Use an existing piezo bridge setup into a graphtech ghost hexpander?

[montyrivers]

Is it possible to use an existing piezo bridge setup and wire it into a graphtech ghost hexpander midi kit?  I was thinking of getting a factory custom guitar with a piezo floyd rose from Carvin without the "under the hood" electronics and then buying a hexpander and wiring it into the existing piezo saddles.  Could this work?  Does anyone have experience with this kind of situation?   (all of this in the name of saving some money, mind you.)

Lastly, I've heard horror on these forums about some wierd artifact noises involving tremolo bridges and piezo pickup systems when it comes to using the VG99's analog guitar and synth sounds.  Is it as bad as people say it is to the point where I would need to get a subsonic filter or some other device to correct it?

Thanks in advance!

[Elantric]

If you can confirm the piezo Floyd bridge in the Carvin is supplied by  Graphtech , then a DIY Ghost MIDI board is possible, but a LOT of work .

its installing the damn 13 pin jack that requires the most labor.

But most Floyd piezo VG-99 / GR-55 users fight a major battle to get good results.

low frequency noises anytime you touch the Bridge, brittle COSM guitar tone, adjacent string cross talk can render alt tuning anomalies too.

The RMC Input Filter board is mandatory, but the end results and funds spent equal a poor value compared to using a GK-3 type pickup on your floyd guitar in my opinion.

[arkieboy]

... and the bridge might not be wired hexaphonic with all saddles summed before the preamp.

FWIW Peizo bridges are by far the best with the Axon.  Night and day for midi tracking

Steve

[montyrivers]

I'll be going with a GK3, then.  Maybe a wilkinson with locking tuners instead of the floyd so it doesn't bump into the pickup when the bridge is moving.  Thanks for the input, guys.

[Elantric]

I'll be going with a GK3, then.  Maybe a wilkinson with locking tuners instead of the floyd so it doesn't bump into the pickup when the bridge is moving.  Thanks for the input, guys.

There is a lot to like about a Kahler Trem with the new Teflon / Glass Rollers, particularly for GK-3 Guitar use.

http://www.wammiworld.com/p5301.php

see www.WhammiWorld.com

Maintains consistent string height at the GK-3 during trem dives.

[aliensporebomb]

The problem in terms of dimensions, partially, is this:

How long is the back of the body between the back of the tremelo and the bottom edge of the body?  I'm not sure if this is a dimension Carvin would publish but you could ask.

Some of my own guitars with GK3:

This one had the back end of the floyd just a little too close to the housing of the GK3.  It did work and did allow trem use but it was somewhat awkward.  Nix.  I wish there was a way to make it work because that guitar is amazing.



My Jackson Soloist had a much longer body so the back end of the Floyd didn't impinge on the front of the GK3:



The Carvin ST300 is close to the shape and configuration of my Jackson Soloist.  That one might work well for your idea. 

Even though the Soloist worked great and I did a bunch of gigging with it I was concerned about wear and tear/damage/theft and wanted a less expensive guitar for gigging out.

I eventually ended up using a Strat with a SuperVee Bladerunner.



I've gigged quite a bit with this particular guitar and no problems and the Bladerunner is great.

[montyrivers]

Thanks for the visual aid, Alien!

  I've actually been looking at the ST300 for some time now.  I'm more or less looking to have one made bare bones (electronics-wise) and then have a luthier friend of mine do some routing for a GK internal.  My only concern is the string action moving up and down when I do dives and squeals.  I wish Carvin offered Kahler bridges on their factory customs.   

[jburns]

strictly floyder here, i was worried about the same thing too. my strings don't hit the gk3 tho, you'll be safe with the right setup. my gk3 is taped (not mounted) and is short of the strings, so my sensitivity settings are a bit higher than most users here, in the 50s. it never catches my strings and i wank the hell out of my bridges. like i literally have to retighten my bar a few times during songs so take it from me. my old gr-33 with the gk3 pickup had this problem, but with a vg-99 the pickup doesn't have to be directly on under the strings. i can take some pics or do a crappy vid if you really want me to, jus in case your not convinced. alienspore told me the same thing in a post back, and i wasn't convinced either.

[montyrivers]

I'll take your word for it.  I'm looking at the floyd on my 7 string and when I pull it all the way back the action doesn't really decrease more than 1.5 milimeters at the saddles.  Add that to the fact that I'm pretty conservative with my trem acrobatics and I think I'll be fine.

[paults]

If you have a guitar that doesn't have quite enough room for a GK-3 on the plate, look to see if it would fit if you rotated the pickup counterclockwise a bit.

If it would fit rotated, drill new holes in the plate to meet the new position.  If necessary, the curved part of the plate could be trimmed, or you could just make a new plate out of a piece of aluminum.  Its just a flat plate, bent to a right angle, with a few holes in it.

In terms of the original question: an original piezo pickup is likely wired mono. It could be changed to individual signals, with some desoldering and wiring/soldering effort.  Depending on how you price your time, a new bridge is likely a better deal.

And, nothing is a better deal than a used GK pickup.