Piezo pickups offer an effective solution for adding an enhanced brilliance to an acoustic guitar without altering its natural acoustic tone and resonance. In this blog post we’ll take a deeper dive into what they are and how they function on these instruments.
Many people complain about piezo pickups sounding harsh and trebly; however, newer models can produce more balanced sounds while handling higher volumes than magnetic pick-ups.
They’re acoustic-friendly
Piezo pickups can produce an amazing tone on an acoustic guitar, and there are numerous ways they can be improved upon. They are typically adhered to or built into the instrument itself and combined with mics or other types of pickups for different tones and effects. Acoustic players may use various pickup sources on their instruments – dual outputs and passive sound hole pickups with microphones being popular examples – in order to bring out its full acoustic character and minimize issues like high frequencies and low end issues.
Piezo pickups lack an understanding of an instrument’s entire body, leading to harsh and unnatural responses. Tonal characteristics vary greatly due to construction materials; this has a profound impact on timbre for any pickup acoustic pickup – for instance a jumbo body guitar will sound completely different than a parlour body; soundboard is usually the source of tone but under-saddle pickups don’t take this into consideration.
Piezo pickups may sound harsh and metallic when connected to a power amp, as their piezos cannot accommodate for the full spectrum of frequencies produced by vibrating strings. A graphic equalizer pedal such as BOSS’ GE-7 offers the solution by offering multiple bands which allow users to control frequency response for this piezo pickup.
Some acoustic pickup manufacturers have developed piezo electric guitar pickups specifically tailored for use with acoustic instruments that capture all frequencies produced by strings, yet may still sound too bright for some musicians’ preferences due to not responding properly to subtle octave downs caused by open acoustics. For an authentic sound, try adding some midrange boost to your EQ settings for optimal results.
They’re resistant to feedback
A piezo pickup on your bass guitar is a transducer that converts string vibrations to electrical signals, which are then sent through your amplifier for amplification. This differs from magnetic pickups found on electric guitars which use magnets and coils to produce similar sounds. Piezo pickups offer several advantages over their magnetic counterparts but may produce feedback issues in certain instances.
As opposed to typical guitar pickups that rely on magnets and coils to detect metal strings vibrating against metal frets, piezoelectric pickups are more sensitive to wooden vibrations that produce sound waves that convert vibrations into pulses of electricity – thus making bass guitar piezo pickups resistant to feedback; although like all pickup types they can still experience issues.
For effective bass guitar piezo pickup feedback reduction, consider employing a high-pass filter. This filter will prevent frequencies that fall below your desired range from reaching the output and creating feedback loops – while simultaneously increasing clarity of sound. Alternatively, consider installing a piezoelectric preamp that filters out unwanted frequencies before reaching amplifier.
Piezo pickups may not provide an expansive frequency response, but they do produce more natural sounding tones than magnetic ones. Plus, they’re resistant to feedback – making them suitable for live performance situations – although keep in mind that piezo pickups tend to produce more metallic tones than their magnetic counterparts.
Other/Hybrid While piezoelectric pickups remain the primary method for acoustic guitar pickups, other forms exist as well, including hybrid models that combine microphone and piezoelectric technologies into one device – for instance the Ehrlund EAP is an example of such a hybrid pickup that utilizes both microphone and piezoelectric elements in its design.
While most guitarists prefer pickups that emulate mics in terms of sound quality when recording, there’s no such thing as an acoustic guitar pickup that can match it completely in terms of overall quality. A good-quality pickup, however, should still capture the overall tone and low frequencies that cannot be reproduced by magnetic pickups.
They’re easy to install
Piezo pickups are an increasingly popular choice among upright bass players. Easy to set up and use, these simple devices convert the mechanical vibrations of bass strings into electrical signals that can produce an impressive range of sounds from warm and rich to harsh and sharp – plus, their natural tone provides less feedback risk! K&K Sound and Bassline all offer Piezo pickup options.
One method of installing an upright bass’s piezo element is by placing it under its bridge, so that its wires are sandwiched between its base and outer surface of sound board (the top part of a cigar box). After soldering to it, they can then run down through a hole drilled in cigar box until reaching an external jack; although this method is simple to implement it may require some experimentation to find an optimal location within cigar box for optimal performance.
Mounting the piezo on a board at the bottom of an instrument requires more careful positioning than mounting under-saddle, but can produce satisfying results. A board made of plywood or similar material may be constructed, with special adhesive tape used to secure it to it before wiring the piezo to a preamp that provides enough gain to drive an amplifier.
Some players find piezos harsh, either due to their tendency to pick up clicks and scrapes from rubbing against the sound board or due to an overall sharpness of tone. To help alleviate these problems, it’s a good idea to insulate or cushion your piezo with some sort of material; options might include thin pieces of wood, strips of leather or rubber coating liquid (such as the kind used on tool handles).
Some acoustic basses come equipped with multi-pickup piezo systems like those made by ETS and Chris Larkin, where each string features its own separate piezo element. These multi-pickup systems make an excellent solution for upright basses; their installation process is straightforward as each individual piezo element can be mounted directly onto its own board rather than having to glue transducers directly onto your instrument’s soundboard.
They’re affordable
Piezo pickups offer an inexpensive solution for amplifying volume and refining tone on an acoustic bass, with easy setup that requires no modification to your instrument. However, before purchasing one, there are a few things to keep in mind before making your decision.
Impedance load (the amount of current flowing through your pickup) should be an integral component in choosing a piezo pickup, as insufficient impedance loads may result in problems such as feedback and scratchy tones. A buffer or preamp can easily resolve this issue by controlling output of your pickup.
If you’re considering installing a hipshot-style piezo pickup, be sure to confirm whether your bass has all of the required hardware to accommodate it – this includes having a humbucking pickup, preamp and battery installed; otherwise upgrading may not be worth your while.
Piezo pickups for upright basses use small transducers called “piezos,” which convert mechanical string vibration into electrical signals that your amp can turn into sound. They’re often installed under, on or inside an upright bass bridge – K&K bass pickup, Realist pickup sets by David Gage and Fishman all make available models that use this technology.
Piezo pickups differ from magnetic ones in that they detect vibration throughout the guitar rather than directly under its strings, providing greater sensitivity and accuracy in reproducing its sound, along with being generally less expensive than magnetic pickups.
Piezo pickups offer another advantage, being easy and economical to install. While many acoustic bassists enjoy playing without amplified sounds, some would like the ability to play louder or larger groups; piezo pickups provide this solution and installation should only take minutes!