EBMM Petrucci model ?'s

[BennyD]

I've been looking in to the Petrucci model and I'm impressed. It's got all the features I want, basswood body, 2 humbuckers, 500k pots, 24 frets and a nice big neck.

I have a few questions about the bridges. I'll be honest, I have no idea what a "piezo" is and I'm hoping you guys can tell me. Is it worth the upcharge? I'll also be honest in that I'm not too wild about playing a guitar that was custom built to somebody elses body, which leads me to my next question. I can't find these ANYWHERE, I'd like to see how the guitar plays and fits my body but all the EBMM dealers in my area only carry basses and a few silhouettes or axis'. Any idea where to look?

Feel free to post any JP EBMM porn too, I love the looks of these things

*Edit*
One more question, I've seen a variety of different electronics setups on these guitars. The one JP plays himself seem to have a lot more bells and whistles than the other ones i've seen. Can anyone elaborate on this and let me know what options are available?

 

[koogie2k]

BennyD.....Welcome to the addiction. You will find once you get an EBMM, you will know what I am talking about.

1. I own 3 JP's myself. Two 6 strings and one 7 string. Go to my site listed below to check them out.

Piezo, it is a way of making your electric sound like an accoustic. I believe there are crystals in the bridge that allow for this along with it's own electrical hook up. I do know it sounds awesome....well worth it for the versatility. Other peeps on here can really elaborate on the Piezo and give you all the techie info.

Where to play one....I am lucky in that there are a few places in my area that carries EBMM products such as the JP. Did you try the dealer locator on the site? That might be a good start if you did not. You may have to travel a little, but you want to be sure.

The electronics on JP's are custom wound Dimarzio's. All our axes are the same as his....only he plays them much better! Jonguitarz, who works at EBMM sets up his guitars and could tell you more about that if he has time. But, I believe he stated that we get what JP gets.

Good luck and I hope this helped.

http://community.webshots.com/user/koogie2k

 

[OrangeChannel]

Per DiMarzio the Pet pups ae a hybrid of the DropSonic, Blaze II, and Steve's Special. The Dropsonic being the closest in character.


As far as the Piezo goes, there's also a preamp in the guitar w/ an eq (treble mids, bass) to tailor the tone of it. It's usually best run into a seperate amp or directly into the PA....running a piezo into something that's less than full range (like a guitar amp) makes it sound poopy to my ears.

 

[BennyD]

hm

So the extra electronics and switch/knob are for the piezo then? I don't think I'd want a piezo...if I wanted an acoustic sound I'd play my acoustic

 

[SteveB]

Benny,

Without the piezo bridge, you will have 2 knobs (volume and tone) and a toggle for the normal (magnetic) pickups, and one jack.

With the piezo bridge, you get 3 knobs (the extra is the volume for the piezo), two toggles (the extra is to select magnetic pickups, piezo, or both), and two jacks. There's a good diagram on this web site that explains how the jacks can be utilized.

Basically, you can run two separate mono cables (one for the magnetic pickups and one for the piezo). Or you can use a stereo cable on the piezo jack and then split that into the two different signal paths (magnetic and piezo) later in the chain. Finally, you can use just the magnetic mono jack for normal "magnetic only" playing, or use just a mono cable in the stereo/piezo jack. This yields a combination of the magnetic and piezo signals, which can be further controlled with some controls on the back of the guitar (treble, bass & mix I believe?).

The upcharge for the Piezo is about $200 (street), so you can decide if that's something you want to pay for. It does give you a much wider palette of tonal possibilities, if you think you might use it.

You should travel somewhere and try one. I had to go to another town to test one before I placed my order. The guitar felt different in my hands.. but in a good way. You can get really close to the strings. It will take a little getting used to, but the quality is apparent from the moment you pick it up.

If you have to order one (like I did), be prepared to wait a few months for it. I just ordered mine about 2 weeks ago, and we're looking at a delivery time somewhere around the end of November. Well worth the wait, in my opinion.

The only other options (besides 6 or 7 string) are for the JP fingerboard inlays and matching headstock. And don't forget these guitars come with a harshell case.

 

[kbaim]

Hey Newbie,

I'll pimp the piezo option also. If you play clean, adding the piezo at times to the magnetic pickup sound adds so much tone, it's like 2 different guitars playing in unison (assuming they're going to different outs).

I've mentioned this in other threads, but listen to JP's duet cd with Jordan Rudess. He flips between the piezo and magnetics and you'd swear he's playing an acoustic.

One less guitar to haul, too