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Cheap piezo + preamp/buffer kits ?

Posted by Jeroen on June 5, 2015 at 11:11am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Hi there, this is my first post on this forum.

I have been gathering parts for a few months now and am planning to start building my first CBG soon. Off course I would also like to electrify it, but I have no experience whatsoever with electronics.

That is why I was thinking about buying a cheap complete kit with a piezo rod pickup and a preamp/buffer. I was looking and found some very cheap kits. Has anyone of you had any experience with these kind of kits ? And should I get an "active" (like this) or a "passive" one (like this or this) ?

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Tags: pickup, piezo, preamp
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Replies

  • Bama Hound June 6, 2015 at 12:55pm

    http://www.cbgitty.com/guitar-electronics/pre-amps/great-pre-amp-unit-for-... What is wrong with this one? I have used this one in at least 8 of my builds. It is narrow enough to fit in most boxes. The only downside is faceplate has a little bit of an arch to it. You can work around by cranking down on screws and a little black silicone in the remaining gap (about 1/8"X11/2") . P.S., It also is sold by the folks that make this site possible.

  • John Sawyer June 6, 2015 at 12:17am

    I haven't used a rod piezo, but my discs work just fine plugged into an amp...  That said, they do sound nicer after a preamp/buffer, but it is hard to tell...

    lately, I pulled out the old electronics bin and started building circuits again...  Certainly not going to pay the bills, but a fun diversion...

    http://www.till.com/articles/GuitarPreamp/

    or

    obpreamp.png?width=500

  • Tom T June 5, 2015 at 1:15pm

    I tried one of those ultra cheap piezo preamps from China. While many people may have had good luck. The unit I received went immediately into distortion and feedback (at any level). I could never get it to function an any level. I got my money back and looked for a more reputable, but cost effective solution.

    I finally found a Piezo preamp that is a pedal and not built into the guitar, so I can use it with other guitars.

    It is from Behringer, who has a long standing reputation for good audio equipment. It is called the ADI21 - Behringer Acoustic Amp Modeler. I got it from Sweetwater for only $29.00 and it is an excellent unit for piezo or mag pickups. You can control gain, bass, mid and treble and a few other controls. Check it out Preamp

    • TN Twang > Tom T June 8, 2015 at 11:13am

      Thanks, Tom T. Sweetwater is out of stock, but I've gotta' get one of those as soon as a new batch comes in. Let's hope that Sweetwater can hold the $29 price! I've got a cheap, light little Kustom portable PA for church gigs that doesn't give enough preamp boost to do a decent job on a CBG.

      Bama: After realizing that I'm gonna' build dozens of these things, I've backed off putting electronics in each one. I just put in a piezo disc and a 1/4" jack and (typically) a 500K audio taper volume control. That adds enough expense to each build and I plan to play as many CBGs as I want through a single, external preamp/amp arrangement (I also stopped putting in passive Tone controls because I can handle that so much better downstream after the signal is preamped.)

      If I were doing a cost-is-no-object work of art for sale, I'd probably go the other way and put in one of Ben's preamps. More than one way to say "potato."

      • Bama Hound > TN Twang June 8, 2015 at 1:39pm

              I had realized after responding to your post, that many, just build a freestanding preamp and didn't get back fast enough to edit the reply before the 15 min. was up. I prefer the self contained unit. I keep or give away to friends and relatives the dozen I have built.If you are going for sale the added expense would be prohibitive. There is a preamp I have used that has a tuner built in.That could be a selling point. Downsides would be it is wider and longer and won't fit most cigar boxes. It works on LPG's or if you make your own boxes.The arch in it which makes it borderline unsightly and it will not let you get "in the ballpark" with the intonation.

             I had a hobby that I turned into a job once and I began to hate my hobby, there again, if your work is your hobby, you never work another day in your life.I wasn't trying to steer you wrong intentionally i saw it was your first post and this was going to be "your baby". My babies are priced, where you want one bad or I like you bunch.http://www.amazon.com/Acoustic-Guitar-Preamp-Equalizer-Pickup/dp/B0...."Potaahto" (;-D) Either way have fun and good luck.

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