therealting Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 So I recently purchased a Warwick Alien 6 string acoustic bass, and there is a terrible string imbalance between the highest 2 strings and the lowest 4... so much so as to make it virtually unplayable plugged in. Took the saddle out and it turns out there are TWO separate piezo elements connected from either end of the saddle slot, joined in the middle with a little piece of copper (for earthing reasons, presumably). I’m think it may be best to replace the entire piezo transducer with a single longer one. What are my options for longer USTs? The active sensing area would need to be around 10cm really. I was wondering whether a Headway or Highlander type would be my best bet. Suggestions welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epoxyjazzbass Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 Hi, I have an Alien 6 (the highest grade) and the 2 piezo elements might be great; especially for the balance string aspect... Perhaps there is something wrong with your bass ? Is there a sort of shim between the saddle and the piezos ? You can try with or without a shim on the 2 piezos and also attenuate one of the piezo with a shim and not the other one. Also sometimes, when you replace the strings, the saddle didn' t fit right against the piezzos (especially on my Martin) so I can have a really low sound. After I tweek the saddle and put the strings on again I have full volume. Welcome to the piezo world ! I say all that because the balance is really good on my Warwick 6, so, at your position, I would try to fix it rather than modified at first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted March 17, 2019 Author Share Posted March 17, 2019 @epoxyjazzbass My luthier had it for a week, flattened the bottom of the saddle, flattened the bottom of the saddle slot, moved the copper piece around. Is yours shimmed? Not sure how to start with shimming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epoxyjazzbass Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 (edited) A shim is a simple thin laminated piece (or paper) that you put in the slot before the saddle. It will attenuate the piezo signal on the side it cover so it can help to balance But with no shim you may have a full balanced signal and full clarity (a shim dampened the sound)... Perhaps the piezo elements are not well in contact on your bass. Also you may consider boosting the bass EQ and/or lowering a bit the treble to get a balanced signal on a piezo bass, especially a 6 strings It' s difficult to help more without the instrument in front; but I can say the Warwick 6 is well balanced from low to high acoustically and not bad plugged in... So there might be a problem somewhere Edited March 17, 2019 by epoxyjazzbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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