LR Baggs Piezo T-Bridge and Control-X Preamp Review

[@ManBunMetalHead]

Have you used the LR Baggs piezo bridge and/or Control-X preamp? What do you think about it?

[@aussieb1416]

Researching my t-Bridge and you nailed it all and more. Some set up you've made. Fingers crossed i get this nailed ith the T-Bridge n X. thanks heaps fella.

[@kevinjokipii4260]

I have the CTRL-X installed in my Epiphone 5102TE. I have tried it with a Schaller-made Allparts piezo tuneomatic and with Fishman archtop pickup (ebony saddle). The circuit does exactly what it's designed to do. I prefer stereo mode with the piezo signal to the board, but the mono mix mode is a handy backup when there are signal path problems.

[@Tiger1016.]

I love blending a bit of the piezo output with a neck humbucker in my PRS HBII with a maple neck for some added spank with funky poppy kinds of licks. I actually prefer this tone over a traditional strat or tele for this kind of tone. That said, the Fushman Fluence Greg Koch P90s just delivered an even better tone for this kind of use for me.

[@evanposteraro5094]

YO GREAT INTRO MAN! Firehouse love of a lifetime🤘🏻 I got tickets to go see them live September 30th in my home town Sault Ste. Marie Canada and I'm so jacked. You got my like even for just for playin that dude. Great vid tho too, really nice review

[@glendoggett9670]

I am just starting an installation on a semi-hollow Gretsch. LR Baggs T-Bridge picture shows intonation screws on the stopbar side, but stock T-bridge on the Gretsch has intonation screws on the neck side, the Bigsby vibrato obstructs screwdriver access from the tail end, but the saddles appear to be symmetric, so orientation does not really matter I think. Very clever routing of the piezo wires into the control cavity through the battery box, awesome video! I am going to try to route them into the bridge pickup cavity to get to the lower hollow cavity.

[@JoeL-pk5mo]

Thinking about the LR Baggs install on my Epi 335. Thanks for the video

[@turtletracks7657]

Nice review. Thanks!

[@johnnydswing]

Waooo really nice sound, great built

[@abelgerman6512]

Great video, where did you buy the guitar body and neck?

[@ManBunMetalHead]

Thanks! Warmoth

[@GiannisSKonstantinidis25]

Great review and very very helpful! Can you please tell me what is the diameter of the bridge posts? It's not written in the PDF guide of the T-bridge. Usually it's either 6mm or 4mm. That is why also Graphtech offers their Tune-O-matic bridges in 6mm or 4mm posts diameter. I need to know before I purchase it. Thank you in advance!

[@ManBunMetalHead]

I'm fairly confident they are 4mm posts. I won't have access to the guitar for a week to confirm, but I'm 99% sure they are not 6mm.

[@GiannisSKonstantinidis25]

@@ManBunMetalHead Thank you very much for your precious help!!

[@melinsnorth5413]

good video, but need more details . . where is the 5-way switch spec ? Baggs kit does not come wit a 5-way rotary . . .

[@Celticsaint777]

I’m thinking the LR Baggs acoustic bridge sounds better than the other options out there.

[@markdavies981]

Awesome video! The guitar build looks and sounds great! I can see you have a lot of options for how the pickups are combined, but I was wondering what options you have in terms of volume and tone per pickup? You mentioned 50/50 mix at one point in the video, but if you wanted to do, for example, 75/25 or whatever, is that something that could be done easily without using external mixing? Also, how did you achieve the 50/50? Is there a separate control on the Control-X internal preamp to set that? With the addition of the piezo pickup, you now have 3 pickups but you only have 3 pots, so I was just curious as to how much control of volume/tone you have per pickup. Apart from that, the actual sounds that you get in the video are awesome. It really does sound like an acoustic guitar. As far as demonstrating the acoustic sound I think this is about the best video I've seen. As a techy type of person I would just like to see a few more details in terms of the level of control that you have with mixing volumes/tones of the different pickups, and some demonstrations of how it sounds with different settings.

