Hi guys, I have been asking about Pickups and have been given some sound advice (parden the pun!) but i have another question, i am going to place my Piezo under the lid near the Bridge and favouring the Bass string and i was wondering if iwould get a better response and tone from it if i drilled a pattern of 2mm holes through the lid directly above the pickup position to help it sence the string vibrations?
I should mention that I am after a fuller fatter tone over more volume.
Cheers Steve.
Replies
try playing through an equalizer. I use a boss. It gives a fuller sound,more base etc. when you want more trebble just step on the pedal. plus you can use it with all your guitars.
Hi Bizzaro, yeah i am gonna do this, i have a Digitech 350 effects pedal which has amp modeling patches on it for my Harmonica playing so i will play the CBG through that and experiment with different patches, i also kept all the origonal Guitar patches that it came with so i will stick some of those back on and see how they sound.
I'm just installing the electronics at the moment then it's final assembly time so it's all getting very exciting!.
Cheers David, thats a great reply with loads of info and options, i will do a bit of investigating tonight and make a decision.
Hi Steve,
The piezo is sensing vibration of the soundboard (the lid of the box) and drilling holes directly above it is reducing the vibration surface it has to sense so may decrease volume but still give you the same tinney sound which is part of a piezo's "charm".
I usually glue two (or more) piezos to the lid below the the bridge area and wire them in parallel - I use serious glue from Tescos or B&Q and also smother the disc with in once stuck in place as it really helps to cut down the feedback you can get (silicone sealer would do a similar job). The sound is always a bit on the trebly side compared to a magnetic pickup.
Adding a piezo to a bridge saddle gives less external noise from the box and lets you use effects (overdrive etc) at a higher setting before feedback kicks in. Used without a preamp they still sound more thin and trebly than a magnetic pickup.
To alter the tone a typical tone control with a capacitor as per a circuit for a "normal" electric guitar doesn't work on a piezo - you can get "passive" preamps that have a low pass filter which do affect the tone but still isn't as good as a battery preamp. There was a discussion about this here
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/group/cbgwiringelectronics/forum/topi...
From the UK the cheapest I have found is to buy is direct from suntekstore.co.uk http://www.suntekstore.co.uk/product-15007359-EQ+2+Band+Acoustic+Gu... £3.75 with free shipping (takes upto 2-4 weeks delivery).
To get a "fatter" sound I find battery preamps work much better. You can get them off ebay for £5 for a basic one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-Band-Acoustic-Guitar-Preamp-Amplifier-E... which are ok or the one I currently like best is this which also has a built in tuner for around £10.50 off ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Preamp-5-Band-Equalizer-EQ-Pickup-Tuner-L... (over time the www link will break in which case do an ebay search for 5 band preamp but beware some are listed as having tuners when they don't - look at the picture and description to be sure). They have a curved body so will sit a bit proud of a cigar box. I have seen others mount it in a separate box so you have a stand alone preamp/tuner. All these preamps have a 2.5mm input socket that the piezo goes into and you can buy the jackplugs cheap off ebay or for the uk Bitsbox is great for electronic bits http://bitsbox.co.uk/ and solder the piezo disc wires to this plug.
The sound I find the fullest or fattest is when you blend magnetic and piezo through a preamp - a poor sound quality video clip I did a while ago tries to show this (turn the voulme up!!!) http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/comparing-cbg-pickups
Regards,
David