Electric guitar players have been spicing up their tone for years with piezo-electric bridge pickups. Capable of creating realistic acoustic tone from electric guitars, piezo systems are no longer novelty items relegated to aftermarket add-ons, as these three top-shelf instruments demonstrate.
PRS McCARTY ARCHTOP II
The Archtop II was the latest incarnation of the Paul Reed Smith's McCarty series. Featuring a body of carved maple and a connecting center block (somewhat like a violin's soundpost) beneath the bridge, the Archtop II produces an acoustic sound that's as loud as you'd expect from a good semi-hallow electric, but without the pronounced midrange of most semi-hollow guitars.
This design works in combination with the exclusive PRS/L.R. Baggs piezo pickup system to create tone more like an amplified acoustic than an "acoustified" electric. The Archtop II's piezo pickup system was designed specifically to produce a more natural acoustic tone, and the results are suburb. The piezo's string-to-string response and overall output is perfectly balanced, with virtually no high-end harshness or sub-audio thump. Of course the three instruments reviewed, the Archtop II had the most gig-ready amplified acoustic tone, requiring virtually no eq tweaking to achieve a warm, well-balanced sound.
The Seymour Duncan-designed magnetic pickups are voiced like a vintage alnico humbuckers of medium output, delivering a sound that's full, with a well-pronounced and wooden attack followed by a rich, warm bloom. Lower volume levels relatively clean settings made for some beautifully detailed rhythm sounds, while increasing the gain made the Archtop II come alive with easily controlled sustain that dwelled in the note's fundamental range, yet never felt out of control or microphonic.
Mixing magnetic and piezo signals is a breeze, thanks to the guitar's dual mionophonie outputs and switching circuitry. In addition to the dedicated "piezo" output, the Archtop II has a "mix/mag" output that combines the signals of all the pickups. With both outputs employed simultaneously, the "mix/mag" jack delivers just the magnetic signal, while the "piezo" output carries on the transducer signal.
All in all, this is a textbook example of smart design and excellent craftsmanship. With its perfect tone and stunning good looks, the McCarty Archtop II sets the standard for what a neo-classic piezo-electric guitar can be.
ERNIE BALL MUSIC MAN AXIS SPORT
Although it began life as "Eddie's axe," Music man's Axis guitar doesn't need Van Halen's name to lend it legitimacy. Based on the Fender bolt-neck approach, the piezo-equipped Axis Sport begins with a uniquely shaped maple neck. Only 1 5/8" at the nut, the contour is nonetheless quite round, evolving into an asymmetrical ellipse in the higher frets. The resulting feel makes the guitar a joy to play.
The Axis Sport features two MM-90 pickups, built from the ground up in Music Man's shop. Quieter than a Zen monastery, they deliver an ideal P-90 sound: bright and focused in a Telecaster way, but with midrange emphasis that growls and sings when gain I applied. Anyone familiar with the chime and detail a pair of P-90s can provide will love the MM-90s.
The piezo bridge is actually a deft mating of Fishman saddles with Music Man's bridge and preamp. The solid body and absence of a tremolo unit gave the Axis Sport the snappiest response of our three guitars, with an overall that pleasantly complimented the magnetic tone. Anyone wishing to tweak the tone or balance can fiddle with the easily accessible trim pots in the control cavity, but no adjustments were necessary on the reviewed models.
Of the three review models, the Axis Sport offered the greatest flexibility for combining the magnetic and piezo signals. The guitar's two outputs allowed a mixed mono output via the jack nearest the endpin, separate magnetic and piezo outputs with a stereo plug via the jack furthest from the endpin. In this respect, as well as many others, the Axis Sport provides the ideal combination of simple functionality and faultless design, and at an affordable price.
PARKER FLY DELUXE
The Parker Fly Deluxe is yeat another fine example of Ken Parker's talent for building great guitars by wholly rethinking the instrument's features. In addition to the its exceptionally beautiful body and Fishman active-piezo transducer system, the Parker Fly features a radically rethought tremolo system that employs a flat steel leaf spring and unique construction that minimizes parts and ensures tuning stability. With the flip of a switch and a twist of a thumbwheel, the system can be rapidly set in either full-floating, down-only or fully locked mode.
From the get-go, Parker's partnership with Fishman Transducers ensured the Fly Deluxe would have a great piezo bridge transducer. The transducer's tone is bright and responsive, extremely alive and well-balanced from string to string. The piezo tone control proves useful in fine-tuning the sound, and some of the darker settings are uniquely appealing in their own right.
We did have one gripe with the tremolo system: with the trem in full-floating mode, the trem bar had to be inserted or else a gong-like low G could be easily coaxed out merely by tapping the bridge.
Conversely, with the trem in down-only mode, the bar had to be removed, since tapping it created a thudlike tone. Alas, such are the (albeit minor) concessions one lives with for the benefit of having a moving bridge with a bridge tranducer.
The DiMarzio magnetic pickups sound refreshingly unlike most humbuckers, with an aggressive, yet complex edge that remained well focused in even the most high-gain settings. In the middle position, the pickup selector puts both pickups in single-coil mode for a sweet Strat sound. Mixing and switching magnetic and piezo tones was a piece of cake. Even with its minimal quantity of knobs and switches, the Fly Deluxe offers complete tone and volume control for each pickup system, and a master volume knob keeps it all in place at any level. A mono/stereo switch allows for dual operation , and a high-quality stereo cable is thoughtfully provided. Even with its puzzling trem bar requirements, the Fly presents a bolder piezo-electric transducer, with tone that's as "in your face" as it looks.
Charlie is the owner of Gear-Vault, a used music gear classifieds and the owner of Gear-Monkey.com.
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