25 flys deep and I finally have an issue with electronics! A real testament to these guitars! But now I've got a weird problem with the piezo on the B string on this latest one...
When I tap on the string it makes a bit of a distorted buzz sound like tapping on the end of your cable that's plugged into an amp. When I hold onto the metal part of the jack that's plugged into the guitar and then tap on the string the noise goes away. Strum a chord and the string sounds fine compared to the others but in between playing and moving the hands the distortion obviously crops up sporadically in between notes. Doesn't happen on magnetic pickup. Any help much appreciated!
Weird piezo issue
Re: Weird piezo issue
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@InsideInfo, have you changed the strings the guitar arrived with, and did the guitar arrive with this issue presenting itself the first time you plugged it in? My first thought is that the string winding and/or ball-end doesn't have sufficient contact with the saddle element and/or the ball end retainer hole in the bridge to establish the path to ground you're creating when you touch the string and cable plug housing at the same time.
In case that isn't the culprit, this thread seems to describe a related issue afflicting only one string, wherein there was apparently some gremlin or bit of debris preventing the saddle housing from electrically coupling with the bridge (which can, theoretically, produce the same symptom).
Do you have a multimeter you can use to check for electrical continuity?
In a typical electric guitar's magnetic circuit, the symptom of getting ground noise when touching the strings is indicative of the "tip" and "sleeve" signal path terminals at the output jack having their connections either reversed or shorted within the control cavity (the noise heard is normally removed from the cable plug tip signal path by shunting it down the unamplified sleeve signal path). Because the hexaphonic piezo setup of a Fly is summed to mono at the underside of the bridge, this symptom being specific to one string and alleviated by the surface of your skin acting as a conductive path to ground at the jack sleeve would seem to indicate that the issue is limited to electrical continuity between the string's contact point with the saddle, its ball end's contact point within the bridge, the saddle's coupling with the piezo housing, or an issue with the piezo element itself. It also wouldn't hurt to take a peak at the underside of the bridge to rule out anything looking amiss with the connections there:
@InsideInfo, have you changed the strings the guitar arrived with, and did the guitar arrive with this issue presenting itself the first time you plugged it in? My first thought is that the string winding and/or ball-end doesn't have sufficient contact with the saddle element and/or the ball end retainer hole in the bridge to establish the path to ground you're creating when you touch the string and cable plug housing at the same time.
In case that isn't the culprit, this thread seems to describe a related issue afflicting only one string, wherein there was apparently some gremlin or bit of debris preventing the saddle housing from electrically coupling with the bridge (which can, theoretically, produce the same symptom).
Do you have a multimeter you can use to check for electrical continuity?
In a typical electric guitar's magnetic circuit, the symptom of getting ground noise when touching the strings is indicative of the "tip" and "sleeve" signal path terminals at the output jack having their connections either reversed or shorted within the control cavity (the noise heard is normally removed from the cable plug tip signal path by shunting it down the unamplified sleeve signal path). Because the hexaphonic piezo setup of a Fly is summed to mono at the underside of the bridge, this symptom being specific to one string and alleviated by the surface of your skin acting as a conductive path to ground at the jack sleeve would seem to indicate that the issue is limited to electrical continuity between the string's contact point with the saddle, its ball end's contact point within the bridge, the saddle's coupling with the piezo housing, or an issue with the piezo element itself. It also wouldn't hurt to take a peak at the underside of the bridge to rule out anything looking amiss with the connections there:
Summary of the Parker Guitars speculator market from 2020 onward: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool_theory
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Re: Weird piezo issue
Thank MM makes total sense what you're describing. To be honest I always change strings when I get a new guitar so I didn't actually plug it in when I first got it. This thing was pretty dirty inside though so it wouldn't surprise me if it's the dust so I'll blow that out well, change strings again and see if that helps. Thanks a lot, will report back.
Re: Weird piezo issue
Piezo gremlins can be damned frustrating to narrow down. In case cleaning things for the sake of a better grounding connection doesn't solve this, just keep us updated, and everyone here will do what we can to help. In the worst case scenario, I can mail you one of the saddles I took off my '97 Deluxe.InsideInfo wrote: ↑Sat Sep 14, 2024 1:31 pm This thing was pretty dirty inside though so it wouldn't surprise me if it's the dust so I'll blow that out well, change strings again and see if that helps. Thanks a lot, will report back.
Summary of the Parker Guitars speculator market from 2020 onward: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool_theory
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Re: Weird piezo issue
Hey MM. I finally had time enough to get back to this and took an air compressor to the insides and blew everything out. Also did another string change and unfortunately the problem persists Is there anyway I could get you to PM me and I could Paypal you whatever you require for one saddle? I'd be most appreciative! I could also print you off a shipping label as well so all you have to do is drop it off. Let me know my friend, thanks a bundle!!!
Re: Weird piezo issue
PM sent.
Summary of the Parker Guitars speculator market from 2020 onward: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool_theory
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Re: Weird piezo issue
I am having the same exact issue, any update/ resolution other than changing the piezo? if not I would also be interested please PM if you still have one available, thanks!
Re: Weird piezo issue
Apologies for missing this post. I do still have a few spare "screw"-iteration saddles from my '97 Deluxe to offer. Per this thread, it's possible that the guitar afflicted with the single piezo issue has been repurposed for a refinish project in which the saddles are being replaced with a Graph Tech set. Then again, he could be speaking of one of the other Flys in his swarm.2chill2chill wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2024 4:53 pm I am having the same exact issue, any update/ resolution other than changing the piezo? if not I would also be interested please PM if you still have one available, thanks!
Summary of the Parker Guitars speculator market from 2020 onward: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool_theory