Anyone play a guitar with a Piezo through a Mark V

[EvilEmuOfDoom]

I picked up a Music Man JPXI recently and when I tried the piezo through my Mark V it sounds like crap. I plan on getting an acoustic amp but am curious as to why it wouldn't work through a normal amp. With even a moderate amount of attack it distorts and clips really bad even on the clean channel. Is there something I can do to make it sound decent through the Mark V or do I just have to use an acoustic amp?

 

[ifailedshapes]

Piezos aren't means to be run through electric guitar amps. As you said, they sound like crap. Send the piezo signal directly to the board or run it through an acoustic amp.

 

[EvilEmuOfDoom]

Piezos aren't means to be run through electric guitar amps. As you said, they sound like crap. Send the piezo signal directly to the board or run it through an acoustic amp.

*sigh* I was pretty sure that's the case but still had a little hope I was just doing something wrong . Thanks!

On the bright side, I played a few acoustic amps and have settled on a Fishman Loudbox Mini.

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

I did try the same setup before. It sounds ok. The clipping would cease if you run it on the clean mode with very low gain. Piezo still works best with a PA system or DI box though...

 

[LPJunky]

On one of my tube amps it sound OK. Let's say usable. On the Mesa it clips and distorts like crazy. Don't know enough about the inherent differences between normal PUP and Piezos. Would be curious to know more about the signals..

 

[DrummerChas]

I have a couple of BFR JP6's and found the piezo to be useful on Ch 1, fat, bold or normal for arpeggiated chords and to me it sounds great for that purpose. However once I started strumming with any aggression it did seem to clip a bit. I reduced the gain and switched to normal mode and that helped control the break up. There are also some adjustment controls for the piezo that can be made on the back of the guitar which may help, although Musicman has previously told me not to adjust them unless absolutely necessary. Since you are using a JPXi and a Mark V, try using Petrucci's settings on Youtube for Ch 1 and see if that helps.

 

[eudaimonia02912]

I have two piezo-equipped guitars. On some of my previous tube amps, the piezos sounded passable, if not good. On the Mark, they sound pretty bad.

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

I have a couple of BFR JP6's and found the piezo to be useful on Ch 1, fat, bold or normal for arpeggiated chords and to me it sounds great for that purpose. However once I started strumming with any aggression it did seem to clip a bit. I reduced the gain and switched to normal mode and that helped control the break up. There are also some adjustment controls for the piezo that can be made on the back of the guitar which may help, although Musicman has previously told me not to adjust them unless absolutely necessary. Since you are using a JPXi and a Mark V, try using Petrucci's settings on Youtube for Ch 1 and see if that helps.

The adjustment at the back could possibly be an instrument to calibrate the piezo in terms of EQ. I would say don't mess with it unless it sounds terribly off through an acoustic amp...

 

[boogieman60]

I have a Power Tele, the one that has a Fishman pickup in the Bridge. I do use it though the V on Chan. 1 for some interesting ultra clean sounds. I use an FX patch with a really nice reverb that gets that Acoustic Alchemy sound. The nice thing about the V is that it just truly reproduces whatever is there. esp. chan one run clean. Not to much amp color. I can also get a good ac. rhythm sound using another patch I created. The trick with Piezo's is a good FX patch.

 

[ifailedshapes]

I still stand by my earlier comment that piezos and electric amps aren't an ideal match. I have a PRS Hollowbody with the L.R. Baggs piezo, and while it's clear and audible through the amp's clean channel, it's also very thin and tinny. Perhaps a good effects patch could help, but I still think the the best option is something made to handle an acoustic signal.

 

[ZFMarkV]

Maybe not ideal, but if the piezo has a vol and tone control it can sound good enough. I use a modified Parker with RMC saddles and preamp so it is a lot different than the original Fishmans.

The best option on the Mark for me has been the Clean or Fat channel1 with bold on. I don't use this for hard core strumming, but for quite passages it works fine.

I do prefer running through my SRM 450s when they aren't being used as a PA.

 

[EvilEmuOfDoom]

I just got back from vacation and had sent 3 guitars out for a setup while I was away. When I went to pickup the guitars the tech said told me "hey, did you know that the bass and treble piezo controls on that JPXI were both maxed out? I backed them down near the 50% mark and it sounds a lot better" *facepalm*. So, although I had planned on messing with the piezo controls I had assumed that they would be set to 50% considering it was a new guitar, guess I was wrong. Sounds a LOT better now through the clean channel although still not as good as an acoustic amp.

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[ifailedshapes]

Because of this thread, I actually plugged my PRS into the clean channel of my Ace and engaged the piezo. It didn't sound bad as its own sound, but compared to a real acoustic there would be no comparison. I stand by my earlier post.