[@ManBunMetalHead]

Thanks a lot! The Control-X preamp comes with a pot that controls the mix between the magnetic pickups and piezo bridge. That's how I set the 50/50 mix but can easily do a 75/25 on the fly. The other 2 pots are volume and tone, so I don't total flexibility in mixing all 3 pickups (bridge mag, neck mag, and piezo). If I use both mags, it'll be a 50/50 mix between the two (which I never do). I can then mix the piezo in with them using that pot, but can't control the mags independently. Not sure if that's too confusing, hard to describe it all in text. Thanks for the suggestion on the video though. I'll see if I can get something like that done.

[@markdavies981]

Thanks for your reply. I understand what you mean, it makes sense. You've certainly got a lot of possible combinations and options to play with. I have a LP Studio and I've been thinking about installing a Fishman piezo bridge pickup. The only reason I'm favouring the Fishman is because I think it might be a bit easier to install compared to the LR Baggs (I don't really want to be modifying my LP too much). I've been searching for a good video that really shows what can be done and, like I mentioned, this is the one that stands out for me in terms of demonstrating that it does actually work, as long as you use the right preamp etc. You've convinced me to give it a shot. To begin with I think I'll just do a minimal install, with the mag and piezo pickups separately connected to a stereo output. I'm just a hobbyist musician (I'm not a pro and I don't gig) so I don't really need to mix them on the fly, at least at this stage. Once I understand what I'm doing I might go the whole hog and do something like what you have, with onboard preamp and onboard mixing. But I think I'll start out with something easy to begin with. I've just ordered a Fishman PowerBridge Tune-o-Matic on ebay so wish me luck. I've been eyeing it for a while. It's about half normal price, so I decided to go for it before they sell out. Based on your video I decided it was worth a shot, so if it turns out to be a pile of crap I'll blame you lol. Keep up the good work. Your videos are awesome. Did you record the building of your Warmoth? Something like that would be a great video see.

[@ManBunMetalHead]

Cool man. Good luck with the install, it'll be worth it though. Fishman definitely makes some quality gear. I did record some video of building the Warmoth. It ended up being a lot of footage and I didn't know what to do with all of it. Maybe I'll take a look back at it and see if I can do a video.

[@colsmith6995]

Hey Mate. Great demo and impressed with the sound. i am currently building some like this but stuck on a few things (trouble with wiring connection from Piezo 7 wire to CTL-X Amp can you help?

[@ManBunMetalHead]

As far as I can tell you should have a 2-wire output from the piezo bridge that sums all 7 strings together. In some cases this is a wire with a braid casing (the casing is the second wire). You should then be able to connect the 2 wires to the X-bridge connections in figure 6 in the Ctrl-X instructions. Good luck.

[@OgamiItto70]

Thank you for pronouncing "piezo" correctly.

[@no1beatsj]

Where does the "t" come from

[@no1beatsj]

@EHnus Lover696 So a 'piezo' is actually 'pieto' I think not

[@no1beatsj]

@EHnus Lover696 Thanks

[@slumdogjoe]

Sorry if I missed it but what gauge strings are you using?

[@geneschulp8598]

Great job. Wonderful guitar. You should build and sell them.

[@maxmordon7295]

Hey, man, this could be a dumb question... but, how good or awful would nylon strings sound through that bridge?

[@roccosferruzza8320]

Very good demo... have you changed your master volume pot?

[@clareboudtj]

Cool build!, Interesting sounds! Thx!

[@sloby6870]

Hye bud. Great video. Really nice tones. Could you let me know what magnets are you using for the coil split? Because some other videos also do the coil split with their humbucker but don't have the nice "straty" thin sound as you do. 'asking for a friend' :P haha

[@ManBunMetalHead]

Thanks man. When I coil split, or coil tap, I always use the magnet closest to the neck on the neck pickup. A lot of it comes down to the placement of the pickup. Ideally, you want the magnet that is as close to the 24th fret position as possible, and that will tend to be the magnet I used. If you want to find that spot exactly, take your scale length (most cases it's 25.5") and divide by 4 (6-3/8" for said scale length). That's the approximate distance from the bridge. Probably more info than you needed, but there you go.

[@davidpopelka4073]

Hi Sir. Im quit thinking about this upgrade just cant decided which guitar will be chosen :D. Anw what I found quit good for fingerpicking style is if you have out of phase option (I have it on my Epiphone Custom Koa and Gibson Classic LP HP. Standard coil split took you some body in sound (very thin) but out of phase will give you back some bass and generally give you power into sound. If you have possibility try upgrade your guitar and Im pretty sure that with piezo it will shine much more ;).

