Is there anyone here on TB who has experience with a wooden bridge and piezo under saddle? Did you have problems with un even volumes one string vs. another one on a 5 string (B-G tuned) chambered bass?
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Un even volumes with piezo under saddle?
- Thread starter bompabass
- Start date
You need a preamp with individual string volumes.
There should be a trimpot to adjust the gain on each string to get the balance you want.
There should be a trimpot to adjust the gain on each string to get the balance you want.
It has to do with how well the bridge is seted in the slot. If it's even a little bit snug on one end it can throw off the balance. I had this problem at first with my Breedlove ABG and because I live just down the street from the factory I was able to take it in and have it remedied. Any qualified guitar tech can do the same though.
Um, I've never had this. But the problem is obvious. The pickup is a long thin piezo that averages over the bottom of the saddle. Now imagine, if you will, a gap developing at various places along the saddle. That gap will not transmit vibration the way a contact will. Hence a string that is over one of these "gaps" will tend to have a low volume.
What you need to do is take the saddle and pickup out and carefully examine the fit all parts for uniform contact. Be sure to sweep out any "crumbs" or other "bumps" of stuff that fell under the pickup. Make sure the saddle is loose enough in the slot that the strings hold it down on the pickup. If everything is fitted perfectly the problem may be the pickup or even the strings.
"voicing" a piezo saddle pickup is a routine job for acoustic guitar techs.
The saddle has to be perfectly flat, as does the saddle slot. The saddle material itself can have an effect, as can the pickup (I've seen guitar pickups with 6 piezo crystals stuck in basses, where they don't match the string spread).
Sometimes even if all this is done right, you still have to do "tricks" like thin shims under certain strings or filing away the saddle bottom under others to get the volume even across the strings.
The saddle has to be perfectly flat, as does the saddle slot. The saddle material itself can have an effect, as can the pickup (I've seen guitar pickups with 6 piezo crystals stuck in basses, where they don't match the string spread).
Sometimes even if all this is done right, you still have to do "tricks" like thin shims under certain strings or filing away the saddle bottom under others to get the volume even across the strings.
ZOMBIE THREAD ALERT!
I have an ABG 4 string, and the volume is pretty even from string to string. However, the outside strings sound full and warm, and the inside strings sound bright and clear. I can't figure out if there's more pressure on the outside, or on the inside, or how to fix it.
I expect to get a K&K soon, but in the meantime, any thoughts?
I have an ABG 4 string, and the volume is pretty even from string to string. However, the outside strings sound full and warm, and the inside strings sound bright and clear. I can't figure out if there's more pressure on the outside, or on the inside, or how to fix it.
I expect to get a K&K soon, but in the meantime, any thoughts?
if this is the case then you're bout as "fixed" as you can get.
a K&K would be an interesting replacement!
if you're gonna wire it right into the existing pre, you'll want to add a 1MΩ or maybe 1.5MΩ resistor across the input's hot and ground; the stock pre is made for saddle piezos and should have a super-high impedance, like 6M or 10M, so as to allow the lows through. thee K&K bridgeplate pickups do best with about 1M input impedances, otherwise they have too much boomy, feedback-y low end.
Thanks for the reply. Would you then suppose that there is an issue with the current pickup, and that replacement is the only option? I thought maybe because the issues seemed to be symmetrical that there was either more pressure on the outside than the middle, or the other way around, but you and several others have given me reason to believe it's hopeless (which is fine really).
It will be done! It has been ordered, as well as a Fishman Presys Blend 301 preamp, which will drop right into the hole occupied by a Fishman Classic 4. It's a good thing my luthier has skinny arms; he's got to install it from a Tacoma soundhole. JEEZ...
Thanks for the heads up. I will pass along the info to my tech!
oh wow!
have you consulted with him on this? that might be beyond "tough" and into "not possible".
the hole on the side will help, and i suppose if he can use some kind of remote gripper tool to negotiate the K&K installation jig up through the bridgepin holes in the tacoma then the K&K pads can be placed on the brigeplate.
is this a specific ABG version of the K&K? the guitar mini has 3 pads, and is made to go between the three string pairs on a 6-string guitar. a 4-string bass might present different string balance issues.
since the best installation is permanent superglue, this is not something you can really "experiment" with, you get one shot to get it right.
He claims to have done it before on this very bass. There are 2 transducers on this unit.
Here's the K&K unit in question: Amazon.com: K&K Sound Pure Bass 4-String Acoustic Bass Guitar Pickup: Musical Instruments
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
nice!
real USA-made tacomas are the best acoustic bass guitars i've ever heard, as in the actually deepest and loudest.
a pickup system that did some justice to the acoustic tone would be a very cool thing.
It's really an Olympia, but with the top completely replaced with a solid spruce top, a new bridge, and the neck & frets spruced up. It's a "Tacoma" in essence.
Did you try applying a little more pressure between the saddle and anchor with one hand while plucking with the other on the inside strings to see if the tone gets fuller and richer?
Also, that Olympia might have a softer plastic saddle, which could indeed behave differently in the middle than at the ends, since it might flex too easily.
A bone saddle might sound better and may fix the imbalance.
A bone saddle might sound better and may fix the imbalance.
Hope you're still listening... what do you use for the shims? Under the piezo ribbon or over?
yes
little strips of paper typically; it's hard to predict what will happen, sometimes a shim will make an area louder, sometimes quieter, sometimes it'll change the response of the adjacent strings, sometimes not, sometimes over the pickup is best, sometimes not.
So what you're saying is you know EXACTLY what I should do.
I like to take some self hardening clay (Walmart or craft store) form a thin rolled length and sandwich it between the saddle and pickup. Press the saddle in and restring. Let set overnight. This was a trick written about concerning B band pickup problems, called "Is clay the answer." It has worked for me well for tough string balance problems. If needed, the clay comes out with a toothpick. It has worked well for me with both B band and piezo rope pickups.
