GK Piezo Hex PU Types

Started by Elantric, January 23, 2008, 07:26:18 PM

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Elantric

GK Piezo Hex PU with External Electronics
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RMC Piezo Saddles + RMC-Poly Drive II
http://www.rmcpickup.com/polydriveii.html
(As used with Breedlove Synergy Series)


GK Piezo Hex PU with Internal Electronics
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RMC Piezo Pickups
http://www.rmcpickup.com/products.html

Graph-Tech Ghost Piezo Pickups
http://www.graphtech.com/ghost_info.php

Graph-Tech Ghost Hexpander Installation (Pics)
http://www.jimbobwan.com/guitar/hexpander.htm

Installing Piezo RMC Polydrive in Ibanez JEM Edgepro bridge
http://www.jemsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36762



I still hold Ghost pickups in lower regard - due to their "Mike Christian" Piezo saddle design that exhibits much higher mechanical crosstalk from adjacent strings, with resulting negative impact on DSP  Alt Tunings 

VgStrat204

Hey anyone tryied these ghost hex pickups with the vg-99?  Just wondering how it compares to the GK-2a/3.

mos6507

I have.  I think it sweetens acoustic patches and maybe makes high gain patches noisier (because of the microphonics).  Also, piezo pickups seem to exhibit a lot more crosstalk than mag hex pickups.  The VG-99 seems to be pretty good at compensating for this in the pitch shifters but the bleed through can be annoying if you want to string pan or separate channels between sets of strings.

I think there is less of a case to be made for using piezos with the VG-99 because:

a) The VG-99 has dual channels, so you can get a mixed acoustic/electric tone with just the mag hex pickup.  You direct mono piezo output is kind of overkill.
b) The VG-99 is better at filtering noise out of the mag hex pickup, so the signal to noise is pretty much the same as piezo.

Michael Dolan Doubleneck
Les Paul Custom

VG-99
FTP

judb

I've found that the graphtech setup I have works really well but you have to adjust the input sensitivity down quite a bit and compensate by upping the patch level.  I can remove most if not all the cross talk that way.  however on a floating bridge you do have issues when you plop your hand down on the bridge sometimes being picked up and making weird sounds especially on the synth patches.
PRS SE Soapbar II Maple with GK-3, Frankenstein MiM Fender with Graphtech Hexpander system, Breedlove Atlas AC250 with Synergy system, VG-99, FC-300, Cubase 4 Studio, Presonus Firepods, PodXT Pro and FBV controller, Shuttle XPC for DAW use, Mesa Boogie Express 5:50 combo with a 2x12 second cab

727lawrence

Judb, if you were starting from scratch with the MIM strat would you still go with the Ghost system? I have a similar guitar and am in the process of making that same decision. Strangely enough, I also have a PRS SE II Soapbar with a GK-3. Seems we have similar equipment. However, I'm probably going to sell mine to help fund a second Henriksen amp.

vanceg

I used to be a pretty big fan of piezo pickups on guitars which were going to be used for hex processing (like the VG-99).  I am moving more and more toward exclusively using the GK-3.  I find that the Piezos are too prone to picking up handling noise (like hitting your hand against the guitar) and are prone to string to string crosstalk. Also, there are few tremolo systems that I find work really well with Piezos.  (The ghost on the Floyd Rose and a Ghost on the Wilkinson are the best I've found).  But unless you need Piezo pickups for some other purpose, I'd go with the GK-3.  I find that with the VG-99 it really seems to be the best choice in terms of getting the VG-99 to do what it's supposed to do. And this is coming from someone who used to insist on Piezo pickups.

Now, if all you are going to be doing 90% pitch to MIDI conversion and only a little bit of VG-type processing, then I think a better argument can be made for Piezos (when doing pitch to MIDI, a lot of the thumping and other handling noise can simply be ignored...with processing like the VG- you hear it all).

Them's my two cents.

Vance

727lawrence

Thanks Vance. That's worth more than two cents to me. I've gone through enough equipment to stock a pawn shop already! I'm moving ahead with an internal GK-3 on "Frankie" (Vox neck with slightly larger frets on a Strat body, looks like something from the swamp, but feels just right).  By the way, the Henriksen BluesAmp12 is sounding great with the VG99. I'll be getting a second one to get the full effect.

727lawrence

Just sold the PRS and bought a '97 Godin LGX-SA with the L.R. Baggs piezo. I have the sensitivity down to ZERO on all strings. Does anyone else have to set theirs that way? I've only had this for one day, so haven't done the real comparison against Frankie (with the internal GK-3). I must say that I do love the ebony fretboard on the Godin ...

Elantric

Be sure to update the VG99 to the latest firmware, as this provides several additional Piezo modes, including sn LR Baggs modes, which should help your sensitivity issue.

727lawrence

I'm on 1.4 and have PIEZO L selected for the GK PU TYPE. Is there something else I'm missing? Actually, with the sensitivity set to zeroes it seems to be working pretty well with the VG. I don't have a synth unit, so don't know how it would act with one of those. I DO like this guitar, however! ;D