How to Get a Natural Acoustic Tone from a PRS Hollowbody II Piezo

Choose one-output or two-output routing

PRS provides separate magnetic and piezo outputs on the Hollowbody II Piezo, allowing the magnetic pickups to feed an electric-guitar rig while the piezo goes to an acoustic amplifier, direct box, modeler, or mixing console. This is the most flexible approach when the stage setup has two available paths.

A blended single-output setup is simpler, but both sources then share more of the signal chain. Decide whether the song needs quick blending or truly independent processing before building the preset.

Build the direct piezo path

1. Connect the piezo output to a suitable high-impedance input or the documented instrument input on your processor.
2. Set input gain from your hardest strum and leave clear headroom.
3. Load the matching body IR and compare it at equal output level.
4. Apply a gentle high-pass filter for the arrangement and monitoring system.
5. Use small corrective EQ moves after the IR.
6. Add light compression and ambience only after the core tone feels balanced.

Blend magnetic and piezo sounds without losing focus

A small amount of piezo can add definition to a clean magnetic sound; a small amount of magnetic pickup can give a direct acoustic part extra body. Start with one source as the clear foundation and introduce the other gradually. Equal-loudness comparisons prevent the louder blend from appearing automatically better.

If the combined sound becomes thin or hollow, test each path alone and check polarity, latency, and parallel routing. An IR adds filtering and may add processing delay, so phase relationships matter when two versions of the same performance are combined.

Adapt the tone for a PA and in-ear monitors

• Set the core sound through a full-range system, not only a guitar cabinet.
• Keep deep lows out of the guitar channel unless the arrangement genuinely needs them.
• Check bright pick attack at show volume before adding more top end.
• Use channel EQ for venue problems and keep the saved IR preset as a stable reference.
• Create a modest level-matched solo or fingerstyle scene instead of relying on the engineer to chase changes.

Save a repeatable starting point

Once the routing, IR, and gain structure translate across rehearsal and a full-range monitor, save that chain as your baseline. Build song-specific changes after it. A stable reference makes it easier to identify whether a future problem comes from the guitar, the preset, or the room.