Installing a midi and piezo bridge on a mandolin

[Tim Logan]

Non builder new to electronics:
1) Will installing a midi unit on the side of an acoustic mandolin along with a piezo bridge impair the acoustic sound quality?
2) I have heard that piezo bridges have trouble picking up all of the strings equally - are there installation issues to be aware of to avoid such issues?

Thank you in advance for any input!
Tim

[Dave Greenspoon]

Not a builder, but a fan of electrics. I understand Almuse has a prototype floating electric pickup now; you can find it on their Facebook page. I can't imagine how a box of bits inside the instrument could avoid having an impact on tonal signature. There are some necrothreads about the Roland unit with other gear referenced, but you never know what time has done to those product lines.

[Tim Logan]

Hi Dave -
Maybe you can walk this nimno through the unknown world of electronics? I saw a floating pickup today made by Shadow with individual pots for each string set and some other available adjustments. If you install a pickup, such as this one, on an acoustic mandolin, can you then take it to an amplifier that would allow you to create reverb, create the bended note effect, etc or do you take it to a "midi" device? Just not clear on how the electronics world fits together!
Tim