Please feed me some more info on piezo pickups, THANKS

[Grand Wazoo]

I am very new to Bongo basses and in particular to piezo pickups, so I would like to ask a couple of questions to those who have had piezo's on their Bongo's for some time.

First of all, I've realized I have to be very careful with the piezo/mag pan pot, if I am playing with the amp pretty loud, standing close to it with the piezo pan set at 100% I have had feedback howling from the amp, lol I had never experienced fedback on a bass before, wheey heey Purple Haze!! but seriously I am not fond of feedbacks least of all on a bass so, has anyone experienced this or is it just me?

Also I have read some mentions in a few posts from the guitar side that people are talking about an Ernie Ball Piezo splitter box, what is that for? is it just for guitars or can a splitter box be used with a piezo fitted bass for the purpose of _______________? (fill blanks please)

Thanks for clarifying.

 

[mynan]

I'm certainly no expert, but I would expect more feedback from piezos because they are more sensitive to vibrations than magnetic pickups. Your amp produces vibrations and if those vibrations cause your piezos to vibrate...feedback!

A splitter would allow you to run your piezos to one amp or effects chain and your magnetic pickups to another amp or effects chain.

 

[adouglas]

No, the splitter box is for guitars only. The piezo guitars have two output jacks, and one of them is a stereo jack. The splitter box lets you use a single (stereo) cable between the guitar and the box, while still splitting the signal to go to two amps.

Take a look around on the company website for control diagrams for more info.

 

[Grand Wazoo]

Thanks adouglas, that clears a lot of my misunderstanding, so the splitter box is just for guitars, cool!

Appreciated!

 

[syciprider]

I use my piezos for low volume or small indoor gigs. I can get presence due to the full range signal and not overpower the room with heavy bass or low mids or worse, start a volume war. Of course I can throttle back my preamps to do this but the piezo output's different balance of low, mid and high (relative to mag pups) is distinct and makes EQing a no brainer operation.

 

[leond]

One thing I noticed on my Bongo Hp is that the output of the piezo is a lot less than the mag pickup. I was able to lower the mag to balance the volume but now I think the mag it too low.

Does anyone have know the rationale of having the piezo output so much less than the mag?

LeonD

 

[mynan]

One thing I noticed on my Bongo Hp is that the output of the piezo is a lot less than the mag pickup. I was able to lower the mag to balance the volume but now I think the mag it too low.

Does anyone have know the rationale of having the piezo output so much less than the mag?

LeonD

I think there are some adjustments that you can make if you remove the panel on the back of the body opposite the bridge.

 

[leond]

I looked there. They're all the way up.

LeonD

 

[mynan]

I looked there. They're all the way up.

LeonD

New batteries?

Also, you aren't using flats or tapewounds are you?

 

[adouglas]

One thing I noticed on my Bongo Hp is that the output of the piezo is a lot less than the mag pickup. I was able to lower the mag to balance the volume but now I think the mag it too low.

Does anyone have know the rationale of having the piezo output so much less than the mag?

LeonD

It's not a wise idea to arbitrarily set magnetic pickup height, especially with the neodymium magnets in the Bongo pickups. Putting the magnetic pickups too close to the strings will dampen them.

Are you the original owner? Did you raise the magnetic pickups at some time in the past? If not the original owner, do you know if the previous owner did?

In the FAQ on the company website the factory spec for pickup height is specified. I suggest that you put your magnetic pickups there and leave them alone.

Both my piezo-equipped Bongos have nice balanced volume between the piezo and the mag pickups.

 

[Grand Wazoo]

I have to agree with adouglas, my bongo is barely a week old, with new batteries, it came with factory-set pickups and no one has interacted with them and the volume between the piezo and the standard pickups is perfectly balanced. Check your batteries, but first of all contact CUSTOMER SERVICE at Ernie Ball [email protected]

Good luck

 

[ggunn]

One thing I noticed on my Bongo Hp is that the output of the piezo is a lot less than the mag pickup. I was able to lower the mag to balance the volume but now I think the mag it too low.

Does anyone have know the rationale of having the piezo output so much less than the mag?

LeonD

I have a Bongo 5 HHP, and the volume on the piezo side is the same as on the mag side no matter how the mag pickup selector knob is panned. Something is not right with your bass.

 

[strummer]

I have flats on my HSp, no problems here.

 

[syciprider]

One thing I noticed on my Bongo Hp is that the output of the piezo is a lot less than the mag pickup. I was able to lower the mag to balance the volume but now I think the mag it too low.

Does anyone have know the rationale of having the piezo output so much less than the mag?

LeonD

Sometimes it may sound like the mag is louder because it has more mid lows and bass. The piezo output is full range where all frequencies are present with no bump in the bass or mid low side.

 

[leond]

I'm using rounds and the batteries are new.

My point is that with the mag pickup set to factory specs, there is a perceived difference in volume between 100% magnetic and 100% piezo. I say perceived because after listening again, there is a difference in timbre. The magnetic pickup sound full, warm and round with a mid / low mid bias. The piezo pickup is more defined with clarity, higher highs, lower lows and an almost scooped mid.

The difference is cool but the difference makes the mag seem louder.

Initially, I had the mag set low enough where the perception of volume between the two pickups were equal. I could go from 100% mag to 100% piezo. Good for the piezo but unfortunately, I felt the mag tone suffered (too far away from the strings).

When I set the mag to factory specs, the mag tone improves (which is what I expected). So now instead of an all or nothing approach, I'm using the piezo as more of a "seasoning".

I guess my point of all this is the range of piezo adjustment goes from as loud as the mag pickup to quieter than the mag pickup. I was hoping for louder than the mag to quieter than the mag with "as loud as" somewhere in the middle.

LeonD

syciprider, while I was writing my post, you posted your response. I think you're correct. What you said is what I'm coming to grips with.

 

[AnthonyD]

All my Bongos wear piezos and are dialed in 50/50 - as far as I am concerned they are a must have...

Never needed to remove the back cover, balance with mags is right where it should be.

It's all about the edge - the piezos deliver the edge...