Hey Guitar-MIDI-Maniacs!
I’ve been playing MG3 with a classical-electric guitar (piezo pickup). It tracks well, feels stable. If I run into issues, it’s usually my Yoga X390 struggling with my overly ambitious ideas 
Recently, I tried an old electric — nothing fancy, but it’s had some solid luthier adjustments, and the tech turned out to be really good. After two decades, it’s developed a nice resonance. I’ve got hard tension strings on it, so tuning stays stable.
And here’s the surprise: even though the clean tone feels thin compared to the classical (sorry rock & jazz folks 
), the VST instruments respond way better. The sum of the sound feels alive — not like a keyboard triggering samples.
That got me thinking:
MG3 and the breath of the signal — is this where the difference really lies?
Why does the classical feel stable but somehow less expressive in VST response?
Why does the electric feel more alive, even if its raw tone is less rich?
Has anyone else noticed this?
I’m wondering:
• Any tips on how to get a more expressive signal from a classical with piezo?
• Or how to make a dry electric sound closer to a classical — not by using classical samples (I need that CPU for things like AAS Player), but by shaping the raw signal or adjusting technique?
I’m happy to work on my playing to make my arrangements work on electric — but I wish the classical breathed more, and the electric had a bit more depth in tone.
Also: is this just me, or have others noticed a fundamental difference in how piezo vs magnetic pickups interact with MG3 and VST instruments?
if the classical has nylon strings that could explain much of the difference. steel strings will be heavier and ring out longer.
on my electrics with both piezo and magnetic pickups i generally prefer using the piezos for mg3.
Thanks, kimyo — interesting that piezo works better for you in MG3.
In my case, the piezo is only on a classical guitar with nylon strings, so I haven’t tried it with steel.
But my electric uses a regular magnetic pickup — and that’s what surprised me: it feels more alive in MG3 than the classical with piezo.
And I don’t mean volume or tracking — MG3 handles both just fine.
It’s not even about the instrument’s tone by itself —
it’s about how VSTs respond to the signal.
Like the electric breathes, and the classical feels a bit flattened.
I’m wondering if it’s just the pickup type, or maybe something in the playing technique, or how MG3 “reads” different signals.
if you picture the envelope generated by a steel string as compared to nylon, it will have more depth and last longer. both of these translate into increased expression and will feel more ‘alive’.
in my view what you are experiencing has very little to do with the pickup itself. it is 99% about the strings.
Thanks — that’s a clear point, and I see where you’re coming from.
My classical has a full body (cutaway, but still resonant), so the piezo isn’t fighting against a thin shell.
And yet — the signal still feels flattened before it reaches MG3.
That’s why I suspect it’s not just the strings, but how piezo translates gesture into signal.
Steel strings definitely give more energy, and MG3 responds to that.
But I still feel that with magnetic pickup, the nuance survives the signal chain, and the VST picks up on it.
So maybe it’s not 99% strings.
Maybe it’s 70% strings, 20% pickup, and 10% something we haven’t named yet.
on the 10%, there are times when i am certain that part of the sound i’m creating stems as much from my eyebrow position as my fingertips.
i’m serious, this also applies when i’m trying to get the nut started on the screw, or thread a needle.
so i’m happy to retract my 99% figure. that which we have not yet named definitely deserves at least 10%.
I love that — the eyebrow as a co-performer.
But I also think your most expressive gesture might be the one you didn’t name:
that piezo compression might not be a thing.
My own eyebrow twitched at that.
Not in protest — more like: “hmm, are we sure?”
Maybe that unnamed 10% includes the way piezo flattens not just the signal, but the breath behind it.
i feel confident in my analysis, which is based on experience with multiple guitars, with nylon and steel strings, magnetic, gk2/3 and piezos.
there is nothing like the difference you describe when comparing magnetic and piezo pickups on the same guitar. not even remotely close.
in fact i’ve often argued that piezos have an edge over magnetic although it is important to note that i do not use a pick.
this may be because the signal is ‘brighter’. thorlief’s suggestion for optimal input is to dial the tone all the way up. piezos inherently provide that.
Thanks for the clarity — it’s like dialing in a clean signal, no noise, no guessing. Still, I’ll keep listening to my piezo twitching my brow. Could be just static. Could be something trying to speak.