I love Grapthech anything. As a heavily gigging musician and custom guitar builder I have to say the graph tech products in general are amazingly well crafted and exceed any expectation.
@Jadguitare its just the saddles. the entire bridge would consist of the tremolo springs, the bridge itself, AND the saddles. Check out the LR Baggs Piezo system. You'll see what its like
Would this help get rid of the snappy strat sounds I get from playing hard on a Variax? Doesn't sound bad on the Strat and Tele settings, but it sounds really out of place on the Les Paul settings.
I'm building my own guitar and I'm new to wiring, how tricky is this to install? I'm really wanting an acoustic sound on my electric that I can mix with the electric pickups
Hehe - I see what you mean! :o) As a tool for gigging with it looks great. Interesting (to your arguments) Gogle blocks GraphTech's website and the string-saver saddles I bought are too wide to fit on a USA standard trem! The ones I have could be counterfeit however, I am looking into it now.
Is your floyd rose bridge including piezo pick up? I mean when i get the phonic and hexpander, i should just connect both of them to the floyd rose bridge, and it works isn't?
Does the system allow you to add the saddle to existing bridges? I will be building my own bridge for my bass with headless tuners. If I could use the Ghost saddle for my piezo system in my custom made bridge then I would be in heaven.
This really is amazing, I'm looking at retrofitting one of my Floyd equipped axes - it seems like the smartest way to do a retrofit without surgical modification of the instrument.
Yes and no, The piezo crystals in the acoustic settings are literally pickup up the sound of the string form the bridge, the synthesizer which can be piggy backed onto the acoustic one is sort of an optional extra which tracks and processes the piezo acoustic output and translates it into something else. So the piezo acoustic bit is real. What you're saying does however apply to the digital output which will only work plugged into a roland Vsynth pedal or equivalent
@bohs1984 I have a question, I have this exact system in my guitar with just the acoustic option. I play it through my electric amplifier but it doesn't sound like it does in this video. How do I get it to sound like the video?
Yeah, The Line6 is 'crumbly', the Roland pickup is never at the right distance from the string but the Fender VG is a new one on me - Thanks for the lead!
does this system interfere with other pickups already in the guitar? i really don't like the idea of sending both acoustic and normal signal through 1 jack. I would rather have 2 different jacks.
Know ye of a better live solution? I have heard lots worse and none of them could you use on your fave guitar with MIDI option as well. If its good enough for Godin...
@1:45 he says "You can easily expand the system down the road by plunging in additional components"IWhat additional components is he talking about and when will they be available?
Very nice!!! ...but did I get it right (?): If I want this in my TOM/string-through guitar - without the Midi capability, but with Magnetic/Mix/Piezo-switching - I need that Ghost TOM Bridge (which is a Resomax Bridge?) and an Acousti-phonic Preamp-kit (with volume knob and 3way switch for the piezo included?) ? I do not even have to solder it? Cool. now I'm completely sold on that system... :-O
Hex pickups really mean 6 outputs ... so six ghost pickups plugged into a 6 in 6 out preamp would be hexaphonic - 6 outputs ... the processor they would be plugged into would determine if it’s polyphonic ... ( the ability to play more than one note at the same time). Hope that clears it up a bit for you.
You can use an standard 5-pin MIDI tone generator but you will initially have to address the 13-pin output with an appropriate pitch-to-MIDI convertor first. The older units will have a 5-pin "pass-through" or some newer ones will have USB connectivity
sounds very similar to the one in my ibanez SA. If you are thinking of going piezo i would say first it feels weird, and tonally the acoustic will sound far better with a les paul or even a hollowbody with thicker strings.
How do you get the acoustic system to sound like it does in the video?? I have this exact same system but when I play it through my electric amp it doesn't sound as rich as this video does. Someone help?
you dont have to get the whole system you can also just get the acousti-phonic put in ..its an option if u just want acoustic and no synth as in the hex....cut yr cost in half
The concept behind the Ghost pickup system has always stayed close to it's initial concept but we continually are playing and testing to see how we can improve on the model. With that said, we will be introducing a new Ghost Pickup System in the very near future that is absolutely amazing.
