Piezo wiring question(s)

spev11

So I have a tele body built to take a tunomatic (angled neck pocket) that i'm adding a piezo bridge. I have 1 pair of iron gear pickups with standard wiring to go in. I want to run the piezo into a preamp (which i have) and then have switch just before the output jack (probably a 3 way switch) to select between either piezo, standard or both. Is it simply running the outputs from each individual circuit to either side of the switch and the middle of the switch out to the jack? 

Funkfingers

spev11 said:

Is it simply running the outputs from each individual circuit to either side of the switch and the middle of the switch out to the jack? 

Yes but, IMO, it compromises both signals.

Fishman Powerbridge systems, for example, go better with buffering and an on-board pre-amp for the piezo.

Considering the different amplification needs of the two signals, it is wiser to have separate output jacks. TRS will work but obliges you to carry a special cable and back ups.

jasonbone75

It's not coincidence the Majesty has this inside:

spev11

mmmm, two outputs is doable i think, its not gonna be a neat looking object once finished.

ICBM

You can't switch between passive electric pickups and an active piezo with preamp and have it work properly in the 'both' setting, although it will work fine for either.

To make it work you need to buffer/preamp the passive pickups as well - in which case the Fishman Powerchip is the best option since it auto-senses whether a mono or 'stereo' (TRS) plug has been used in the jack and assigns the outputs correctly for either a combined mono or a split output.