History and Development of the PRS/LR Baggs Piezo System!

“What’s the history of the PRS/LR Baggs Piezo system?”
"Who is making these electronics?"
"Why would PRS want to make Piezo equipped guitars in the first place?"

If you have ever asked any of these questions, you’re in the right place! Here to shed light and share their memories and perspectives are PRS Chief Operating Officer Jack Higginbotham and Lloyd Baggs, Founder of LR Baggs, a company with a focus on acoustic amplification. We also asked Winn Krozack to recount more about the PRS/LR Baggs piezo development. Winn worked on the PRS Engineering team and helped develop the original system (and is now in our Artist Relations department!). He also shares piezo patent credit with Paul Reed Smith!

For more background on what piezoelectricity is, check out this blog as well.

Jack: The piezo can add lush texturing to the magnetic sounds. I like putting just a little piezo in the magnetic mix… it gives the electric guitar an expansive, shimmering, glassy sound. It almost sounds like a chorus pedal.

Lloyd: The biggest challenge was imbuing the guitar with a real, useful and satisfying acoustic voice without having a real acoustic body. Our X-Bridge already had great warmth and presence and Paul had this great idea to analyze a Martin D28’s voice string by string with FFT analysis. From this data we created a very advanced studio mic-pre level discrete preamp with individual EQs per sting to successfully reflect the response of the real acoustic.

The biggest challenge we faced in creating a more streamlined preamp for the SE line was capturing the spirit of the original no holds barred preamp with the per string EQ. Ultimately we were able to design preamp that kept much of the original character of the original. We’re very proud of this.

Jack: One thing I love about the PRS/ LR Baggs system, is it compares nicely to an actual acoustic. In live settings, I prefer using this system over an acoustic guitar in many cases. We have held internal “shootouts” with piezo acoustics and the PRS/LR Baggs in a Hollowbody often “wins” out on acoustic sounds.

Lloyd: An acoustic voice for electric guitar was becoming a thing in the mid 90’s, and we developed and introduced our X-Bridge into that space. Paul heard it at NAMM and, based on the sound and our approach, chose us to work with to add this functionality for the McCarty and Hollowbody guitars.

Winn: One of my early projects at PRS was developing the PRS Piezo system. After talking with Lloyd, we asked him to make us a prototype piezo bridge with six individual outputs, one for each string. I put the output signal of each string into individual channels of my Eagle’s 1971 Electrodyne mixing console, monitoring through a set of vintage Tannoy SRM12B studio monitors.

After using the console to frame in the frequency response for each string, I then individually modified their EQ's at the console to make each string sound like an acoustic guitar. Paul then recommended that we put each of the strings through 6 separate thirty-one band equalizers so we could observe and manipulate the EQ curves. We set all of the EQ curves by ear and worked through several issues, like making the strings sound like we were sampling them at the soundhole instead of the bridge and getting rid of “piezo click,” before finalizing the design.

Jack: We first put the piezo system in our Hollowbody I, II, and Archtop models. The functionality of the system was very well thought through and has not changed in our US made guitars. When it was released, it was widely considered to be the most authentic acoustic sounding system.

Winn: The first piezo-equipped bridge was installed in a PRS wraparound stoptail bridge and installed in a PRS Hollowbody II guitar. I believe we showed the system at the Nashville Summer NAMM show in 1998. We demonstrated the system through the same vintage Tannoy monitors that we had used to design the system. We applied for a patent for the piezo system that same year, and we were awarded the patent in 1999.

Jack: The ability to blend is one of the great things about the system. You can have 90% magnetic pickups and dial in 10% piezo, which richens and deepens the sound… conversely, you can go 90% acoustic and dial in a little electric to give a little bite. The USA guitar does this with a blend knob... when the three way is in the center position, you can blend the two signals.

The SE guitars work a little differently, with two discreet volume controls… one for magnetics and one for piezo. Something I like to do is run two outputs, one to an amp and one either to a DI/PA or to an acoustic amp. By spreading out the two signals you can create some very three dimensional sounds. Both the USA and SE systems execute this very well!

Lloyd: The constant with LR Baggs is that we are always working to improve everything we do and push the envelope. It is likewise inspiring for us to be working with the committed dreamers at PRS who are continually raising their game.

Jack: Like with our guitars, we are always looking to improve quality and reliability. We have already developed a tremolo system for the USA guitars and a separate trem system for SE guitars. One thing I love about working with Lloyd and his team…if we think of a new way of presenting this system, the beginning of that journey is just a phone call away!

Our piezo patent information:

Signal processing circuit for string instruments

Patent number: 6111186

Abstract: A signal processing circuit, for each string of a musical instrument which string is individually tuned to a frequency, includes a transducer adjacent to the string and an equalizer connected to an output circuit. To emulate an acoustic instrument, the equalizer is set to emphasize a signal present in a frequency range of the tuned frequency of the string and/or its harmonics. It also de-emphasizes at least low end frequencies below the operating range of the string. A mid-range frequency device is provided in the equalizer to produce characteristic mid-range response for a specific acoustic instrument. If the transducer produces an inherent resonance at a characteristic frequency, the equalizer will also de-emphasize the inherent resonance produced by the transducer at the characteristic frequency of the transducer.

Filed: July 8, 1999

Date of Patent: August 29, 2000

Assignee: Paul Reed Smith Guitars

Inventors: Edwin Krozack, Paul Reed Smith