Martin BC-15e questions

[JES]

Hi There,

I have a Martin BC-15e acoustic bass guitar. (the older model without the EQ for the pickup). I LOVE its tone unplugged.

Plugged in I get the usual low output problems and piezo quack.

I'm wondering if there are others who use this bass and plug it in. If so, what do you do?

--> Switch out the pickup and pre for something else?
--> use an ultra-high impedance preamp like one of the Radial PZs?
--> Modify the pick up with the Cafe Walter PZP-1? (http://www.cafewalter.com/cafewalter/fetpre/index.htm)

Thanks!

[Jeff Scott]

Is there a buffer preamp built in? If not, you need an outboard preamp to buffer the very high impedance of the piezo pickup.