LR Baggs X-bridge vs. Fishman power bridge

[dB]

I want to put a piezo equipped bridge on my American Deluxe Strat. Will be using it with a Axe-FX II XL set up with a Katsukuri Media style patch (thanks Chris!). Hoping to not do too much modding to the guitar. Pros and/or cons to each model? Which has the better tuning or return to pitch stability? I have a Parker Fly Deluxe with a Fishman and it sounds pretty good - maybe a tad bright and brittle. I was just hoping to get some feedback from players that have (or had) both.

 

[chris]

hey, it's such a great setup, so versatile!

i use EB JP6 guitars and they have a Fishman system. sounds good. but my friend just got the latest LR Baggs system in his custom strat, and the basic sound from it blows my guitar away. maybe it's the guitar itself too, but wow, it sounds so freaking great haha.

either way, you can do a lot in the axe to make it sound exactly how you want.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I want to put a piezo equipped bridge on my American Deluxe Strat. Will be using it with a Axe-FX II XL set up with a Katsukuri Media style patch (thanks Chris!). Hoping to not do too much modding to the guitar. Pros and/or cons to each model? Which has the better tuning or return to pitch stability? I have a Parker Fly Deluxe with a Fishman and it sounds pretty good - maybe a tad bright and brittle. I was just hoping to get some feedback from players that have (or had) both.

The problem with piezos is, that the sound you'll get depends a lot more on your guitar than with magnetic pickups, so, unfortunately, there is no clear recommendation.

In terms of tuning and pitch stability, I haven't heard any complaints yet.

Have you considered a ghost system? There's definitely some advantages with powered bridges in terms of configurability. Being able to set the string volume individually definitely makes a difference. That is, if you can deal with replacing the battery every now and then.


Piezos are always bright and brittle. But you aren't supposed to use the dry Piezo sound anyway; it's more or less a component meant to be mixed and modified through your Axe.

 

[dB]

Piezos are always bright and brittle. But you aren't supposed to use the dry Piezo sound anyway; it's more or less a component meant to be mixed and modified through your Axe.

I don't use any FX on my acoustic sound... maybe a bit of verb, so I understand that it should be dry. But I have been having a hard time dialing in the Fishman in my Parker. I suspect it probably has more to do with the guitar and less to do with the bridge... the Parker is pretty thin and lightweight. My Strat has and Alder body and Rosewood board. I am hoping a body with more mass will help add some depth. My main patch doesn't have enough CPU to use a Tone Match block... so maybe I should create a less expansive electric patch so I can use this feature . But I still want to start with a really good basic tone.

I have not heard the Ghost system. It does sound good on Alex Lifeson's guitars though.

 

[Roadrunner]

I have an LR Baggs on my Ibanez RG 1820X , it's great, there is no tracking issues (there isn’t supposed to be as there isn’t any converting done), its bright but I config it with the treble and bass pot' so its usable and with some tweaking through the Axe = haven….but….
I've recently started to use more the magnetic pickups with a preset simulating an acoustic rather than Piazo itself and its just working much better in the band mix.
I'm not using too much the Piazo these days any more but still its nice to have.