# Double Edge Piezo Project FTW



## Emiliano (May 11, 2007)

hi there!
i had an idea a while ago, that i'd like to share with you all  
i tryed to work on it, i tought that i could do more, but know i need feedback
from you all  

i saw on graphtech web site that they started to offer piezo saddle for
some type of bass bridges, they don't give you the whole saddle to replace

they give you the little piece whre the string sit and you replace that instead

simple. clean and fast

*but*

edge pro bridge is the same way

if your ibanez axe is equipped with one of those bridges
you'll see that the strings sit on a little metal piece






see the white part below the strings?

in the double edge bridge the same part is replaced with the piezo element
so i thought if graphtech could do something to start build this kind of
string insert replacement

when edge pro was released in the market
appeared a reiview of the new system
here =>IBANEZ RULES!! NAMM 2003 TREMS


from these photo





you can see clearly that could be useful to have a replacement to drop in
even the "string saver" replacement, to help in string breakage and intonation

*so*

i sent graphtech an email to ask about custom quotes

and here's the answer

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
From: Javier Pulido-Lopez <[email protected]> 
To: <[email protected]> 

Hi Emiliano,

Thank you for your email.

Yes, we can do custom Ghost saddles pickups for you. The minimal
quantity is 1000 pcs. 

If you are looking for one set for only one instrument, the way to go is
to find something already made that you can use.

In the case that you are a manufacturer and this is for a new line of
products we be happy to help you. 

If there is anything I can help you with or answer any questions, please
contact me.

Best regards, 

Javier Pulido-Lopez
Research & Testing

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""


GREAT i thought  

*but*

i sent them another email to explain better what kind of part i was trying to 
reproduce and i'm still waiting ( 3 days )

i already tryed to wait, i sent the same ideas a while back to Dave
( graphtech head )

same results, they said " send us more detail "
and then silence.......

maybe we could work together on this idea  
so they will give us feedback

i hope that this project would go all the way
to give all guitarist new possibilities to improve their sounds
to complete new guitar mods
to be just cool! 

and to be free from the ibanez reign on double edge  



thanks to you all
and teel me what you think about it!

*Emiliano hope that graphtech do this to have a piezo and flex to ibanez


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## Stitch (May 11, 2007)

Dude. 

Awesome idea.

Three problems jump out at me:

1) Would these saddles be compatible with the Graphtech GHOST preamp system? Because they would need some sort of preamp.

2) 1000pcs is an awful lot. You'd have to sell about 130 sets of 7 saddles, and thats an awful lot - and thats a lot of money to put up front for this.

3) Finally, the only Ibanez trem that uses "Sound Metal Chips" - the part you show as being replacable with piezo saddles is the Edge Pro, and that only really existed on a handful of 7-strings like the 540S7 and the 2027 I believe. Since A LOT of the people wanting piezo saddles would be using them on a Lo-TRS 7 or Lo-Pros - and these are found on the RG7420/7620's and Universes - the three most popular floyd-rose equipped seven strings used here I would venture - this prevents a problem because its really only going to appeal to people with 7 strings that already have Piezo saddles (not many, really  and people who own a 540S7 (even fewer. ) 

Someone prove me wrong, because I want piezo saddles more than anyhting.


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## Ken (May 11, 2007)

the 2027, CST, and 540s7 all had lo pros (I've owned all 3)


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## metalfiend666 (May 11, 2007)

Good idea in theory, but that is a lot of saddles to have to sell. You might be able to package them up as sets of 6 or 7 to sell on Ebay for more chance of selling 1000, but you'd have to fund the cost of them all upfront yourself. Not cheap. It might be possible to talk Graphtech into producing it as a stock item, but I doubt it.

I think there's more scope in trying to convince them to produce the Floyd Rose piezo saddles they've been talking about for a while. There a huge potential market from all the real Floyd owners out there, they can be made to fit orginal Edge bridges (Kevan has a prototype set he's done that with) which will help early UV owners, plus all the TRS-equipped guitar owners (S7420, RG7420 etc) can get a real Floyd 7 and fit the piezo's. Then we'd just need to get them to make them for a Lo-Pro.

Stich - The Edge Pro is found on RG1527's, newer UV7PBK's, RG2077's and the newer J Custom 7's as well as numerous RG 6 Strings and Jem's.


