Debating on whether to get a piezo or not

[Sub1 Zero]

i am sorry if these questions dip into the ridiculous side, but they are important to me before i spend this kind of money on a guitar. my search for a good superstrat has made me decide to just bite the bullet (no pun) and go for a JP6. the one i played didn't have the piezo. so, here it goes

Does the extra routing and hardware affect the resonance?

Is it a good acoustic substitute?

Does it add weight to the body? (might not be such a bad thing)

Would i kick myself later for not getting it?

Also, a question for foggy. Can i see desert gold, white, and egyptian smoke?

Thanks guys

 

[Warg Master]

1. Not sure

2. Hell yes, I'd use it over a accoustic in a live performance, it's much more conveinient IMO

3. I think it adds a pound maybe 2.... My Silo is HEAVY... other Silo's I've tried aren't as heavy as mine (Obviously, mine has a piezo... )

4. Do you need accoustic for stuff you play? I have a JP6, and I don't really regret not having it... though I don't do a lot of accoustic stuff....

5. I'm not foggy, but I can show you my DG Silo with piezo.....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/Wargus/Guitars/Silo.jpg

yay

 

[Astrofreq]

Get It

Get the piezo! I have two of them and they sound great. PLUS, you get the Ernie Ball splitter and stereo cable and can have the acoustic and electric sound at the same time through two different amps.

I'm working on a tune right now with chords beings strummed and coming out normal through the piezo amp. The other amp has sick distorted tremolo going. A very unique sound.

I haven't found the piezo to affect the resonance at all.

The only problem I've found with the JP guitars is having someone else's name on MY guitar. They do sound good though.

danny

 

[SteveB]

Does the extra routing and hardware affect the resonance?

I only have one with piezo, so I can't say with any authority.

Is it a good acoustic substitute?

Yes, especially if you run it through a PA with a little reverb on the channel. One less guitar to carry to the gig.

Does it add weight to the body? (might not be such a bad thing)

I would think that the piezo parts weight less than the wood routed out to accomodate them, and therefore the guitar would weigh less. but again I only have a JP with piezo.

Would i kick myself later for not getting it?

You might! It just adds so many more possibilities to performing and recording..

 

[Jay]

I have a JP6Piezo, and found the Piezo option well worth getting. It, for me, was a major draw of this model. I never played a JP without the Piezo, so I don't know about the weight difference. I can't quite say it replaces an acoustic, but from a convenience standpoint, having it is much, much better than wishing for it. There's another active post about using the piezo in recordings, which shows a lot of flexibility in tone. I'm finishing up a rock/techno project where I recorded off both inputs simultaneously, and it made for some really cool sounds.

Good hunting!

 

[SteveB]

The only problem I've found with the JP guitars is having someone else's name on MY guitar. They do sound good though.

danny

Haha.. what about your EVH? Or a Les Paul, (or any Fender, Paul Reed Smith, Charvel, Suhr, etc. etc. etc.) for that matter? But alas, I don't want to derail the thread...

 

[Spudmurphy]

i am sorry if these questions dip into the ridiculous side, but they are important to me before i spend this kind of money on a guitar. my search for a good superstrat has made me decide to just bite the bullet (no pun) and go for a JP6. the one i played didn't have the piezo. so, here it goes

Does the extra routing and hardware affect the resonance?

Is it a good acoustic substitute?

Does it add weight to the body? (might not be such a bad thing)

Would i kick myself later for not getting it?

Also, a question for foggy. Can i see desert gold, white, and egyptian smoke?

Thanks guys

For what it's worth I'd like to offer some advice based on my AL with piezo.
My AL has a great resonance but you do get that with tremelo equipped guitars.

It's a great acoustic substitute

I don't think it adds any appreciable weight to the guitar - you are after all, taking wood out.

You will kick yourself if you don't get it.

The problem is what are you gonna run it through?
You gonna split the mags to say a tube amp and the piezo to an Acoustic amp?

I just had to get myself an acoustic amp - and it sounds fantastic.

GET THE PIEZO !!!

