Piezo or Magnetic?

[Marc Brode]

CB Gitty has two pickups I am considering for a 4-string...

- Disc-o-tone (sandwiched piezo, prewired with volume pot and jack)
- Pre-Wired 4-String Single Coil Pickup Harness with Volume and Tone

Both are the same price, $16.00, but the mag pickup includes two knobs and a tone control

Which one? Any advice?

[David McQueen]

Single coil 4 string. Be aware you will have to plan ahead for the thickness of this pickup. I have used three of these with 500 M Ohm pots for volume and tone. They have an excellent sound.

[ReturnToSender]

you should get both... and whichever one you don't use for this build, you can use in your next build.

[David McQueen]

Here is what one looks like installed.
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/wholefront16?context=user

[jeff maurer]

I prefer mags. Specifically humbuckers in the bridge position. I think the Cb gitty mag you are referring to might be a bass pickup. Not sure. I do know that I've never really heard anybody complain about anything that Ben sells so either option is good. Buying both and hearing the difference for yourself is really cool at that price. And if you like the sound of both it would be cool to put them in the same guitar. Although not a big fan of the piezo disc I can say it reproduces an acoustic sound more accurately than a mag pup. So if you use both its kind of like having two different guitars in one.

[Uncle John]

I was a piezo holdout for a long time.   Now I like both.  A lot of it is the look you are after.   If you want a 1930s look, you may not want a mag pup. 

 

I will tell you that I've had more buzz problems with the mag pups - those were setups that I wired (miswired?) myself.  

When I bought pre-wired, no buzz problems....   And a volume control is handy thing.  

[Marc Brode]

Thanks everyone. Lots of good advice here. I've decided on the magnetic pickup.