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## Stitch (May 11, 2007)

metalfiend666 said:


> Stich - The Edge Pro is found on RG1527's, newer UV7PBK's, RG2077's and the newer J Custom 7's as well as numerous RG 6 Strings and Jem's.



Sorry mate, i grabbed the closest 'recent' catalogue to hand which was my 2002 one, so it said the UV was a Lo-Pro. 

Whoops. Apologies.

Next time I'll try reading a _recent_ catalogue. I take it all back.


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## darren (May 11, 2007)

There may be a market there... don't forget that every 6-string Edge Pro trem has these "sound chips" in the saddles as well, so the idea isn't even confined to the 7-string market.

A couple of things that also need to be considered are the design of the saddles and the base plate. Are there holes and channels already cast or machined under the sound chips and through the base plate for wiring? If not, then it's not going to be as simple as a "drop-in" replacement saddle. There will be drilling and/or milling that has to be done to get the wiring through the bridge and into the control cavity.

I'd be surprised if Ibanez _didn't_ put channels in there for wiring, as it would allow them to drop piezos in more bridges without modification for their piezo- and GK-equipped models, but the best thing to do before pursuing this any further is to completely disassemble an Edge Pro bridge and see if there's a way to run the wires.


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## Stitch (May 11, 2007)

If the Ergodyne EDR's come with Edge's i'll have one in pieces in exactly 24 hours at work.


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## metalfiend666 (May 11, 2007)

stitch216 said:


> Sorry mate, i grabbed the closest 'recent' catalogue to hand which was my 2002 one, so it said the UV was a Lo-Pro.
> 
> Whoops. Apologies.
> 
> Next time I'll try reading a _recent_ catalogue. I take it all back.



Ah, but the UV has come with all three versions of Edge bridge. Original Edge 7 on the earliest 1990's (like mine ), Lo-Pro 7 on all until ~2002ish and Edge Pro 7 since then. So you were kinda right.


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## metalfiend666 (May 11, 2007)

darren said:


> There may be a market there... don't forget that every 6-string Edge Pro trem has these "sound chips" in the saddles as well, so the idea isn't even confined to the 7-string market.
> 
> A couple of things that also need to be considered are the design of the saddles and the base plate. Are there holes and channels already cast or machined under the sound chips and through the base plate for wiring? If not, then it's not going to be as simple as a "drop-in" replacement saddle. There will be drilling and/or milling that has to be done to get the wiring through the bridge and into the control cavity.
> 
> I'd be surprised if Ibanez _didn't_ put channels in there for wiring, as it would allow them to drop piezos in more bridges without modification for their piezo- and GK-equipped models, but the best thing to do before pursuing this any further is to completely disassemble an Edge Pro bridge and see if there's a way to run the wires.



Well there is a GK version of the Edge Pro 6, but the question is do they use the same baseplate as the regular EP6?


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## Scott (May 11, 2007)

^Yes.


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## Metal Ken (May 11, 2007)

Hmmm, if someone made lopro saddles, i'd be quite interest in getting 7 of them... 
UV7BK+Peizo = sex.


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## Drew (May 11, 2007)

Emilano, the other problem with your idea is those metal inserts you're talking about are NOT replaceable. They're pressed into the saddles, and the picture you show was one Rich Harris took at the NAMM where the Edge Pro was unveiled to show that they were evidently having some quality control problems. 

You'd have to replace the entire saddle if you wanted to do this, and not just the insert. Not a dealbreaker, but that might have something to do with why you're not getting a response...


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## Stitch (May 11, 2007)

So is there any reason, other than cost, why we cannot make saddles that would fit Lo-TRS's and Lo-Pro's.

Is there any reason, in fact, that we couldn't make a 'universal saddle' size that could be used regardless of bridge type? Or do they all have different measurements?


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## metalfiend666 (May 11, 2007)

There's too many differences for it to be universal. There's no reason not to make saddles for them though, as long as they can get the sales figures they need.


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## Drew (May 11, 2007)

stitch216 said:


> Is there any reason, in fact, that we couldn't make a 'universal saddle' size that could be used regardless of bridge type? Or do they all have different measurements?



They're all VERY different, sadly.