@zigzaghookie Probably because you are going straight from the piezo transducer into an amp without a good preamp. These types of pickups REQUIRE a good preamp to get a great sound. The little built in ones used in acoustic guitars suck ass. If you want a great sound try the D-tar Solstice Preamp.
and what about your 'real' pickups, so if I understand well, the electric guitar sound comes from your real pickups, and acoustic + synth sound comes from ghost pickups
@kewl2006 close to the same price as a lower end acoustic electric. it depends on if you get an entire bridge assembly or just the saddles for your existing bridge. the acousti-phonic preamp thing is $149.95. which could end up being around 250-350. hope that helped, i plan on getting the acousti-phonic for my Epiphone Goth Explorer, which wont be goth when i get it (im painting it). it's gon be two-jillion times more awesome!!!
That is the most jaw dropping product I have seen in 25 years as a guitarist - And I've been around, and I'm a luthier, oh, and a programmer and electronics bod. I'm buying one, no, I'm buying several!!!
I wouldn't ever use this for recording... unless I'm going for that specific sound... but for live this would be huge! Pearl Jam has been known to use a Hamer Duo Tone (similar concept) on most of their tours for some "acoustic" needs.
Hey Jake, in our patent tests years ago, the saddles actually had about 15% more sustain the steel saddles, and even more than that over brass saddles. As in changing any saddles to a new material, there is going to be some tonal difference. the GT saddles have a more balanced sound, while zinc and steel saddles have a more pronounced 2K spike... kind of like changing stereo speakers, it takes a bit of time for your ears to adjust, but after while, you start to hear nuances you never heard before . And all GT saddles, nuts, etc purchased direct from GT come with a 45 love it or return it guarantee. For more of that 2K bite, you might want to look at the String Saver or Ghost classic saddles.... Kenny Wayne Shepherd uses those for his signature guitar with Fender, and Eric Johnshons .new signature series sweeten the tone of his high E string with the Classic Saddle.
"Studio quality guitar"?! I'd be more open to the guy's sales pitch if he didn't open by telling me red was green, and relying on me being colorblind to not tell the difference. A *passable* acoustic guitar sound, suitable for life use in a pinch, would be a far more honest assessment of that sound.
"Know ye of a better live solution? I have heard lots worse " Um, "I've heard worse" and "studio quality" are not even in the same ballpark. My point is only that the hyperbole is counterproductive -- if you open your sales pitch by holding up an apple and claiming it's an orange, you destroy your credibility for the rest of the presentation.
I love Grapthech anything. As a heavily gigging musician and custom guitar builder I have to say the graph tech products in general are amazingly well crafted and exceed any expectation.
No, with the normal installation your magnetic pickups and piezo pickups are available at the shared output jack (blended mon or split stereo)
@Jadguitare
its just the saddles. the entire bridge would consist of the tremolo springs, the bridge itself, AND the saddles. Check out the LR Baggs Piezo system. You'll see what its like
You can, but you may want to consider using the bass version of the pre-amp as the response is better suited for that frequency range
@freeus333 yea its a standard wilkinson style saddle and they do make replacements
thanks joe.. its awesome... may be my search for a different kind of instrument is gonna see the floor...
This is refering to the optional add-ones to increase functionality (MIDI volume, program switch, quickswitches, etc.....)
Would this help get rid of the snappy strat sounds I get from playing hard on a Variax? Doesn't sound bad on the Strat and Tele settings, but it sounds really out of place on the Les Paul settings.
love it!
love the idea ,,,
I'm building my own guitar and I'm new to wiring, how tricky is this to install? I'm really wanting an acoustic sound on my electric that I can mix with the electric pickups
Hehe - I see what you mean! :o)
As a tool for gigging with it looks great. Interesting (to your arguments) Gogle blocks GraphTech's website and the string-saver saddles I bought are too wide to fit on a USA standard trem! The ones I have could be counterfeit however, I am looking into it now.
Is your floyd rose bridge including piezo pick up? I mean when i get the phonic and hexpander, i should just connect both of them to the floyd rose bridge, and it works isn't?
Hi, I've been looking for this kind of system for a 12 string guitar
Does the system allow you to add the saddle to existing bridges?
