Forums

built-in amp

Posted by Ian Dickson on October 12, 2015 at 8:04pm in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Hello. Not sure which group to post this in exactly. I am a beginner at all of this so this might be an obvious question.

I was thinking of building a CBG with a build in amp. The wiring would be super simple, just getting one of CBGitty's amp kits and wiring the input to the pickup, but my question is this: would this thing just explode with feedback because the amp is so close to the pickup? It would right? Is there some way of making this work? I have seen commercial guitars with built in amps so it must be possible.

Thanks.

You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!

Join Cigar Box Nation

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • the anonymous pick October 13, 2015 at 2:09pm

    i  have  built  many  built in amp    guitars  .   the biggest  tip  i  have  is  to  keep  the  speaker as  far away    from  the    mag  pickup as you   can  .   you  will    still  get    some  feedback     when  cranked   and  on  overdrive  ..  but  it  is  controllable and  usable     and  can  even  be  fun   to  work  with  .

    other   options are  copper  sheilding  etc etc  .   but  you  can  get away  with it    without    it  ,  if  you  have    the  space   . 

  • Ron "Oily" Sprague October 13, 2015 at 10:46am
    Ian,

    Have a look at this vid, and read the comments. Then, contact the builder, a member here at CBN named Harrison Withers, for specific build details. Yes, this guitar does feedback on certain notes. That is part of its charm, and can be worked with creatively.

    http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/oily-s-guitar-lounge-grandpa-s-...
  • JL October 13, 2015 at 8:39am

    The ones I have seen are solid body, not acoustic, with mag not piezo pickups. there was another thread here-abouts that discussed the problem with feedback when the amp and piezo are in the same box.

  • Tom T October 12, 2015 at 9:48pm

    I think you are talking about a setup similar to the Pignose PGG-200 guitar--> Pignose Guitar

    It's a pretty cool six string with a Pignose portable amp installed in the guitar body.

    If you are planning on using a mag pickup, I think you might get away with it. If you're thinking Piezo, that may be a problem. Bench testing might be the best way to see if it can be done with common off the shelf parts.

    Nothing to lose in trying it and you will learn some things in the process. That's one of the best parts of designing and building your own guitars.

    • Ian Dickson > Tom T October 13, 2015 at 1:40am

      Thanks. That pignose is exactly what I was thinking of. I suppose potting the pickup would be advisable?

      • Tom T > Ian Dickson October 13, 2015 at 9:13am

        Potting the pickup (piezo) is pretty much SOP, so "yes"

        I would give the pickup plenty of wire length so you can move it around a lot. Don't be afraid to move the pickup all over the box in search of that non-feedback location. I would even try it on the outside (sides, back) of the box just to gauge the response.

        I think you can make this work, but it will take some patience in pickup positioning.

        Another thing to consider is the speaker itself. It may help to reduce feedback if the speaker is not mounted firmly against the box lid. That would reduce the speaker vibration induced into the lid and thus into the piezo. Maybe s little foam to isolate the speaker a bit.

        A lot can be learned from this project. Keep us posted

  • Bama Hound October 12, 2015 at 9:30pm

          There is a difference between an amp and a pre-amp. You need to be more specific as to what you are trying to achieve. If you really mean amp,Honeytone makes one with a built in belt clip.You can be a walking rock and roll band,until your 9  volt battery runs down.(;-D)

This reply was deleted.