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## Emiliano (May 11, 2007)

Drew said:


> Emilano, the other problem with your idea is those metal inserts you're talking about are NOT replaceable. They're pressed into the saddles, and the picture you show was one Rich Harris took at the NAMM where the Edge Pro was unveiled to show that they were evidently having some quality control problems.
> 
> You'd have to replace the entire saddle if you wanted to do this, and not just the insert. Not a dealbreaker, but that might have something to do with why you're not getting a response...



that's not true, the pieces on my bridge are just glued with some kind of light and easy removal glue, i removed them all by myself just before thinking if this could be worth, however i think that would be worth just because if i'm not wrong you can buy an edge pro to build your own guitar, every custom made guitar with edge pro can be upgraded with piezo
( under the saddle there's room for the wiring too )

i'm very sorry that this kind of modification is unuseful to lopro owner
but if we think about how many *new* guitar are sold
just as we speak you see that there's many more than 150 people
interested in a piezo system

maybe we could work together with other site forum like
project guitar and jemsite to split the order if graphtech
can do this kind of work

please keep in mind that they didn't answer so
if it's not possible to build them ( too thin, too stoopid or whatever ) 
we are talking about just nothing.......

if they can't do that i'll buy a set of saddle for a tunomatic and ground them
one by one! 

btw
150 sets of piezo for 7 string maybe around 120$ ( if they don't overcharge )
you are telling me that on this board we can't find 150 people that want a piezo on their axes?? i know that together with the preamp it's an awful lot of
money we're talking about

and
you'll swap your saddle anyday if they come with piezo?
i'm not so sure that a universal saddle can be made
i owned a OFR a while back and the saddle where larger

i know that is a limitation
but we already have limitation on this kind of things
why we have piezo set for fender style, gibson, psr, tunomatic style only?
then we could have " ibanez edge pro " saddle style 
i'm sure that ( unless ibanez changes bridge type in a years )
they will sell an awful lot more than 150 sets

great feedback! i love this forum! 
*emiliano still thanks everyone to not flexing at him


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## Drew (May 11, 2007)

Emiliano said:


> 150 sets of piezo for 7 string maybe around 120$ ( if they don't overcharge )
> you are telling me that on this board we can't find 150 people that want a piezo on their axes?? i know that together with the preamp it's an awful lot of
> money we're talking about



Frankly, I'd be shocked if you could get 150 people to commit. There's a difference between "Hey, that's a good idea," and "Cool, the check's in the mail."

That's a LOT of people and a hell of a hassle for you to organzie, too.


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## Stitch (May 11, 2007)

Drew said:


> That's a LOT of people and a hell of a hassle for you to organzie, too.



It's a lot of hassle for Drew to spell properly too. First of all, its "ni", secondly, for an English student, you should know its _really_ spelt with an 's'. 

Emiliano, I don't want to shit on your parade but I think unless this comes out at something a lot less than 1000 units at what could be a heartstopping price this isn't going to work. However, I haven't given up because I have 2 guitars wanting piezo saddles.


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## Emiliano (May 11, 2007)

Drew said:


> Frankly, I'd be shocked if you could get 150 people to commit. There's a difference between "Hey, that's a good idea," and "Cool, the check's in the mail."
> 
> That's a LOT of people and a hell of a hassle for you to organize, too.



you're right  

it's no joke to organize such crowd
and maybe there aren't 150 people.......

still i think it's a good idea, maybe if graphtech would answer me
( even to tell me that i'm a %&/£"$ )
we can see if there's real interest in this project

if they tell me
" 300$ for a set "
i say £%$&£%&£ you

i think that i'm really gonna buy some big saddle and mill and ground the hell out of them, but that will be just me being a stoopid

i see a good idea but refuse to understand the limits

we'll be waiting graphtech.......


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## hide (May 11, 2007)

Metal Ken said:


> Hmmm, if someone made lopro saddles, i'd be quite interest in getting 7 of them...
> UV7BK+Peizo = sex.



 
Quite tempting!
That's what I had in mind for my next 7, if only I could afford it 
Just guessing, anyone knows if Ibanez or Hoshino sell double edges as spare?


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## Stitch (May 11, 2007)

No, they don't. Its the only trem they do not sell as a spare so people can't order them and use them in their own guitars - lord only knows what happens if one breaks on a 1620 or 2027 and it needs to be replaced. 

Ibanez I believe are the only ppeople to have made a piezo Floyd, so they keep a tight hold on the technology.


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## 7 Dying Trees (May 11, 2007)

It's a good project! The piezo bridge on a 2027 is mental, wires everywhere, but it is cool 

Basically, you have to run the wires through the baseplate, and connect them on the trem block, and then tape it (way it's done on 2027) then a braided wire runs from that into the trem cavity. You'll need plenty of give one it to make sure trem abuse doesn't pull it out, that and allowing for the trem to be popped of if required.

