T-51 vs T-51F?

[specialk]

Okay, I am halfway thinking of changing gears now and going back to "the one what brung me", the T-51. At the same time, I know the T-51F is a bit rarer.

Has anyone owned/played both? Is the F version that much more versatile that it's worth the effort of tracking one down?

I love T-51s, but have never played the F version. I'm hoping the piezo bridge PU would make a pretty big difference.

Help. Any advice is appreciated.

[specialk]

To clarify the above...

Does the Fishman piezo sound at all like an acoustic?

Can you run the Fishman on with the main pickups on as well?

Does it require separate outs like the DuoTone?

[Feynman]

No! Not stock it isn't (more versatile that is)! You'll miss that tone knob.

Modified to get tone back, though, why not?

I never really tested the Fishman properly, but I suspect the piezo makes a good sound. Surely someone else will weigh in with that info. Surely.

[belgian]

I have both and the F is the one that gets the most playing - the piezo works great with a mama bear preamp.

Y-cable

Shielding could be better - I still have figure that out....

[holLoWskull]

A couple years ago I picked up a N.O.S. Fishman T100 Powerbridge (the same model Hamer used on the T-51F) and installed it on my T-51. Same stuff everyone said...Y-cable needed, etc. I wired mine in with a 500K (tone)/250K (piezo volume) stacked CTS pot. I couldn't imagine how bright the guitar would have been without a tone (I keep mine around '6'). To my ears playing through a L.R. Baggs Paracoustic DI it didn't really sound like a true unplugged acoustic, but it does do a decent job on the piezo acoustic guitar sound we've become used to hearing live on stage. It is a more authentic piezo acoustic sound then most acoustic simulator pedals I've tried. One complaint I had with the Fishman unit was the saddle 'rollers' that the strings sat on were string breakers. Fishman got rid of those old style piezo saddles for that reason, and I can see why. Usually one or two gigs, three if I were extremely lucky were all I could get out before the high E or B would break right at the saddle. In the end I retrofitted Graphtech Ghost piezo saddles into the Fishman bridge (Pain In The Ass!!!), but to my ears the piezo acoustic sound is slightly richer then the Fishman (not much, but a little) and the string breakage is no longer an issue. YMMV

[BruceM]

My T-51F is my main player. However, I never use the piezo feature on it. It never compared to my Duotone as for acoustic sounds, and I don't really have need of an acoustic sound anyway, so I don't bother.

Mine spent a short time in WA when I sold it to pesocaster, and during that time, he modified it to add a tone knob. He did a great job with that, and it's much more versatile as a result. I don't have time now, but I'll get a picture posted of the mod soon.

As far as I know, my T-51F is also the only guitar that's ever taken a fall from the wall hangers at the 4-3-2-1 Club, and it's hit the floor 3 times. It picked up a few dents, but it's still my go-to guitar. Rock Solid.

[ArnieZ]

My t51 started life as a standard model and was retrofitted with the Fishman bridge shortly after Hamer moved to CT. I never liked the idea of losing the tone control and Jol came up with this idea. No toggle, control the piezo with the volume control. It came out like this

I like it a lot and don't miss the toggle. Magnetic vol. piezo vol. tone.

ArnieZ