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My lovely wife has got me the hollow body Prs style kit for Xmas. I have been looking at the genuine article for ideas on finishing and noticed some come with a piezo pick ups on a separate circuit and thought it might be worth trying.
Any one included a piezo to a hollow or semi hollow? What sort of results did you get?
Would the bridge piezo or the 3 round string style be a better option?
I haven't gone it personally, but a there have been a couple of builds that have had piezos added. There was definitely a ES-3 build about a year ago, and there have been others.
Thanks for the tip. Found the build. Unfortunately the poster has been inactive since May. Would love to know if he had stereo jacks or blended with neck pickup. Surprised at how good the disc sounds in that guitar as opposed to having to install a piezo bridge. Craving to get my hands on this build but the Mrs won't let me until Xmas.
Oh well I got a mm bass, cigar box and 2 pedal builds on the go at the moment, so probably just as well.
Still if anyone has any recommendations on how best to do this, I would be most grateful
I too am interested in a hollow body with a piezo. I’m thinking nylon string, bridge piezo and no pickup holes on an ES-3. I’m very ignorant on the subject at the moment...would this need a pre amp? Does this sound like something which would work/fail?
For a flat response, a piezo pickup needs a pre-amp with a 10meg ohm input impedance. Straight into a guitar amp (even an acoustic one) it will be very muddy sounding without.
So the answer is yes, but you can have an external pre-amp (or an acoustic guitar pedal for EQ and FX with a piezo input) if you don't want to fit one into the guitar and worry about battery compartments etc.
Thanks Simon. I guess installing a pre amp might be the path I’d choose.
A local luthier near me Fican Guitars make a hybrid like this called a Tornado, sounds quite incredible although looks could be polarizing
http://www.mixdownmag.com.au/fican-guitars-tornado-0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4juFg8uYLgc
The price tag might be polarising also. I’m really after the nylon string sound. Thanks for sharing though.
Absolutely no doubt about that, and therein lies the problem with handmade low volumes instruments or anything for that matter.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkMark
Almost belongs in the Ugly Guitar thread.
Great concept and sure somebody could make theirs do similar things for way less than $3.9k
Reminds me somewhat of the Burns Steer. It's hard to come up with a guitar design that hasn't already been tried out long ago.
Attachment 28243
Never seen that one Simon, I guess it never made it to Oz.
Stuart took the entire Fican range to the various European guitar shows a few months back and has won quite a few fans and a couple at least have been sold to the US.
I've never seen one in the flesh but have followed the brand on Facebook after I commented on a tribute guitar that he made to the AATTV ( Australian Army Training Team Vietnam ) that my father was a member of at the time
Ok, here is a curly question for someone with detailed knowledge of piezo pickups. I’ve seen a saddle mounted piezo pickup (not under the bridge mounted) held in place as the nylon strings wrap around and tie the pickup onto the saddle.
Q) does this type of pickup need to be in contact with the saddle, or can a tail piece be used to tie the pickup and strings on to? I would really like to use a tail piece if this is likely to work. I understand the pickup senses the vibration of the strings, but when attached to a saddle is that also contributing? I can’t find an answer. Perhaps I just need to perform the experiment in the future.
This is so true. It's really amazing how hard it is to balance looking like a guitar and doing something different that someone else hasn't already done. Any deviation from the basics looks really weird as well, which is fine if its what you are going for. A lot of it is dictated by ergonomics and its difficult to do better than has already been done. Not to say you shouldn't, but I'm learning it's not worth getting hung up on total originality.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
Well, my idea appears to work. Project ‘Modified GR-1 nylon string acoustic’ is GO! Just as soon as I ask if I can build it.
Ask forgiveness, not permission. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkMark
Advice taken. Bring on the March shipment.Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankenWashie