Piezo placement - under bridge or in neck pocket?

[Owen]

I have piezo bridges on two of my basses. I fancy piezo action on another but the bridge will not accommodate it. Could I place an under saddle kind of strip between the bridge and body or even in the neck pocket? Would there be too much pressure?

It would probably be as easy to buy a new bridge, but I was just wondering.

I need to get out more.

TIA.

[ikay]

What is the bridge assembly in question, does it have any floating components? Just putting an under-saddle piezo strip under a regular screw-down bridge plate is unlikely to work very well. The piezo needs to be under string pressure but screwing it down will most likely choke it. Same goes for the neck pocket. Ideally it needs to be under some sort of floating element that's in direct contact with the strings (eg. nut or saddle). I guess i's possible that putting a UST in a shallow channel at the front edge of a baseplate (near the saddles) might generate some output but it might be quite weak and lacking in depth and detail.

[Owen]

The bridge assembly in question is a cheap and cheerful Ebay 5 string bridge which works surprisingly well. It does have floating saddles so I could experiment with putting something under those just to see. It would be a bodge, but that is my speciality There is no way of loading aftermarket saddles onto it sadly:( They are not Gotoh shaped.

I figured that the pressure of under bridge plate or neck pocket would be too much, but it is good to actually have that confirmed. Thanks

[Beer of the Bass]

I've experimented with stick-on piezo pickups on a solid body, and they just don't produce anything musical. I think unless the piezo is right under the saddle, it won't get enough of the string vibration and will pick up all the unwanted mechanical noises more than the actual notes played. I could just about imagine using this in some sort of avant-garde noise context, but not for anything more conventional sounding.

[ikay]

If the bridge has a flat baseplate an idea for an experimental (and easy reversible) bodge would be to remove the metal saddles and replace them with simple floating block saddles (one for each string) made out of wood. Similar in shape to the pic below. These could then rest directly on a piezo strip. Alternatively an even simpler one-piece wooden saddle, trimmed to height and angled for intonation, just resting on the baseplate. Just a thought.

Edited November 5, 2015 by ikay

[Chimike]

Hiya,
What is your string spacing ?
I have a 5 string bridge, already fitted with piezo's. Does need wiring, though .
Might be a solution .
Mike

[Owen]

[quote name='ikay' timestamp='1446716167' post='2901616']
If the bridge has a flat baseplate an idea for an experimental (and easy reversible) bodge would be to remove the metal saddles and replace them with simple floating block saddles (one for each string) made out of wood.
[/quote]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Thanks for the suggestion but you are dealing with someone who has to get his Father-in-law in to put shelves up. The word "easy" and any sort of detail work is just not something wich I can even begin to make happen

[quote name='Chimike' timestamp='1448190369' post='2913491']
Hiya,
What is your string spacing ?
I have a 5 string bridge, already fitted with piezo's. Does need wiring, though .
Might be a solution .
Mike
[/quote]

The string spacing is 17mm but the present bridge has been sunk into the body. The whole bass makes a very fine sound so I am not complaining, this is just a "cannot leave well enough alone" scenario. I need to get over myself! But thanks ver much for the offer!

Edited November 22, 2015 by owen