[@zkoszegi1]

Where is the Control-X Preamp and how does it look like?

[@ManBunMetalHead]

The Control-X Preamp consists of some small circuitry mounted to an additional control knob used for blending the piezo and magnetic pickups. When installing it, you must either drill a new hole to mount it or replace another control knob, a tone control for example.

[@zkoszegi1]

Thanks! Do I need to use preamp on the guitar? Can I plug straight the piezo signal into e.g. Line6 Helix? Using a stereo output jack. One side for magnetic and one side for piezo signal.

[@ManBunMetalHead]

I'd recommend using some sort of preamp, but the Helix would probably work just fine. Using the stereo jack should work just as well.

[@matigrob]

once you have the strings separate how about installing a Polybass to get a error and delay free lower ocave on the lowest string you play?

[@kevin627]

Thanks for this video, the best I have seen on the T-Bridge and Control-X. I'd like to install both in my Les Paul but I noticed in the video that you mentioned this won't sound good through an electric amp. Same situation, I'd like to avoid lugging a second guitar to gigs even if the acoustic sound on the piezo is less than perfect. I typically run my guitar into a small pedalboard (that does not have a DI on it) through to my amp (Fender Blues Jr III) which is then mic'ed at most venues into a PA system. My guitar can switch between single coil and humbucker, I basically use single coil on the neck for everything at all times, and it sounds okay when I want to play a song that has an acoustic sound, but not quite the same as an acoustic - hence my interest in the T-Bridge. Do you think it would be a waste of money to install the T-Bridge and Control-X in my guitar if I'm running it into a pedalboard and electric amp? Any chance you could demo what that sounds like versus direct :) Most venues I play are small and some places we have to set everything up ourselves, so I'd rather keep it simple and not have multiple lines running to the board. I suppose an alternative is an acoustic simulator pedal (e.g. BOSS AC-3), please let me know your thoughts. Cheers!

[@ManBunMetalHead]

Glad the video can help. I actually haven't tried running the piezo through a guitar amp yet. My live amp is an ENGL Gigmaster 30, which, like most amps made for metal, has a killer overdriven tone, but only decent clean tone. I think you may fair better with the Fender Blue Jr III. You might try playing an acoustic guitar through the Fender amp to get an idea of how the piezo might sound. I'd suspect that you'd get a better sound with the T-Bridge & Control-X than the BOSS AC-3. I think I'll try to put up a demo of the amp/DI comparison in the next week or so, keep an eye out. If your subscribed to my channel you should get a notification when I put it up.

[@kevin627]

Just subscribed, thanks for the info. When I play an acoustic through the Fender amp, the sound is much closer to the acoustic sound that I want to emulate, compared to my single coil Les Paul pickup. Would appreciate the amp/DI comparison if you have a chance. I may not be the only person curious to know if the T-Bridge through a guitar amp gives a useable acoustic sound. If it sounds that much better direct, I may just run a second line to the board along with the mic'ed amp. Thanks!

[@benjammn2157]

@@kevin627 I’m about 5 years too late, but the biggest problem with a piezo running through a guitar amp is that not only does it sound nasally, the dynamics of the bridge could get too loud, so you would end up having to turn your volume way down

[@jaycorbin6145]

Can piezos such as this work WITH regular pickups as a booster signal, or is it purely to sound like a avoustic?

[@ManBunMetalHead]

I suppose you could wire it up to help "boost" the signal but they are not generally wired that way

[@FlyingV555]

Will this work with a guitar that has a Floyd bridge?

[@ManBunMetalHead]

The T-Bridge would definitely not work with a Floyd rose trem. However, GraphTech makes a Floyd with piezo inserts. Might try this out on a future build. www.graphtech.com/products/brands/ghost/ghost-floyd-rose-style-bridges

[@MrJimmyWalsh]

Can you do without the control-X if you wire it up in stereo?

[@ManBunMetalHead]

I'm not sure. You might need some sort of preamp.

[@stewartdegner260]

Thanks.