Neat project though!


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## Emiliano (May 11, 2007)

so here it comes

the answer was along the line with most of you guys noted

the market is way bigger thano only ibanez guitar

they are concentrating on this " floyd saddle " right now


  

i'm a bit sad 

but i think that is allright

we'll keep on waiting


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## Drew (May 11, 2007)

FWIW, you can't retrofit an OFR into an Edge Pro guitar without serious modifications, but I believe you can put an OFR in basically any Edge, Lo-Pro Edge, or Lo-TRS II -equipped guitar.


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## Emiliano (May 11, 2007)

i hope that they at least try to build something that's
compatible with other bridges
so that i have to exchange only the saddle

i never wanted to change my bridge....... 

however
on the italian ibanez site
there is a six string double edge guitar

maybe they will release a sevenstring.......
maybe

i'm sad 

*Emiliano looks at him in the mirror, flex at himself and ( at least for tonight )
he proclaims himself canceled


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## eleven59 (May 11, 2007)

Drew said:


> FWIW, you can't retrofit an OFR into an Edge Pro guitar without serious modifications, but I believe you can put an OFR in basically any Edge, Lo-Pro Edge, or Lo-TRS II -equipped guitar.



Ug...flashbacks to Jemsite. I remember the hundreds of threads on how to replace the trems in cheap RGs and the JEM555 with better quality trems.

I also remember when we'd always gang up and let people know that the main reason (aside from the Lo-TRS-7) that they'd want a 762x instead of a 742x was that you'd have to trim the pickup ears or route the guitar if you wanted to put new pickups in the 742x, whereas the 762x was a direct retrofit for DiMarzio pickups.


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## hide (May 12, 2007)

Poor my luthier! He calls that guitar consumism: they make you better choose to buy another one than pay for a mod to improve yours!

Anyway, if it's all for the money, what use is for Ibanez to put piezos (in particular, 7 string piezo) in guitars they plan to discontinue?   

OK, I understand they wanted to test the wasters with "sample" models, but hey, now they know there's plenty of us wanting it  , coming out with at least a new piezoed-7 would be a HUGE deal imho!

As far as I know many 7stringers are going the ebmm way for this reason..


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## The Dark Wolf (May 12, 2007)

^ Yep.


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## Kevan (May 12, 2007)

You guys want the kittens & puppies version or the flat-out truth?


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## HighGain510 (May 12, 2007)

hide said:


> As far as I know many 7stringers are going the ebmm way for this reason..



I know I will be buying one, partially for that reason alone!  

* When Matt can afford to do so, anyways....


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## technomancer (May 12, 2007)

hide said:


> Quite tempting!
> That's what I had in mind for my next 7, if only I could afford it
> Just guessing, anyone knows if Ibanez or Hoshino sell double edges as spare?



As was already stated previously in this thread they don't sell them.


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## xwmucradiox (May 13, 2007)

Kevan said:


> You guys want the kittens & puppies version or the flat-out truth?



Both please.


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## Kevan (May 13, 2007)

Nah...I type enough as it is. You gotta to pick one.


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## skinhead (May 13, 2007)

Maybe i'm wrong, but the stone from the piezo it's going to have some wear away and the tuning it's not going to be perfect. It's what i think.


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## xwmucradiox (May 13, 2007)

Kevan said:


> Nah...I type enough as it is. You gotta to pick one.



Whatever one is the truth. I dont care how you say it really.


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## OzzyC (May 13, 2007)

Kevan said:


> Nah...I type enough as it is. You gotta to pick one.



Ok, whatever one he picks, I'd like to hear the opposite.


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## Emiliano (May 14, 2007)

Kevan said:


> You guys want the kittens & puppies version or the flat-out truth?



i think that we're all curious to hear the flat-out truth
even if i suspect that we wont like it

after all, you tryed a prototype if i remember well 
your point of view is very valuable for us all to understand 

they sent me another mail with a guitar worth to look
Guitarist Jeff Miller - Guitar Mods
he builds a guitar from zero and install floyd piezo saddle

nice guitarwork


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## JPMDan (May 14, 2007)

Emiliano said:


> i think that we're all curious to hear the flat-out truth
> even if i suspect that we wont like it
> 
> after all, you tryed a prototype if i remember well
> ...


 
that guitar is god! minus the variax electronics and i'm happy with it.


