Piezo pups on Fretted Basses

dvh · #1 01-21-2007, 07:55 AM

This is from a thread in the bass guitars forum; it refers to a bass (Spectorcore) that has an EMG HZ pickup and a Piezo under the bridge:

"I think the piezo would become pretty useless, since all the fretted basses I've played with piezos suffered a LOT from fret noise and finger squeaks with roundwounds. I think flatwounds would only reduce the finger noise but you'd still get those clacking sounds when fretting a note, which is highly irritating IMO. And you'd also lose a lot of the warmth of a fretless, and naturally also the mwah which contributes a lot to the 'upright' sound. Just my experience with piezos on fretted basses."

Any thoughts? There is a good deal on a Spectorcore 4 stringer at a store near me but it is a fretted model.

Does Piezo not work well on a fretted bass?

spudmaster34 · #2 01-21-2007, 09:24 AM

imo, piezo's work fine on fretted. If you really don't like it, it is pretty easy to disconect a pup

BillytheBassist · #3 01-21-2007, 09:29 AM

They work fine for me.... they give it a sort of "airy" quality especially if you are into Hifi.

brandonwong · #4 01-21-2007, 09:30 AM

The thing with piezos on a bass with mag pups is you need to have seperate EQ controls. or at least passive tone control for the piezos.

You can roll off the piezos and rather than getting finger noises, you get very good thump sound. Great for ghost notes and finger style stuff.

On the other hand, you can also bring the treble up and get a different slap tone. Think Brian Bromberg.

Cheers

elros · #5 01-21-2007, 02:39 PM

Visit my sound clips page and listen to the piezo sound clips of my Surine Regency (at the bottom of the page) for an example of how piezo pickups can sound on a fretted bass.
Those clips are recorded with the tone controls set flat.

Shoewreck · #6 01-21-2007, 04:20 PM

I prefer piezo to magnetic pups. Always play fretted. Piezos may seem too bright while slapping and fret noise punishes you every time you play unclean, but it's manageable - a bit higher action, some treble roll off and lots of practice would solve the problem. Once I gave my bass to another bassist - it sounded thin and clicky. A minute before (while I was playing) the sound was full bodied and punchy - guess why

I'd go for a blend between piezo and magnetic - piezo's bright attack and magnetic's fat mids do a great work together.

dvh · #7 01-21-2007, 07:26 PM

Thanks for the feedback. Makes me feel a little more confident.

Scott in Dallas · #8 01-21-2007, 08:48 PM

Charvel made a concert bass in the 80's that had just a piezo pickup on it. It sounded incredible. I'd have bought it if I'd had 1100 bucks at the time.

KUNGfuSHERIFF · #9 01-22-2007, 08:05 PM

It depends on the piezo, and the preamp you run it through. The Highlander setup in my fretted Turner sounds amazing, but I hated most other piezo-equipped electric and electric-acoustic basses I've tried, not including the Spectorcore.
At the end of the day, all that matters is how the bass sounds to you. Have you tried it yet?

PilbaraBass · #10 01-22-2007, 08:30 PM

my Carvin AC40 is fretted...it can sound a bit "clacky" but when I EQ it a bit, it sounds bright and open...it definitely has its place, in an acoustic setting it SHINES!

not for everyone's taste for for sure...but I do like it...

by the way...when I EQ the "clack", i don't remove it completely, I like the percussive aspect of the piezo, I just "tame" it a bit is all.

dvh · #11 01-23-2007, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KUNGfuSHERIFF

It depends on the piezo, and the preamp you run it through. The Highlander setup in my fretted Turner sounds amazing, but I hated most other piezo-equipped electric and electric-acoustic basses I've tried, not including the Spectorcore.
At the end of the day, all that matters is how the bass sounds to you. Have you tried it yet?

I tried it again at the store yesterday. (Great thing about that store - they have an amp exactly like mine - the best way to hear a bass).

I really like it. Like the post above, I find if the treble is not rolled to high there is no problem and I also like the slight "clacK" you can keep if you like.

The bass plays very nicely and I do really like its sound. I'm getting into more jazz and the sound would be perfect. But I think a fretless would be better and I can't afford the $1K right now (but it's a great deal!)