For my fellow P and HB series users - Piezo through TC BodyRez

[goat-n-gitter]

There have been various discussions on here about the best way to handle the piezo signal out of P or HB series instruments to get a more natural acoustic sound. Since I got my P22, I had been using an older Zoom A2 acoustic processor to improve the tone. Then someone in another thread mentioned the new TC BodyRez pedal, which I hadn't heard of. I checked out some youtube demos, and was intrigued, but today I found myself at GC, and got to try one out (with a gorgeous black gold SCHB, no less). If the HB had come home with me, I'd be homeless now, so instead I just brought home the BodyRez pedal.

I thought I'd post a demo of it here, as there aren't many clips of this pedal with a piezo solidbody. First pass is dry, second is through the new TC Electronic BodyRez pedal with the effect full up, Third is BodyRez and my normal patch on my old Zoom A2 acoustic processor, with a bit of the dreadnaught model, compression and EQ (I modified the A2 patch to sound best combined with the BodyRez). This is how I normally run my piezo signal into the PA system. Fourth pass is an old dreadnought acoustic, solid top, mic'd in stereo, just to give an idea how the solidbody piezo compares to a real, mic'd acoustic.

Edit: I pulled the clip off my soundcloud page to make room. If you want to hear it, PM me and I'll send it to you.

Tom

 

[DaveNJ]

Thanks! I was going to pick one of these up when my PS is completed. I think it definitely sounded better - what gauge strings were you using?

 

[goat-n-gitter]

Thanks! I was going to pick one of these up when my PS is completed. I think it definitely sounded better - what gauge strings were you using?

GHS Boomers, 10-46

Tom

 

[veinbuster]

Thanks for that.
It sounds much more acoustic than I get plugging the piezo straight into the PA.

 

[shinksma]

Sounds pretty good! Any idea how it compares to a Fishman Aura Spectrum, with the variety of images available in that "pedal"?

I use an Aura, but I wouldn't mind something a bit smaller and simpler if it is just as effective.

 

[DaveNJ]

GHS Boomers, 10-46

Tom

Nice - thanks. It sounds good!

 

[László]

Nice sounding effect, and I really, really appreciate your doing this! Plus nothing wrong with the playing at all!

 

[goat-n-gitter]

Sounds pretty good! Any idea how it compares to a Fishman Aura Spectrum, with the variety of images available in that "pedal"?

I use an Aura, but I wouldn't mind something a bit smaller and simpler if it is just as effective.

The BodyRez pedal is one of the new micro sized pedals, but it doesn't use acoustic images, like your Aura or my Zoom A2 do. It just has a bypass switch and an effect intensity knob. Using both boxes, they don't save any space over the Fishman. The BodyRez alone makes a pretty nice improvement over the dry piezo signal, so it's probably better suited for those that don't already have any processor (plus it's only $99!) or for setting up a smaller pedalboard.
Note that with my setup, I still need a direct box to plug into my PA system, the Fishman includes one. I use a Lehle switcher, to switch hands-free between mag/piezo signals, and it includes a balancing transformer (direct box) on the piezo channel. My Zoom A2 also includes lots of other FX (delays, reverb, mod,etc.) to use on the piezo signal which you can hear in my thread "slightly different use for P22 piezo signal" in the studio and stage section of the forum.

Tom

 

[shinksma]

The BodyRez pedal is one of the new micro sized pedals, but it doesn't use acoustic images, like your Aura or my Zoom A2 do. It just has a bypass switch and an effect intensity knob. Using both boxes, they don't save any space over the Fishman. The BodyRez alone makes a pretty nice improvement over the dry piezo signal, so it's probably better suited for those that don't already have any processor (plus it's only $99!) or for setting up a smaller pedalboard.
Note that with my setup, I still need a direct box to plug into my PA system, the Fishman includes one. I use a Lehle switcher, to switch hands-free between mag/piezo signals, and it includes a balancing transformer (direct box) on the piezo channel. My Zoom A2 also includes lots of other FX (delays, reverb, mod,etc.) to use on the piezo signal which you can hear in my thread "slightly different use for P22 piezo signal" in the studio and stage section of the forum.