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## Stitch (May 14, 2007)

Wait, if that Variax thing is using an original Edge with graphtech piezo saddles, does this not mean that graphtech already make piezo floyd saddles? 

He says quite specifically he didn't go for a double edge...


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## JPMDan (May 14, 2007)

stitch216 said:


> Wait, if that Variax thing is using an original Edge with graphtech piezo saddles, does this not mean that graphtech already make piezo floyd saddles?
> 
> He says quite specifically he didn't go for a double edge...


 
no he's using original floyd rose instead of the double edge.  yes that means they make floyd piezo saddles.


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## Stitch (May 14, 2007)

So why are we even having this discussion?


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## Kevan (May 14, 2007)

THE TRUTH: 
We don't count.

There simply aren't enough Floyd players out there to warrant a company making thousands of piezo saddles for it. 
Sure, they'd sell a few hundred. That doesn't even cover the costs of turning on the lights in the offices, let alone their basic costs to make them.

Edge, LoPro and EdgePro owners are an even smaller number.

The next hurdle: Compatibility.
Yeah...all Floyds are the same. Not even close. There are more than a dozen variations of your "regular Floyd". Not quite as many as a "standard Strat trem", but it's close. 

LoTRS and LoPro are even smaller numbers.

The next hurdle: Space.
Your average SuperStrat with a Floyd doesn't have much extra space in it. "Space for what?" you may ask. Well, with a piezo setup a preamp and power for that preamp (battery) are required. Let's say they make 'em really small- 9V size. Open up all the cavities on your guitar. Where are you going to stuff (2) 9V's?

The next hurdle: Controls.
At the very least, you will have to install new pots to control the piezos. Depending on the setup you desire, this may also require at least (1) mini-toggle. Break out the drill.

The next hurdle: Jack(s).
No one makes a switching panel jack. That's the type of output jack used in SuperStrats. That means using (2) separate jacks like Ibanez did with their DE systems. More drilling.

There are other issues but those are the main ones.

PUPPIES & KITTENS:
There are companies out there working on retro-fit piezo Floyd saddles for all different types of trems. I'm sure we'll see them in the near future.


There are ways to do it yourself, but they will be costly (esp. the machining portion of the project). 


There's something odd about that Jeff Miller guitar. I'm still digging. Give me a little time.
I feel bad for him though: He routed out for the DE trem, and it's footprint is a bit larger than an OFR. Oops.
Still a nice looking guitar.


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## xwmucradiox (May 14, 2007)

I would still take that guitar any day. Its extremely well executed and has tons of options.


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## Florian (Jun 1, 2007)

Emiliano said:


> they sent me another mail with a guitar worth to look
> Guitarist Jeff Miller - Guitar Mods
> he builds a guitar from zero and install floyd piezo saddle
> 
> nice guitarwork



Now that's what I call a guitar!
I hope one day someone will build 7s like that.
Just for the record, I'd be interested in at least 3 sets of piezo saddles for 7s.
If the project is on, I'm definitley contributing....

great forum, guys. I see I'm not alone with my wishes.


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## technomancer (Jun 8, 2007)

Time for a thread 

I called GraphTech this afternoon and was told they're hoping to have their OFR piezo saddles out by the end of the year. I'm on the list to be notified when they come out, so when they tell me, I'll tell you.

Also, LR Baggs will sell replacement piezo elements for the Double Edge variants, you just have to already have a Double Edge. They only have the elements, not the saddles.


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## Stitch (Jun 8, 2007)

technomancer said:


> Time for a thread
> 
> I called GraphTech this afternoon and was told they're hoping to have their OFR piezo saddles out by the end of the year. I'm on the list to be notified when they come out, so when they tell me, I'll tell you.
> 
> Also, LR Baggs will sell replacement piezo elements for the Double Edge variants, you just have to already have a Double Edge. They only have the elements, not the saddles.



With a bit of work, surely they would also fit the old Edge Pro since that has sound metal chips on the saddles - which is where the piezo elements on a Double Edge Pro can be found?


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## technomancer (Jun 8, 2007)

stitch216 said:


> With a bit of work, surely they would also fit the old Edge Pro since that has sound metal chips on the saddles - which is where the piezo elements on a Double Edge Pro can be found?



