If I may I have a question, how many of you use the piezo option when playing? Is it blended with the stock pickups or used solo or some combination of the two?
Is the Piezo an attractive enough feature to get?
So I haven't used my piezo much ... yet.
The truth is it's a gigging and jamming thing for me, and - thanks Coronavirus! - both of those things have been largely off the table of late. When I'm by myself, yeah, sometimes I use it through the looper, but I've been using jam tracks more than building loops. That being said, the ability to run each out of their own output or to blend them is really cool, and I'm looking forward to using that when I play with friends. I've experimented some with it and like both options.
Otherwise, when I'm home, if I want to play acoustic, I play my Breedlove.
I've experimented with it some blended with the mags through an electric amp, and that can be nice to add a little brightness, but personally I really like the 58/15s pickups in this guitar and don't feel the need for it very often. That may change when I'm out jamming more and want a little juice to help cut through the mix, we'll see.
The piezo acoustic tone is ... fine, I guess? It's always hard to judge amplified-acoustic sounds at bedroom volumes. Even with high-end stuff, the thing you like plugged in for a jam with a friend may NOT be the thing you like at stage volume. I haven't had the chance to really use it at stage volumes, so I can't tell you. In by apartment, it's not worse than my plugged-in Breedlove, although it can be hard to tell since at home volumes, I'm hearing a good amount of the acoustic directly from the Breedlove in addition to what's coming through the amp.
As much as I am very happy with the guitar I bought, it was the right choice for me, and I will absolutely use the piezo all the time when I'm out in the world, I don't think it's entirely clear that the piezo version is going to be worth it for everyone. For the extra $350, you get a few other extras (the abalone birds look a LOT nicer than the plastic ones on the non-piezo. The plastic birds tend to look cheap. I believe the binding on the non-piezo is plastic, on mine it's flamed wood) that make the guitar look nicer, but first and foremost the thing I love about this guitar is that it's a great ELECTRIC guitar, and you're getting that on the non-piezo version.
If an extra couple of hundred bucks aren't that big a deal to you, I'd say get the piezo and enjoy the better aesthetics and see how much you end up using the piezo. If they are a big deal, then it's a tougher call.
