E/A String Piezo Low Output P38

[bennyharveys]

Hi All, another piezo post.

Just picked up P38 and am getting very low output on the E/A strings, and slightly crackly output on the D string.

Things I have tried:

New A string, problem persists
compressed air on and under saddles, problem persists
Lightly sanding the saddles where the string hits the saddle (there was a little corrosion), problem persists

Would love to hear any other options I have before buying new saddles/a new bridge. Its a cheap guitar and was not planning on putting a lot of money into it, especially before I decided how much I am into it. Thanks!

#Piezoissues

[Patzag]

I don't have a P 38 but based on past piezo experience, I would check the soldering of the Piezo element to the summing plate. In my limited experience, this could be where the problem could be coming from. The other points to check are the soldering point at each saddle.

[bennyharveys]

Thanks, I will take a look. Its so hard to tell if the solders on the bottom of the saddles are ok because they are so tiny. might just try to redo them regardless.

[Patzag]

Thanks, I will take a look. Its so hard to tell if the solders on the bottom of the saddles are ok because they are so tiny. might just try to redo them regardless.

Easy with that ... easily broken!

[bennyharveys]

Attached are some photos of the bridge / saddles

[Patzag]

Now to that summing board under the bridge...

[bennyharveys]

Now to that summing board under the bridge...

I took a look last night and all the solder points look solid. Might re do them just to be safe, and if that doesn’t work, call it.

Thanks for having a look!

[mmmguitar]

Though it's essential to go through the basic troubleshooting steps as you're doing, I'm afraid the piezo elements typically used in guitar saddles simply aren't made to last; and tend to be binary in function (with any symptoms not resulting from user error indicating element failure and cause for replacement). For reference, your P38 uses a Wilkinson VS50P bridge; and replacement elements or saddles should be available from Wilkinson. I think Graph Tech also makes saddles which fit the VS50 (I know they produce ones for the VS100) - You'd need to reach out to one or both companies to see what your options are. It looks like your VS50 saddles have the elements as a separate part which can be swapped in and out (assuming they're just set into the saddle recess, and not glued in during assembly) - Meaning the cheapest option may be to (if possible) buy only however many replacement elements you need.

[bennyharveys]

Though it's essential to go through the basic troubleshooting steps as you're doing, I'm afraid the piezo elements typically used in guitar saddles simply aren't made to last; and tend to be binary in function (with any symptoms not resulting from user error indicating element failure and cause for replacement). For reference, your P38 uses a Wilkinson VS50P bridge; and replacement elements or saddles should be available from Wilkinson. I think Graph Tech also makes saddles which fit the VS50 (I know they produce ones for the VS100) - You'd need to reach out to one or both companies to see what your options are. It looks like your VS50 saddles have the elements as a separate part which can be swapped in and out (assuming they're just set into the saddle recess, and not glued in during assembly) - Meaning the cheapest option may be to (if possible) buy only however many replacement elements you need.

Thanks for the reply. This is what I feared, might just go without the piezo. I am in canada and shipping etc makes ordering parts very expensive.