Note where I said they'll only give them to you as a replacement  

There also seem to be two varieties with different color wires, white or black. I would imagine one is for the LoPro Double Edge and one is for the Edge Pro Double Edge. 

The guy from LR Baggs also mentioned he thought they had repositioned the bridge slightly to allow for proper intonation, but I would think that was for the LoPro Double Edge as you can see from the pics below it's a bit different. You MIGHT be able to retrofit an Edge Pro assuming you could somehow get them to sell you the piezo elements/preamp/etc. On the LoPro it's obviously not an option without the saddles.

LoPro Edge (image stolen from ibanezrules.com)






LoPro Double Edge


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## eelblack2 (Jun 8, 2007)

technomancer said:


> Time for a thread
> 
> I called GraphTech this afternoon and was told they're hoping to have their OFR piezo saddles out by the end of the year. I'm on the list to be notified when they come out, so when they tell me, I'll tell you.
> 
> Also, LR Baggs will sell replacement piezo elements for the Double Edge variants, you just have to already have a Double Edge. They only have the elements, not the saddles.



Oh yes, Piezo soon possible on OFR7? Thats amazing news.


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## technomancer (Jun 8, 2007)

eelblack2 said:


> Oh yes, Piezo soon possible on OFR7? Thats amazing news.



Yeah definitely, though I'm not holding my breath as I think they told someone the same thing last year. We shall see


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## Stitch (Jun 8, 2007)

technomancer said:


> LoPro Double Edge



Poor 2127 

That poor thing really has not been looked after.


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## Kevan (Jun 8, 2007)

Nice work, Steve!

Now that we have saddles and elements coming, we just need to figure out:
- where to put the preamp
- where to put the battery
- where to put the new pots/switch(es)
- where to put the 2nd output jack

Almost there!

BTW- the LR Baggs piezo elements won't press into the EdgePro saddles.

Oh, and Eelback: Plan on 6-string systems first. 7's will be later on down the road.


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## technomancer (Jun 8, 2007)

Kevan said:


> Nice work, Steve!
> 
> Now that we have saddles and elements coming, we just need to figure out:
> - where to put the preamp
> ...



Actually for the OFR stuff I'd be doing it on a custom guitar, so it's a matter of having it routed appropriately  Now to retrofit to an existing guitar those are those are all valid concerns. The saddles/elements will be identical for a 6 or 7 string OFR and Graphtech's preamps already support seven strings, so a six verses seven string shouldn't be an issue. Oh and Graphtech uses a single stereo output jack.

As for the LR Baggs stuff I really don't think it's an option. The only way I could see to do it would be to get ahold of two Double Edge Pro equipped guitars and steal the saddles etc from them to transfer to a seven string with an Edge Pro, and then you run into the issues you mentioned above plus it being stupid expensive.

The custom would be this with a floyd


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## Emiliano (Jun 9, 2007)

thanks for the buuuuump




Kevan said:


> Nice work, Steve!
> 
> Now that we have saddles and elements coming, we just need to figure out:
> - where to put the preamp
> ...



it's very nice to see collaboration between us
i'm working on a lot of what you pointed out

(/bother mode on)
[ don't take it bad, i tryied to write it in another way but i failed, excuse me kevan!]


preamps doesn't need to be the size of manhattan

not every people will need a million of new pots on thery guitar

and with smart switching noone will need a 2nd jack

i found preamp design far smaller than 1"x1"




just a fet in this cases, i know that the only thing that matter
is that it has to sound good

pots? why add pots? 

volume? 
i prefer a master volume
so it will be the same as before

tone?
even ibanez put eq "inside" the instrument ( and still the circuit is small )
as the edc basses ( Drew has one, inside the bridge the bass has regulation) 
is not the fastest way to tweak but you can get away without even add a pot

blend?
i personally don't like blend pot, but this is seriously
the only pot that could be added for live use


battery?
why is it a problem?
9 volt inside my 1527 is no problemo
maybe 2x9 volt will be a problem
but with the right circuit you really don't need more voltage
to get more headroom, think about that
even your best preamp is "buffering" some kind of signal
that even in the best case won't be bigger than
2Vpp, so what you need 18V for?

there are problem but they are not unsolvable
(/bother mode off)


i'm really working on it right now and i hope to have some news to post

i'm trying to get some piezo to do some experiment and some reverse 
engineering on whatever i think useful, but i've my exams to do and i dunno
when i can get full time on this project, i have some nice idea going on and
i believe that it's doable, so cross your finger


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## Kevan (Jun 9, 2007)

Emiliano said:


> preamps doesn't need to be the size of manhattan


True, but they will take up room. The one you found is cool, but still: 1" x 1" x ???
Is there an EQ on it?