I will be building my own bridge for my bass with headless tuners. If I could use the Ghost saddle for my piezo system in my custom made bridge then I would be in heaven.
Can you retrofit the piezo pu's in a Line 6 Variax and retain all functionality
Hi can you tell me where can i get that guitar stand you used on this video?
Thanks
Hi Dave I want say thank you making a Graph tech Saddle all my fender Electric guitar with Graph tech saddle
Will i need two outputs if i only use the acoustic moduler?
can't wait too see the floyd vers
Hi, you have piezo-pickups for bass mono rail bridge?
This really is amazing, I'm looking at retrofitting one of my Floyd equipped axes - it seems like the smartest way to do a retrofit without surgical modification of the instrument.
Yes and no, The piezo crystals in the acoustic settings are literally pickup up the sound of the string form the bridge, the synthesizer which can be piggy backed onto the acoustic one is sort of an optional extra which tracks and processes the piezo acoustic output and translates it into something else. So the piezo acoustic bit is real. What you're saying does however apply to the digital output which will only work plugged into a roland Vsynth pedal or equivalent
Thanks u Graph tech
@bohs1984 I have a question, I have this exact system in my guitar with just the acoustic option. I play it through my electric amplifier but it doesn't sound like it does in this video. How do I get it to sound like the video?
Are you able to connect these ( or even all ) midi pick ups to let's say reason and use reasons midi samples?
and what does these cost?
freaking genius!
Yeah, The Line6 is 'crumbly', the Roland pickup is never at the right distance from the string but the Fender VG is a new one on me - Thanks for the lead!
does this system interfere with other pickups already in the guitar? i really don't like the idea of sending both acoustic and normal signal through 1 jack. I would rather have 2 different jacks.
Know ye of a better live solution? I have heard lots worse and none of them could you use on your fave guitar with MIDI option as well. If its good enough for Godin...
@1:45 he says "You can easily expand the system down the road by plunging in additional components"IWhat additional components is he talking about and when will they be available?
Very nice!!! ...but did I get it right (?):
If I want this in my TOM/string-through guitar - without the Midi capability, but with Magnetic/Mix/Piezo-switching - I need that Ghost TOM Bridge (which is a Resomax Bridge?) and an Acousti-phonic Preamp-kit (with volume knob and 3way switch for the piezo included?) ? I do not even have to solder it? Cool.
now I'm completely sold on that system... :-O
Hi. Is there Graphtech piezo saddles compatible to Gotoh 510 tremolo and if yes which is the model? Thanks in advance!
I have the same question. You ever find out?
...in your demo it has been installed into a strat, can it be installed into a les paul?....
Can you buy the saddles separately then? Or do you have to buy two sets of six?
Yes it is. Check it out.
how u got that organ tone...? is it kind of midi guitar too...?
I want the piezo for an Ibanez (fixed bridge) 7 string! Much better than any other piezo I've ever heard.
Strings Saver saddles for my Stratocaster and Telecaster
quick question what is the difference between hex pickups and piezo pickups? and are ghost pickups hex /polyphonic pickups?
Hex pickups really mean 6 outputs ... so six ghost pickups plugged into a 6 in 6 out preamp would be hexaphonic - 6 outputs ... the processor they would be plugged into would determine if it’s polyphonic ... ( the ability to play more than one note at the same time). Hope that clears it up a bit for you.
Good pitch!
@0:33 I almost spit my coffee out... Whaaaat!? Alright take my money
Can't get my midi hexpander to work properly, I've tried all the faq
how low can these pickups can pick up?
I'm currently in drop b...
Does this work with software only or can I use it with any midi-synth and play the instruments in say a Kurzweil, Roland or a mini-moog?
You can use an standard 5-pin MIDI tone generator but you will initially have to address the 13-pin output with an appropriate pitch-to-MIDI convertor first. The older units will have a 5-pin "pass-through" or some newer ones will have USB connectivity
sounds very similar to the one in my ibanez SA. If you are thinking of going piezo i would say first it feels weird, and tonally the acoustic will sound far better with a les paul or even a hollowbody with thicker strings.
