Upgrading a Piezo Pickup…???

[MikeB1]

Greetings everyone,

I don’t know anything about the technical aspects of switching a pickup, so I would greatly appreciate the expertise of the group here.

I just purchased a “Traveler Escape Classical.”
https://travelerguitar.com/escape-classical/

The neck is very comfortable and I am very satisfied by how good this guitar sounds through an amplifier. However, one of the shortcomings is the squeaks that are amplified with every slide and movement of my left hand. As I understand it, this is referred to as “Piezo Quack.”

I have read some of the historical articles on this forum and I see to address this issue, people turn to additional products such as DIs. So I tried a few (LR Baggs, Tonedexter), but the results were not significant.

I am wondering if I could address this by upgrading the pickup. Is it possible to replace the current pickup with an RMC? http://stores.soundislandmusic.com/rmc-acoustic-system/

I believe these are the pickups used on more expensive guitars such as Godin.
I have owned a Godin in the past and it sounded great…no quacking!

Thanks so much for your help!

[Athens]

Look into a K&K mini

[jojobean39]

You could get a hybrid/dual source type system like the Baggs Anthem or K&K Trinity. It has both a piezo and a mic. You can blend and make the sound be a bit more like a mic.

[89bruin]

Finger noise (which seems to be whar you’re describing) and pizeo quack are two different issues. Excessive finger noise could be the result of technique or the strings you’re using and, if that’s the problem, may not be resolved by a different pickup.

[MikeB1]

Thanks for the responses.

Can you use K&K and Baggs Anthem with a solid body guitar?

[jojobean39]

Originally Posted by MikeB1

Thanks for the responses.



Can you use K&K and Baggs Anthem with a solid body guitar?

Oops. I didn’t see what the guitar looked like. The Anthem certainly wouldn’t work on that. The K&K would probably work- but obviously no use for a mic.

I’m not quite sure adding a new pickup system is going to give you the same sound quality as the Godin, though.

[jojobean39]

I’ll also echo the above... what you described is not piezo quack. Finger noise is different. You could probably help that a lot by switching strings. I would recommend trying Elixir Polywebs or Daddario Flat Tops.

Both of those are used to eliminate squeak. Try that before the several hundred dollar pickup replacement.

Edited to add- not quite sure if they make both of those types of strings in classical.

[Sonics]

...interesting design.

IMO Shadow (who make superb electronics) has bumped up the preamp output to give you a decent volume while listening through headphones.
Try turning down the guitar volume to about half way and turn up the master volume, if necessary, on your amp. This strategy may...or may not improve the finger noise issue but it's worth trying.

I will presume you are using an acoustic guitar amp or PA.

[MikeB1]

Thanks again for these replies.

Yes, so far I have played the guitar through a Fishman Loudbox Artist and I even took the guitar to a local store and tried playing through the new Bose S1.

I don't know what strings the guitar came with, but I have made one string change. Currently I am using D'Addario Pro-Arte EJ46 - silverplated wound / nylon core.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I will keep trying!

[Paleolith54]

Originally Posted by 89bruin

Finger noise (which seems to be whar you’re describing) and pizeo quack are two different issues. Excessive finger noise could be the result of technique or the strings you’re using and, if that’s the problem, may not be resolved by a different pickup.

This was my first thought too. What you're describing doesn't sound like piezo quack.

EDIT: I see many others said this too, sorry for the redundancy. Honestly, this is a travel guitar; if you can't solve the issue with technique or string change, I'd sure think about how good it really needs to sound before I sunk much money into changes.

[jonfields45]

I ultimately gave up on Traveler solid body guitars. You are also at a disadvantage as you have the nylon version and there are a lot less electronics on the market for nylon strung instruments. I think the pickup is probably in the ball park of any other UST on the market. Replacement probably won't change the tone materially and from a physical design standpoint the Traveler is not a good platform for pickups intended for real acoustic instruments.

First I would find someone with the latest Yamaha nylon silent guitar to hear what fairly fancy electronics can do in the extreme because you are unlikely to do as well. I bought and returned a Yamaha silent steel strung guitar after the Traveler (these days I pay for early boarding and carry a RainSong parlor on airplane rides).

Next I would try a Zoom AC-2. It has silent guitar and nylon modes, along with reverb which might make it sound tolerable. The AC-3 adds compression and chorus which might also help mask the unpleasantness.

With today's liberal return policies you are primarily risking the price of return shipping to try these things out.

[guitaniac]

As has already been said, string squeak isn't piezo quack.

There may be a type of classical guitar string which is less squeaky, or there my be some product which you can apply to your fingertips to reduce squeak. Aside from that, it may help just to play with a stronger attack.

One thing about amplifying guitar is that the more lightly you play, the more amplification you'll need to be heard. When you play with a stronger attack, you'll need less amplification (to reach an appropriate volume level) and little noises like string squeak will be less obvious in comparison to the actual music being made.

In my own case, I find myself having to be careful not to over-amplify when strumming with a pick. If I over-amplify, I'll try to compensate by strumming very gently and I'll hear a greater amount of percussive pick-flapping-against-the-string sound.