Tom

Thanks! The reason for my asking is that I have a pretty small pedal board for gigging that has two "channels", one for dirt or a clean electric feel through an amp emulator, and one for acoustic sound, using a Boss Line Selector to ultimately output to an acoustic amp or PA. My P24 or HB plug into the board and I select the piezo signal or mag pups on the guitar itself. The piezo sounds pretty good through the dirt-side of the board, but when I want that extra "rocking" sound I switch over to the mag pups.

I'm happy with the sound, but the Fishman takes up a lot of room. If I could get a different pedal like the bodyrez that gets me "close enough" to the sound I want then I could swap them around and have room for something else, like a univibe or some other good modulation. I have an el cheapo Donner Metric Bender to supply what little modulation I currently use - it is small, which is the main selling point, and does OK Chorus, Flanger and Phaser (they all sound a little too shrill/swirly to me, I like swampy throbbing modulation, I guess), but I wouldn't mind some other slightly larger pedal that did all or some of that a bit better, if I could fit one on...

Anyway, I could then re-purpose the Fishman to my home/studio board.

 

[goat-n-gitter]

If I could get a different pedal like the bodyrez that gets me "close enough" to the sound I want
Anyway, I could then re-purpose the Fishman to my home/studio board.

The bodyrez would probably work great for what you're after. Check out some of the youtube demos of the bodyrez alone.

Tom

 

[goat-n-gitter]

Give it another listen, I redid the demo with an excerpt from one of my original tunes, added a fourth pass of the same clip played on a stereo mic'd dreadnaught acoustic, to show how the P22 compares to a real acoustic.

Tom

 

[Guerreromex]

I have a 2012 p22 and a 2012 singlecut Hollowbody 2 run through a Tonebone pre-z to pa with a little reverb from pa .Both guitars sound amazing p22 has 53/10, Hollowbody has 57/08's

 

[LJD]

Man, nothing like part 4. I'd rather have an awkward small mic clipped on the front of my dreadnaught than use the Fishman that's installed. I've been playing some solo acoustic gigs lately and hate the plugged in acoustic sound I've been getting. Same reason I removed the piezo system from my HBII. As piezos go I'll say it's great, but still sounds like a plugged in Ovation to my ears. Recently I've found plugging the Fishman into my PRRI gets the best results. I was surprised.

 

[22Top]

Man, nothing like part 4. I'd rather have an awkward small mic clipped on the front of my dreadnaught than use the Fishman that's installed. I've been playing some solo acoustic gigs lately and hate the plugged in acoustic sound I've been getting. Same reason I removed the piezo system from my HBII. As piezos go I'll say it's great, but still sounds like a plugged in Ovation to my ears. Recently I've found plugging the Fishman into my PRRI gets the best results. I was surprised.

I often find that that piezo into a small amp with 10" speaker has sounded better than all of the wizardry and DI'ing into the PA.

And no one in any of my audiences seem to notice. In a way I think that a great acoustic tone coming from my HBII would create a greater cognitive dissonance!

 

[shinksma]

The bodyrez would probably work great for what you're after. Check out some of the youtube demos of the bodyrez alone.

Tom

So I picked one up not long after I enquired. It did sound good, and actually replaced my Fishman Aura for a while, which allowed me to reconfigure the board into a smaller footprint, etc.

However, I really missed the built-in tuner of the Fishman. And I found the BodyRez to slightly darken my piezo sound, so I was having to compensate at the amp/PA. Adding an EQ pedal would partially negate the advantage of the small footprint, so...

Fishman back on the gigging board, Bodyrez on one of my homeboards with an EQ right after it to brighten it up.

 

[22Top]

I tried some free IRs with my HBII last night. I think I'm going to buy a Logidy EPSi for my dual voice board. The IRs did a great job of sounding more like a real acoustic without any tweaking. I think with some effort this would be a real solution for me.