If you liked the Fishman, you'll love the Graph Tech. ? More affordable because it's just saddles and preamp, not the whole bridge as with the Fishman.

Tonally the GT Ghost system has a lot more low end (almost too much if you aren't careful) and the high end has almost no piezo "quack".

It's also modular, so you can fit just the parts you need and expand at any time (I'm thinking of adding the 13-pin Hexpander to my Strat - the other two already have ?).

The saddles are also a lot more durable than the Fishmans. While I used to pop a piezo every two months with the Fishman, The GT I've been using on three guitars for over ten years with only one saddle failure.

Whichever way you go, make sure to fit the preamp too - makes a huge difference.

Lawd, you just made my dilemma worse...

preamp? Where would that even go in the strat? Would I have to route new cavities?

From a PM I just sent last night to another member:

It's tiny - The PC board measures 41,25mm x 28.5mm. With the connectors on, it's about 9.5mm high. So you can usually fit them under the tone controls in a standard Strat rout. You can usually squeeze the battery in under the volume too. Smaller cavities like Teles can be a problem if you also want a stacked or push-pull pot. Then you have to rout for a battery compartment.

I actually prefer an external battery compartment anyway, 'cos otherwise on a Strat you have to remove strings and pickguard to change batteries. About a year from an alkaline though...

my word this is sounding like more work than its worth.

Well, I won't be routing anything. Nor will I be spending enough to send her to someone to do it for me. By the looks of it, I could get this done for less than R2k.

Download the manuals from GT to get a feel for it.

I know this is an old thread but I've just been looking at the GT Ghost system and it seems to be incredibly awesome, if you do plan on going for it I'd be keen for a group buy, even if you only decide to go for it next year, pm me, I'll probably still be interested ?

Sweet. I'm keen but not right away. Will keep everyone posted for when that does come up.

BTW - I recently obtained a Fishman Aura Spectrum DI (which adds in body and mic resonance from convolution images). It works a treat to bridge the gap between piezos (in both nylon and electric solidbodies) and mic'ed acoustic guitars and adds in a lot of realism. Took quite a bit of experimentation to find the images that worked best for each guitar and that still blended well with the electric tones, but totally worth it. The onboard compressor is impressive too.

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: BTW - I recently obtained a Fishman Aura Spectrum DI (which adds in body and mic resonance from convolution images). It works a treat to bridge the gap between piezos (in both nylon and electric solidbodies) and mic'ed acoustic guitars and adds in a lot of realism. Took quite a bit of experimentation to find the images that worked best for each guitar and that still blended well with the electric tones, but totally worth it. The onboard compressor is impressive too.

Very interesting. I just recently ordered the GT ghost saddles and the acoustiphonic preamp from Stewmac (had to get the quick switch separately though).
I haven't got a volume pot for it yet (and don't want to turn my mag tone pot into one). What would you suggest here Alan?

I was also checking out the Aura Spectrum DI (although it's a bit expensive for me at the moment), and reviews (and ratcliffe.co.za) say that it doesn't work as well with piezo loaded electrics. I'm actually on the lookout for something than can put out nylon string & dreadnought sounds.

It's mostly for church applications, because our singer insists on playing his acoustic, but it just doesn't cut it because he's got a very very heavy right hand that makes the acoustic sound like angry bees in a plastic jar.

Alan, a little help please.

reviews (and ratcliffe.co.za) say that it doesn't work as well with piezo loaded electrics.

I don't think I ever said it wouldn't work on a solidbody - just that Fishman themselves were were unwilling to admit it would. Heresy and all that. That's why I've been wanting to get one to try for a while.

our singer insists on playing his acoustic, but it just doesn't cut it because he's got a very very heavy right hand that makes the acoustic sound like angry bees in a plastic jar.

? I know the sound. Does his guitar have a built-in preamp? If it doesn't then a DI (just about any DI - You can pick up a Behri DI quite cheaply) will make a huge difference as the impedance mismatch usually accentuates all the nasties in a piezo pickup. If it does have a preamp, a DI probably won't make much of a difference.

Try him on a different acoustic that has a decent pickup and preamp too - that'll confirm it. If he insists on using his guitar, then try insist on him upgrading pickup (which of course, he will be paying for). Otherwise pump his monitor with his guitar sound - if he is bearing the brunt, it should force him to back off a bit. If that doesn't work, just keep him low in the FOH mix.

Arjun Menon wrote: Very interesting. I just recently ordered the GT ghost saddles and the acoustiphonic preamp from Stewmac (had to get the quick switch separately though).
I haven't got a volume pot for it yet (and don't want to turn my mag tone pot into one)

Thats something I was wondering about with the Stewmac stuff, cause it says something about a gain control, but I assume that must be like a trim pot inside or something...