How do you get the acoustic system to sound like it does in the video?? I have this exact same system but when I play it through my electric amp it doesn't sound as rich as this video does. Someone help?
Acoustic amp
cool
@wilsonsann blackbird by the beatles
you dont have to get the whole system you can also just get the acousti-phonic put in ..its an option if u just want acoustic and no synth as in the hex....cut yr cost in half
I like Graph tech High Performance Saddles for my Stratocaster
4 way switch in a tele and add the last switching state for ACOUSTI-CASTER !! yay
pluss having a little 59 bridge w/ push pull with a Coil-spliting wiring damn that´s a lot of tones
I want it for a 12 string.
Has this changed at all in the last 8 years? I notice it is still being sold as a new product.
The concept behind the Ghost pickup system has always stayed close to it's initial concept but we continually are playing and testing to see how we can improve on the model. With that said, we will be introducing a new Ghost Pickup System in the very near future that is absolutely amazing.
How soon?
@kewl2006 not expensive,.. like 130 total
@darren0512341 i didn't know metal heads even knew that there were such htings like acoustic guitars.
Is this available for bass??
makes me regret getting lr baags x bridge.
2:09
SHOCKER!!! lol
WOW!!! I wont it!
i think the ghost sounds better then the lr baggs x bridge.
@zigzaghookie
Probably because you are going straight from the piezo transducer into an amp without a good preamp. These types of pickups REQUIRE a good preamp to get a great sound. The little built in ones used in acoustic guitars suck ass. If you want a great sound try the D-tar Solstice Preamp.
comprise / consist of
and what about your 'real' pickups, so if I understand well, the electric guitar sound comes from your real pickups, and acoustic + synth sound comes from ghost pickups
..without doing any woodwork?...
BLACKBIRD!!!!!
@kewl2006 close to the same price as a lower end acoustic electric. it depends on if you get an entire bridge assembly or just the saddles for your existing bridge. the acousti-phonic preamp thing is $149.95. which could end up being around 250-350. hope that helped, i plan on getting the acousti-phonic for my Epiphone Goth Explorer, which wont be goth when i get it (im painting it). it's gon be two-jillion times more awesome!!!
That is the most jaw dropping product I have seen in 25 years as a guitarist - And I've been around, and I'm a luthier, oh, and a programmer and electronics bod. I'm buying one, no, I'm buying several!!!
1:03 HEXSHAFONIC...lol I'm sorry
I wouldn't ever use this for recording... unless I'm going for that specific sound... but for live this would be huge!
Pearl Jam has been known to use a Hamer Duo Tone (similar concept) on most of their tours for some "acoustic" needs.
Might be great, but those graphtec saddles killed the sustain in my strat. 60 dollars not spent well
Hey Jake, in our patent tests years ago, the saddles actually had about 15% more sustain the steel saddles, and even more than that over brass saddles. As in changing any saddles to a new material, there is going to be some tonal difference. the GT saddles have a more balanced sound, while zinc and steel saddles have a more pronounced 2K spike... kind of like changing stereo speakers, it takes a bit of time for your ears to adjust, but after while, you start to hear nuances you never heard before . And all GT saddles, nuts, etc purchased direct from GT come with a 45 love it or return it guarantee. For more of that 2K bite, you might want to look at the String Saver or Ghost classic saddles.... Kenny Wayne Shepherd uses those for his signature guitar with Fender, and Eric Johnshons .new signature series sweeten the tone of his high E string with the Classic Saddle.
why is it called ghost pickups !! it's more of a bridge than a pickup !! They should call it Graph tech's Ghost bridges
crystals lol sounds like something out of napoleon dynamite
"Studio quality guitar"?!
I'd be more open to the guy's sales pitch if he didn't open by telling me red was green, and relying on me being colorblind to not tell the difference. A *passable* acoustic guitar sound, suitable for life use in a pinch, would be a far more honest assessment of that sound.
man i hate to say this but i think your guitar is out of tune.
"Know ye of a better live solution? I have heard lots worse "
Um, "I've heard worse" and "studio quality" are not even in the same ballpark. My point is only that the hyperbole is counterproductive -- if you open your sales pitch by holding up an apple and claiming it's an orange, you destroy your credibility for the rest of the presentation.