to the differences in bridge design (more slop in the ABM than in the Hanewinckel design which has the RMCs in it) though.

thumbtrap · #6 09-03-2003, 09:52 AM

Not to hijack, but how do you like the piezos on fretless?

geshel · #7 09-03-2003, 01:19 PM

They sound great. Very organic. Here's a sound sample:

home.comcast.net/~taylorsherman/hw6f_rmc.mp3

I imagine, with flats or tape-wound strings, you could get a very upright-like tone.

matthewfoote · #8 09-11-2003, 06:02 AM

ABM make individual bridges with piezo's. I have them on my bass and they look and sound fantastic.

I have attached a much posted photo for which I apologise but they show the pickups quite well.

PS I have a John East 2 band preamp which I use with the Piezo's.

Hope this is of some help.

Regards

Matthew