[@rickroberts9182]

I have an Epiphone 339 that I installed this bridge and control x onto. I removed the tone for the bridge mag p.u. and installed the board for the piezo into the position. The problem I am having is that there is no volume control for the piezo, only a "mix" function for the mags/piezo. I also installed the 3 position toggle which gives mag only, both on mix or piezo only. Again, the piezo does not get volume control, only mix. When the toggle is selected for piezo only, there is absolutely no volume control. With the Fishman bridge on my Tele, I have a separate volume control and can mix by adjusting volumes. It also employs a control pc board but does not include any pot. I much prefer this arrangement. I cannot seem to get any volume control with the Lr Baggs. Do you have any solutions? Did I screw up the wiring? I've checked my work several times and all seems as it should be. One thing with the Lr Baggs website is they have very little tech support and the bridge and board had very poor instructions. The wiring instructions that came with it was for a Strat only and not for a "Gibson" style guitar. I had to search the web for outside instructions and clarity for the install (videos like this, THANKS). I used the guitar today in church and had to adjust the volume on the fly at my amp. Very inconvenient. Comments or help?

[@ManBunMetalHead]

That's rough man. I'd be willing to bet the stereo button/switch is pushed in. If you aren't aware the Control X has the capability to send the signals out in stereo format through a TRS connector. Check the manual/installation instructions, but the switch is one the same PCB that the "mix" pot is mounted on. You'll probably have to remove the mix pot, but you'll see a small button switch on there. Just press it in (or out) and my guess is you'll be golden.

[@rickroberts9182]

Yeah, I've tried that. I just installed a 500k pot on the bridge as a separate control but the tone just seems tinny. I'm gonna figure this out. When the Control x is installed via the pot in the tone location, that selector switch is accessible through the f-hole and I've tried numerous combinations of settings, using that switch and the slide switch and the trim pot. My Fishman setup is much more effective. I had considered getting the Fishman equivalent for this but my research indicated that the Lr.Baggs was better sounding. My Tele has a great sound (people compliment a lot) and is more adjustable. Thanks for the reply.

[@rickroberts9182]

ADDITIONAL....I went back and adjusted the Control-X to the sound I wanted, tucked it into the cavity and installed a 500k pot into the tone location for the bridge p.u. I now can select whichever configuration I want and have separate volume control of the piezo. Sounds really nice now. FYI...I had to cut an access panel into the back of the guitar...the 335/339 controls are installed through the f-holes and you can't add this much hardware that way. I cut an access on the back and made a panel cover from an old black strat faceplate I had and this allows the addition of the Control-X and a battery clip and additional pot. Man...cutting into my new guitar is damn scary.....But SUCCESS...It looks good, very clean.Thanks for your input. You gave me food for thought....This aint for the faint of heart......

[@Eventual420]

Rick Roberts Great that you've solved it. I was going to compliment the uploader, but I have done this T Bridge + Ctrl X, utilizing both the three way switch and the push button. LR Baggs customer support emailed me a writing diagram. I have a 335 style guitar (Chinese) that needed no mods, other than the two holes for the switches. To explain it, the blend is a volume knob if the switch is in Piezo only mode. In the middle it becomes blend, which does effectively remove it (though you still make out the preamp). The switch into mag only is a true bypass. The button is another option. If you stay in blend then the button is on/off for Piezo. But the button is not true bypass. If you want true bypass the 3 way toggle is req'd. Great build, cool upload. Not many T Bridges out there. To really go above and beyond I added the Fishman Triple Play. Covers a lot of ground.

[@iereh]

Super!♫

[@the_nondrive_side]

I have an acoustic with a UST but no preamp.. I always thought it was garbage without the preamp. Then I tried it with a CS400 COMPRESSOR.. problem solved. Should work the same with a T-O-M

[@bobbysbackingtracks]

How about tunning the guitar first?

[@luckylicks3497]

Lick from hell 10:31 -37, 10:49 -55

[@jgrossma]

Its "pee-ay-zo". . .no "t" sound. Anyway, great overview and demo.

[@fredzungri5835]

Man bun?😝😂😂😂🤣🤣MAN??😂🤣🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@Oregon4now]

Seriously dude youre going to do an entire video on it and you don't even know how to pronounce the word, I know it's petty but it's super annoying

[@ManBunMetalHead]

According to the Cambridge dictionary, I am saying it correctly.

[@TylerLL2112]

Man Bun Metal Head Dude probably says (Pie-zoe) 😂