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Attention Dead Piezo Users! (for Those With Grounding Issues)


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Holy crap. I'm, so stoked right now. No jinx, but I think I fixed my guitar!

I stripped an audio wire, took the copper ground wire, cut off some of that and stuck it between my wonky piezo and saddle. So far so good right?

 

I took the burden of a whammy bar and put it back on to test if it truly is fixed.

My whammy was one of the biggest things that threw my piezo's grounding out since it easily moves the piezo element when you dive bomb.

 

Guess what? I've been using it like crazy and NO CUT OUTS! Seriously! Holy crap I think it's fixed! Here's to hoping that I don't jinx myself.

 

So anyone who has a piezo with a grounding issue, a quick fix is to stick conductive material between the saddle and the piezo.

You'll have to lift the piezo out of the socket in the saddle first. Make sure it's relatively thick but not too thick. It will secure the grounding it.

 

I hope this helps a lot of sad Variax users with this issue!

 

Cheers!

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Report: So far it's perfect!

 

If any of you want to diagnose your piezo as a ground issue, you should be able to hear the string, but it should be quiet and possibly crackly.

If it cuts out 100% with no sound at all then you have an issue with the signal wire, not the grounding connection.

 

The problem is that the piezo has lost contact with the saddle, which transfers all grounding to a wire connected to the bridge. 

You could try to use contact cleaner, but it might go out again, so I suggest you secure the grounding contact by inserting conductive material on the side/under the piezo between the saddle. It's working great.

 

I cut off excess copper wire with a nail clipper.

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  • 1 month later...

I had a grounding problem on my Variax 600 on the D string, kept losing signal and crackling. I solved the problem by removing the strings and rotating the piezo 180

degrees in the saddle. After I put it all back together now works like new. Since reading about the Graphtec Ghost piezos I'm seriously considering purchasing

these, especially if I get the improvement in tone that everyone is talking about. I've seen a few posts in the forums for guys that have done the upgrade themselves, but does anyone have any detailed instructions how to do this please?

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I had a grounding problem on my Variax 600 on the D string, kept losing signal and crackling. I solved the problem by removing the strings and rotating the piezo 180

degrees in the saddle. After I put it all back together now works like new. Since reading about the Graphtec Ghost piezos I'm seriously considering purchasing

these, especially if I get the improvement in tone that everyone is talking about. I've seen a few posts in the forums for guys that have done the upgrade themselves, but does anyone have any detailed instructions how to do this please?

That was exactly my problem as well. 600 with a D string getting quiet/buzzy.

Sadly the piezo's wire got cut off and I had to replace it in the end.

 

But yeah, If someone does have specific instructions in installing a ghost system, please post.

Also, if there's any comparison videos between lr baggs and graphtech, that would be nice too.

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  • 5 years later...

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