Mike Christian Tune-O-Matic Piezo Saddles

Pickup features: 6 iezo elements in graphite-like saddles in a Schaller Tune-o-Matic bridge
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Warmoth Thinline Tele (Swamp Ash/maple neck)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: p-90's
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): blues, 60's rock
Reason for pickup change: make guitar more versaile

Perceived output level: wtihout a preamp, this pickup output is unusable.. With the preamp it is noticeably louder than a neck postion p-90 (8K ohms)
Tone: Through the Implant preamp, full thick sound, lots of treble..very similar to a high quality acoustic piezo pickup
Sonic evaluation: With a little tinkering, i've gotten a quality sound very similar to my Guild grand concert acoustic. This is remarkable since it's in a Thinline Tele! It's a thick sound with lots of pick and finger dynamics, lots of high end, so I have a .1mF cap which smooths the sound an finger noise a bit. B/c of the saddle material, the electric tones are not as resonant as with bronze/metal saddles

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play with another guitarist and occasionally record some tracks. This pickup is only for acoustic sounds

Comments: I have mixed emotions about this pickup. It can sound good, but the whole pickup/preamp system is very difficult to get a handle on. The piezo MUST have it's own 25K voulme pot b/c 250K or 500K make it way too bright. As advertised, I used the supplied schematic for mono output with a mini switch for magnetic-both-piezo switching. However with the mini-switch in the "both" spot, the piezo volume controls all the pickups, which sucks. I called the company and they said I must have it wired wrong but I've checked a hundred times and everything else works right. I have an on/off with a .1mF cap to cut treble from the piezo, but their tech said Chrsitain piezos really should be wired in stereo to go to a PA or monitor and be EQ'ed there. The problem is that the piezo sounds great but needs a different EQ setting at the amp than magnetics, so Stereo is really a must. In mono the circuit simply does not work properly. The Implant Preamp (custom made by Bartolini) has no gain control and is too loud for a mono setup. Also, the red wire from the preamp to the battery broke after about ten minutes and I had to try and cut a space around it with an Xacto just to solder it back together. I tried this pickup w/ the Baggs Ctrl-X preamp b/c it had a pushbutton mono-stereo switch. It had phasing problems with the magnetics and you couldn't have an onboard piezo tone control at all, so i took it out. In the future I will wire the Piezo/preamp in stereo. I would not buy this again to use in mono becuase it just doesn't work right. For $230, a product should peform flawlessly and do everything it advertises, not mislead you. The company was just sold and I hope the new owners work out the bugs. I would like to hear this system wired in stereo in an ES-335 or similar full sounding semi-hollow body. Verdict..Great sound, design neds work