Arjun Menon wrote: I haven't got a volume pot for it yet (and don't want to turn my mag tone pot into one). What would you suggest here Alan?

Get a stacked pot. My Carvin Nylon has three and you get used to them quickly enough. Or just use a volume pedal.

I'm actually on the lookout for something than can put out nylon string & dreadnought sounds.

For that you have to go 13-pin and go for a Roland VG (or get a Variax). With the Fishman Aura or D-Tar's Mama Bear, you still need a good base tone and they add to that, but they do not model one type of guitar into another.

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: ? I know the sound. Does his guitar have a built-in preamp? If it doesn't then a DI (just about any DI - You can pick up a Behri DI quite cheaply) will make a huge difference as the impedance mismatch usually accentuates all the nasties in a piezo pickup. If it does have a preamp, a DI probably won't make much of a difference.

Try him on a different acoustic that has a decent pickup and preamp too - that'll confirm it. If he insists on using his guitar, then try insist on him upgrading pickup (which of course, he will be paying for). Otherwise pump his monitor with his guitar sound - if he is bearing the brunt, it should force him to back off a bit. If that doesn't work, just keep him low in the FOH mix.

? Yes, he uses a Cort (can't remember the series) with a Fishman presys (IINM) going into a Proel DI.
Prior to that he was playing my Cort MR730FX w/ Fishman Prefix, which he sounded bad on. I really enjoyed that guitar, and i was able to get some very good sounds out of it. We also had him play a friend's Larry, which was promptly pried back from him after less than 5 mins, lest he damage the guitar.

Will give your suggestions a shot ? Wish me luck!

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: Get a stacked pot. My Carvin Nylon has three and you get used to them quickly enough. Or just use a volume pedal.

Thank you. I've been checking out some concentric ones. What values do i need to consider given that i also have humbuckers?

I'm actually on the lookout for something than can put out nylon string & dreadnought sounds.

For that you have to go 13-pin and go for a Roland VG (or get a Variax). With the Fishman Aura or D-Tar's Mama Bear, you still need a good base tone and they add to that, but they do not model one type of guitar into another.
[/quote]

Ah, i had a feeling that might be the case. Thanks.

Kalcium wrote:

Arjun Menon wrote: Very interesting. I just recently ordered the GT ghost saddles and the acoustiphonic preamp from Stewmac (had to get the quick switch separately though).
I haven't got a volume pot for it yet (and don't want to turn my mag tone pot into one)

Thats something I was wondering about with the Stewmac stuff, cause it says something about a gain control, but I assume that must be like a trim pot inside or something...

Not sure if it's an internal pot, Kalcium. I e-mailed Stewmac before i ordered and they just said it was a gain pot and not a volume pot.
Will confirm it for you when i receive it.

Unfortunately, if it's a bad player, there's not much you can do short of turn him down. Still pump his monitor with his guitar though (but not his voice - that'll force him to back off a bit). If you have separate tone on your aux sends, pump 4K and up until even he can hear it's harsh. Also try change him to a softer pick (it's at times like these you realise that the red sharkfin has a place in the scheme of things).

The internal trimpot is used to match the piezo and the magnetic volume, not as an overall volume control. The system is optimised for a 250K log pot, but I'm happy to report that a 500K works almost as well - it just throws off the taper a little.

Fender wired up the power strat with the second tone being a volume for the piezo instead.
They had one output.

I liked it that way. Blended well and you could choose piezo only if you liked.

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: Unfortunately, if it's a bad player, there's not much you can do short of turn him down. Still pump his monitor with his guitar though (but not his voice - that'll force him to back off a bit). If you have separate tone on your aux sends, pump 4K and up until even he can hear it's harsh. Also try change him to a softer pick (it's at times like these you realise that the red sharkfin has a place in the scheme of things).

Screwed on both counts, no freq knob on the aux and he's already on .60 Dunlop nylons (will push him to get the .38s/sharkfins), but i will put the aux send before the fader and then blast him on the monitor (would have been more fun if he had an in-ear monitor ? ).

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: The internal trimpot is used to match the piezo and the magnetic volume, not as an overall volume control. The system is optimised for a 250K log pot, but I'm happy to report that a 500K works almost as well - it just throws off the taper a little.

Awesomeness! Then a 250k/500k concentric pot should serve me well.

Donavan, if you want her back she's yours. I'm not doing it the justice you can / have.

Just shout !