Elec-trickery
ForthenewES2pickupsystem,Taylor’sDavidHosler returnedtopiezo…butinaradicallynewway
“Bas ically, wehadabandonedpiezocrystals alongtimeago,becausewejustreallycouldn’t gettheresultsfromthem,”musesDavidHosler, referringtothepaththatheandTaylortookwith thenow-calledES1,introducedin2003,which usedmagneticsensorstocaptureacoustic sound.Butvialaserimagesspecificallyaimed atuncoveringexactlyhowthesaddlemoved, Hoslerandhisteambeganwhatwastobecome areevaluationofthehumblepiezopickup. Itwasquiteastartlingdiscoveryyoumade… “Ourtheorywasthatwhenyoupluckastring,we knowthattheenergytravelsalongthestringand thatthesaddlehasalotofforwardsenergy.But thelaserimagesprovedthatupanddown, absolutelynothingishappening.So,whenyou putapickupunderthesaddle,thereasonit’s workingisbecausethematerialiscompressed; thesaddleisnotmoving,it’snotbouncing;these imagesshowedusthatyoucouldn’teventellthat itwasworkinghardlyatall.However,whenwe lookedatthismotion–forwardsandback–it lookslikeawholefootballstadiumofpeople wavingatyou.It’sincredible.
“TheES2pickuphasthreeadjustablearms, eachwithapiezosensoronthefront.Wewanted tocapturetheenergythatwasgoinginthis direction–forwards/backwards–andthatgoes intototheguitar,andtheguitarthrowsthesame energyback.SoevenifI’mnotpluckingthe strings,justtalkingatit,thesaddlestillmoves. Secondly,thecrystalssoundthewaytheydo becauseinthelocationthey’retypicallyat(ie underthesaddle)theyarepre-compressed,and theycan’tre-expand.Piezomaterialisvery sponge-like.There’slike27kg(60lbs)ofdown pressurefromthestringspushingatthat– approximating3.6to4.5kg(8to10lbs)per string.Sothesecrystalsarebeingcrushed,and theycan’tre-expand.There’snomotioninthat up/downdirectionanyway,sothat‘quack’we hearisnothingmorethanacrystalthatisoverstressed, So,whatyou’resayingisthatthere’sa fundamentalmisunderstandingaboutthe waywe’vepreviouslyusedthepiezopickup? “I’msayingthatwe’vebeendoingitwrong. Becauseofwherewe’veplacedthesensors [behindthesaddle]wecanadjustthem,viathree smallscrews:wecanmoveeachofthethree elementsforwardtobarelytouchthesaddleor backitoff.Andbybarelytouchingthesaddle, there’salmostnopressureonthepiezocrystals. Sonowallthe‘piezo’soundisgone,thesoundof thestringisgoingintothepickup,thesoundof theguitariscomingbackintothepickup.It’san approachthatworks!”