 

[CudBucket]

I have a Pet with no Piezo but I have a desert gold on order with one. I've been research tons of gear in order to be able to route the Piezo signal properly when I get it. I've desided on a small PA setup with a mixer, power amp and single PA cab. I should be able to put it all together for about $500.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I have a Pet with no Piezo but I have a desert gold on order with one. I've been research tons of gear in order to be able to route the Piezo signal properly when I get it. I've desided on a small PA setup with a mixer, power amp and single PA cab. I should be able to put it all together for about $500.

Hey Cud (and not wishing to hijack this thread)
I know you have probably read my posts on acoustic set ups, and my suggestion of an AER acoustic amp. They are so small, have a great
carry case (makes it look like a fishing bait box), it's just so small and handy to cart about. Later you could get an active extension which is the same size.
Yeah they are a little expensive but worth it!!

Anyway back to the thread ... ahem, did I say
"GET THE PIEZO" !!!!!

 

[Scarifi3d]

I've heard several times that you should get the piezo option, or you may later regret not getting it! I've got a JP with piezo on order, in fact I'd say the piezo was a must (for me). I'm also quite bit acoustic oriented and I don't have a good acoustic at this time. I loved the sound that I heard from JP on Live at Budokan and An Evening with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess, and I just had to check it out. It's up to you, but I recommend it for sure!

 

[Norrin Radd]

I DO regret not getting my JP with piezo.

 

[Sub1 Zero]

alright, thanks guys, you answered some important questions. i am a metal lead guitarist, fixing to get into classical, and it would be perfect to have 2 great guitars in one package, like this seems to be. warg master mentioned the convenience, which definately sounds like a plus to me, not to mention also i only have so much room for guitars around here the OLP and strat have made permanent residence in their cases, as they are never played anymore.....

 

[augustyn]

i love the JP w/piezo a lot and added a 20th and silo w/piezo to backup everything a little easier on stage.
i play piezo through aphex acoustic exciter DI and PA. and NEVER brought my boat (acoustic) anymore.
i often use both sounds simultaneously (clean w/comp + piezo = wow)
the extra toggle for piezo is a great and useful feature
auge

 

[CudBucket]

Well the Piezo is a great steel string acoustic sub but not a classical. The neck width is way too thin.

 

[jappy]

PLUS, you get the Ernie Ball splitter and stereo cable and can have the acoustic and electric sound at the same time through two different amps.

Do these items come standard with a new guitar?

 

[SteveB]

Two items:


First... do NOT judge the piezo when used through your regular amp! It sounds neat, but it sounds AMAZING through the PA system.

Second, the 6190 splitter does not come with the piezo-equipped guitars (unless they just started doing this...) but it is available through your local EBMM dealer and I believe it has an MSRP right around $25.00, so it's inexpensive and well worth the money. It's nice to run a single stereo (TRS) cable from the guitar to the 6190 and then route the signals to their respective amplification systems from there.

 

[roburado]

Does the extra routing and hardware affect the resonance?

IMHO, the extra routing probably affects the tone. The piezo guitar my friend has seems to be brighter than a non-piezo guitar. To me, it's only noticeable if you sit there and A/B the guitars back and forth. Now, that may be just the nature of that particular guitar itself, and it's not necessarily bad. My guitar (non-piezo) could use a little extra brightness sometimes, I think.

 

[Hovisbap]

Do these items come standard with a new guitar?

I might be missing something here but why do you need a splitter?

Why not just run a mono cable from the mag jack to one amp and a mono cable from the piezo jack to the PA?

 

[jappy]

Because then you'd have one extra cable to trip over on

Call me an idiot, but what's the difference in physical appearance between a stereo cable and a mono cable? Is it just the extra ring on the tip?

 

[Hovisbap]

Because then you'd have one extra cable to trip over on

Call me an idiot, but what's the difference in physical appearance between a stereo cable and a mono cable? Is it just the extra ring on the tip?

OK point taken

Yes, just an extra ring. Tip = chanel 1, ring = chanel 2, and sleeve = earth