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Typically I recommend another solution to these kinds of bridges but I got a guy who really wants a piezo to run with a Fishman Aura set up...

So What I was thinking was removing the saddle and cutting out a mid section just enough to fit the piezo under with a little wiggle room. Then gluing in the end pieces left and right which would make the slotted bridge structurally sound and then of course the center piece would be loose fitting for the piezo.

Thoughts?

JJB or KK on bridge plate.

I think it could work but it could also look slightly weird? The guy may not mind if he’s so set on this particular way of running his rig. The concept of gluing a saddle, or portion of a saddle, gives me the heebie-jeebies. Priceless vintage Martins excepted. If it’s not vintage or collectible could it be easier to just fill the whole thing with matching wood and recut as a pocketed slot? Then at least the saddle can be raised and lowered in future via conventional methods without the glued in pieces also requiring modification.

I presume he knows you can blend other types of Fishman pickups with Aura? I have a customer who uses an Aura DI with a Fishman soundhole pickup and she gets very good tones out of it.

He actually has a Fishman sound hole PU in it now. His band mate uses the Aura and he liked it so much there's no going back. And I agree too I find the Aura with a piezo the best sounding stage set up I have heard to date.

I'm thinking if it's just tight enough it might not looks so bad.

Jim, I had a vintage Guild Valencia in the shop recently. It once had a through saddle but some years ago someone had routed the bridge to fit a piezo in. He chose to fit a short saddle matching the piezo length, no doubt because he was not able to get an exact fit height-wise between the unit and the wings of the bridge. I suppose the piezo has a bit of "give" then the rosewood itself so contact and pressure might be different on both. The owner complained about the sound (saddle fit was sloppy at best). This being a valuable early-sixties instrument, I suggested to get it back to original, so I reverted it back to a full-length saddle after filling the piezo slot. Inside went a K&K. Owner is very glad I did.

You may very well be more skillful than the guy who did this Guild years ago, though, and you may succeed in this. Keep us posted.


Pierre
Guitares Torvisse

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Pierre Castonguay

Yep this will work.

We have the saddle mill so we mill a pocket in the bottom of the saddle slot for the peizo making the pocket maybe .002 less shallow than the depth of the element so there is full contact with the saddle and it's compressed into the bridge. Works great and it's reversible if necessary with a plug.

But you're right it's a poor choice these days and they also have the piezo quack too.