Albert Lee Piezo

[Wickerman]

Anyone here ever owned or played an Albert Lee model with piezo? If I ordered one of these I wonder how I'd manage without a selector switch like the JP and ASS. It just appears to have a blend knob...?

[brentrocks]

i just got one and i like it a lot....i imagine that having a switch to go from magnetic to piezeo would be pretty handy though?

[Wickerman]

i just got one and i like it a lot....i imagine that having a switch to go from magnetic to piezeo would be pretty handy though?

Indeed. I wonder how hard it would be to replace the mag tone control with a selector switch (I don't use them much anyway).

[Spudmurphy]

Hi Wickerman.
I have an AL with Piezo and an AL without.
The Piezo is awesome and I think all guitars should one!!

I don't know how frequently you would need to use the mod you are thinking of - but hey you are the best judge of that.

At the moment I have a stereo out from the guitar going to an A/B splitter box.
A goes to an acoustic amp B goes to my Marshall/Mesa.

When you have a piezo installed on an AL you are right in saying that it has it's own volume control (together with a treble / bass control on the Piezo box accessible from the rear).

I bleeb that this would work for you - an Ernieball volume pedal that will also pan between A/B - someone else out there will need to jump in here and help me out ?

Spud

PS
GET THE PIEZO !!!!

[Wickerman]

Hey, thanks Spud. The A/B box is a great idea! I've got the GAS baaaaad now.

I was originally plumping for a JP but I can only afford one new guitar. Can the P90-loaded AL generate enough signal for metal tones thru a hi-gain amp? I should wait until the Music Live show to try one out before making any fast decisions.

[Spudmurphy]

Hey, thanks Spud. The A/B box is a great idea! I've got the GAS baaaaad now.

I was originally plumping for a JP but I can only afford one new guitar. Can the P90-loaded AL generate enough signal for metal tones thru a hi-gain amp? I should wait until the Music Live show to try one out before making any fast decisions.

I'm no shreader but want a nice overdriven sound at times (not like a wasp in a jam jar though) I gat that by driving the tubes - the problem is now you are playing at some volume!!.
The MM90's are slightly more hotter and roll off nicely but by god do you still get the cluck and quack in positions 2 and 4 with the 90's.

Put it this way if I want super distortion I'll use a pedal, and that pedal will give distortion if I'm using SSS or MM90's.
The SSS are super clean when they want to be but stamp on a box and you'll be wailing away with the rest of them.

I gotta say that I'm favouring the SSS over the MM90's but there again I prefer the
shape of the neck on my SSS but love the feel of the rosewood on my LEAL -
I'll have to swop the necks over one day !!!

[Wickerman]

Hey Spud,
Who made your A/B box? I use one (custom made by a local chap) to swap outputs from my two electric guitars during performance, but it doesn't properly isolate the two signals... There's still some bleed-thru. I imagine with the different impedances/signals mixing mag and piezo that keeping the signals separate must be even more important...?

Craig

[Spudmurphy]

Hey Craig
The shop who sold me the guitar made me the splitter box and you can see it in one of these threads.
There's some good info here

http://www.ernieball.com/forums/musi...setions-2.html

[robelinda2]

Cant wait to get an AL with piezo. I'm very used to my DD Silo Special piezo, the knob is much better than having a selector, you can blend easier. Of course you can do the same on the ASS, but you need to have the little 3 way toggle in the middle.

[beej]

As everyone said ... it's pretty easy to work the piezo with the volume control. Or an A/B switch.

That said ...

Indeed. I wonder how hard it would be to replace the mag tone control with a selector switch (I don't use them much anyway).

Yep, you can totally do this- wouldn't be that difficult and you wouldn't have to to drill a hole in the p/g. Or you could just put in a mini-toggle in addition to the other controls.

Either way, the AL rocks large.