Emiliano said:


> not every people will need a million of new pots on thery guitar


I didn't say "a million". I only said "at least one". 1 < 1,000,000.

Also, you will need a minimum of (1) mini-toggle to turn the piezo system on/off. Why? Because......


Emiliano said:


> and with smart switching noone will need a 2nd jack


As I said, there's no panel mount switching jack for SuperStrat guitars.
Sure- there are 9-pin and other switching jacks out there, but none of them will work on a SuperStrat w/o some major wood work.



Emiliano said:


> i found preamp design far smaller than 1"x1"
> http://www.tonepad.com/images/photoessays/207.jpg
> just a fet in this cases, i know that the only thing that matter
> is that it has to sound good


Pretty slick, but I agree with you: it MUST sound good. If the preamp sounds like AM radio from a tower in the Arctic, it can be the size of a thumbnail and I won't use it (neither will others).



Emiliano said:


> pots? why add pots?
> 
> volume?
> i prefer a master volume
> ...


If you don't blend/mix at the guitar, then you will have to blend/mix at the amps. 
If you don't blend/mix at the amps, then you will have to trust the sound guy to blend/mix your acoustic (piezo) signal.
You can not use The Force when it comes to piezo signals.




Emiliano said:


> battery?
> why is it a problem?
> 9 volt inside my 1527 is no problemo
> maybe 2x9 volt will be a problem
> ...


The "2 9v batteries" in my comments refers to 'approximate space needed'. 9 volts are something most guitar players have laying around and can test fit with.
You won't need 18v for anything.



Emiliano said:


> i'm really working on it right now and i hope to have some news to post
> 
> i'm trying to get some piezo to do some experiment and some reverse
> engineering on whatever i think useful, but i've my exams to do and i dunno
> ...


Good luck!


*NOTE:* I'm not trying to discourage anyone from attempting this. All I'm saying is that it's not a simple drop-in operation, even with piezo-equipped saddles. There's a ton more work and wiring involved.


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## Emiliano (Jun 9, 2007)

Kevan said:


> *NOTE:* I'm not trying to discourage anyone from attempting this. All I'm saying is that it's not a simple drop-in operation, even with piezo-equipped saddles. There's a ton more work and wiring involved.



hey, i'm sorry if what i wrote could sound rude, i'm very sorry

i respect your opinion and i always tought that your commitment with
the tremol no and the guitar is a great

i forgot that your opinion bring in experience that i have not
so you know better than me some problems and their real difficulties

i apologize

btw, i'm thinking to post again when i'll find something interesting on my own
what i have in mind is surely doable but i need time
and i'll be waiting for you opinions on my future work

*Emiliano gives his hand hoping that kevan is not angry


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## Kevan (Jun 9, 2007)

Emiliano-

I'm not upset at all! 
I like to see others pushing technology and trying to get the most out of their instrument.

I did not take your post as rude or anything other than providing information.

It's all good.


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## Bartok (Jun 10, 2007)

I've used similar circuits to the one Emiliano has above in various guitars. It usually sounds better than the passive pickups (it's not that it's louder either, it's a definite change for the better). I've fitted them for other people too, including into a 1527, the result was extremely close to EMG's. Besides which, they cost a matter of pence to build so even if you don't like it, it's not a huge loss.


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## shotgunn (Feb 28, 2009)

Check out my thread here...

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/de...banez-edge-pro-7-w-piezo-mod-is-possible.html

I have done this with the L.R. baggs X-Inserts. I am an authorized dealer for Baggs and Graphtech as well.

Here is my website...

www.shotgunnmods.net

Let me know what you think.

shotgunn



Kevan said:


> Nice work, Steve!
> 
> Now that we have saddles and elements coming, we just need to figure out:
> - where to put the preamp
> ...


 

Take a look at my pic. That is the X-Inserts 'pressed' into my Edge Pro. It's AWESOME!!! I just PM'd you with some info.

shotgunn


Oh yeah, and with my mod kits, you don't need two jacks for stereo output w/power switching. It's all done form one jack. 

Awesome, huh!?!?!

shotgunn

here is my demo video with my rg-1527

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGoEUdq56uw&fmt=18


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