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Piezo: Yes? No? Why?

Discussion in 'Pickups & Electronics [BG]' started by Jay Mastro, Dec 26, 2014.

  1. Dec 26, 2014 #1
    Jay Mastro

    Jay Mastro

    Jun 23, 2014
    New York
    I've got a fretless Stingray with piezo and I love it, I always keep the knob at about 10 - 11 o clock and I love the tone I get, I'm a fan of Stingrays but haven't found myself ever using the humbucker alone, what are your guys views on piezo? Love em or hate em share your story
     
    Bassitudes likes this.
  2. Dec 26, 2014 #2
    deeptubes

    deeptubes

    Feb 21, 2011
    I have a piezo only bass that does not sound good. With very heavy eq'ing, I can get a usable tone. I would imagine it would sound great with pretty much any other pickup supplying some low end. It probably gives your bass some articulation and adds a nice snap to it. May sound a little hifi-ish to some of our TBers who prefer the classic tone. Try playing with just the piezo and see what you get.
     
  3. Dec 26, 2014 #3
    Jay Mastro

    Jay Mastro

    Jun 23, 2014
    New York
    At one point I used the piezo alone and would crank the mid and bass when we played our reggae/dub jams,
     
  4. Dec 26, 2014 #4
    Jay Mastro

    Jay Mastro

    Jun 23, 2014
    New York
    But it is not the most desirable tone, I agree, haven't don't it in a while, I would really love to try a piezo on a jazz, I'm a jazz guy deep down as much as I try to deny it
     
  5. Dec 26, 2014 #5
    TheCrimsonKing

    TheCrimsonKing

    Jan 23, 2014
    Yes, I've played a few and I like how they sound with the treble turned down.
     
    jg42 and Jay Mastro like this.
  6. Dec 27, 2014 #6
    Bassitudes

    Bassitudes

    Dec 16, 2014
    Toronto, Ontario
    the piezo on a stingray sounds absolutely amazing, i love blending in the bridge bucker, just enough to add flavour, then eq-ing it. absolutely amazing tone. probably my favourite ever.
     
  7. Dec 27, 2014 #7
    Bassitudes

    Bassitudes

    Dec 16, 2014
    Toronto, Ontario
    i'm thinking of getting a graphtech piezo saddle upgrade for my new bass, going ham with the midi pack too eventually.
     
  8. Dec 27, 2014 #8
    khutch

    khutch Praise Harp

    Aug 20, 2011
    suburban Chicago
    There is a thread in Basses for the Ibanez Portamento and there are some comments there about its piezo bridge, mostly favorable as I recall.
     
  9. Dec 27, 2014 #9
    Haji

    Haji

    Feb 23, 2014
    45 minutes south of Nashville
    I don't use a piezo because its not the best pickup for metal.

    Actually, I've not used one yet. I don't think it'd apply with the band I'm in, but I can see other applications.
     
  10. Dec 27, 2014 #10
    Bob-I

    Bob-I

    Sep 12, 2014
    I built a fretless Pbass and added a piezo. I like the way it blends with the standard Pbass PU. Alone it has no depth, no character, but blended in it really sweetens up the overall tone and adds a snap/zing.
     
    Bassitudes and Jay Mastro like this.
  11. Dec 29, 2014 #11
    bassbenj

    bassbenj

    Aug 11, 2009
    I love the blend of a piezo and magnetic sounds. I've got a Carvin AC50 fretless piezo only and while it's not bad, one of these days I'm going to HAVE to ass a soundhole magnetic to it. The piezo alone is OK, but times you'd like to smooth it out into a more standard kind of sound. Piezo is VERY "percussive" which can be used to great advantage at times. But if you don't want that then blend with magnetic is the answer.

    Having both a neck magnetic with a bridge Piezo gives you great versatility. I've got a number of resonator guitars I wired that way and it works out VERY nicely.
    I"ve also played some dude's hollow body similar to mine (but I never noticed the brand) that had both piezo and magnetic and it was GREAT!