Forums

Dead string!!

Posted by Damien on September 24, 2011 at 7:48pm in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts
Hi all, this is my first time on this great site and I hope to tap into the world of knowledge you all have!! I am on my 3rd cbg build and have noticed that even when placing the piezo in the same spot on all 3 I am getting different string response. The treble string seems to have no punch or tinny sound when played through amp but bass strings sound wild!! The piezo is external and a little more to the bass side. Is this a bridge problem or piezo? Any help greatly appreciated! Keep up the good work!

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

Join Cigar Box Nation

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • Ron "Oily" Sprague September 25, 2011 at 8:07am
    To add to what AFKAM sez, the best place for a piezo is directly under the saddle, e.g., the bridge (check out every commercially-produced guitar that has a piezo in it, and that's where it will be, if not an integral part of the saddle itself.). You want the piezos getting their vibes from the strings and the boxtop. Anything else, as you have discovered, is just noise. Easiest way to do this is to encase your piezo in a wooden sandwich and use that for your bridge. Vibes from above and below.
  • Outhouse Instruments September 25, 2011 at 7:57am

    Part of the problem is the piezo being on the neck. It needs to be on the box lid (IMHO).

    The reason: the neck has a lot of mass ... most of the cbg mass infact ... lower frequncies travel through the mass better than the higher ones do. The neck will work. I have used piezos on the neck, but only on d-bows where a wide range of frequency response isn't needed.

    The box lid will vibrate much more than the neck. Piezos work on vibration not sound.

    There can be other factors, but try relocating the piezo .... also IMHO, get rid of the grommet .... you can have too much dampening ..... like I said, piezos need vibration.

     

     

    AFKAM

  • Clock The Wolf September 25, 2011 at 2:52am
    Well, if you've got twangyness acoustically its usually an action problem, that or the string is not tight enough or too loose. The notch could be too wide and the string could be floating about in the nut or bridge. Also, the string could pull down on both sides of the nut instead of just on the headstock side. You WANT it to pull down on the headstock side, but NOT on the neck side. Also, you might want to see if changing the angle of the bridge does anything. As for lacking punch for the light string, I know this may seem painfully obvious and you've probably already thought of it, but that could be as simple as getting the piezo closer...
    • Damien > Clock The Wolf September 25, 2011 at 4:24am
      Thanks again for the response. I will try the angle of the bridge to see if that makes a difference.. I have read that the piezo should be moved closer towards the bass strings? Is that a general rule? I have not dealt much with piezo discs. Have made plenty of lap steaes and diddley bows but have always made my own pickups from 12 volt transformers so the piezo character is a bit foreign to me..
      Thanks again mate.!

      CLOCKWORK said:
      Well, if you've got twangyness acoustically its usually an action problem, that or the string is not tight enough or too loose. The notch could be too wide and the string could be floating about in the nut or bridge. Also, the string could pull down on both sides of the nut instead of just on the headstock side. You WANT it to pull down on the headstock side, but NOT on the neck side. Also, you might want to see if changing the angle of the bridge does anything. As for lacking punch for the light string, I know this may seem painfully obvious and you've probably already thought of it, but that could be as simple as getting the piezo closer...
  • Clock The Wolf September 24, 2011 at 9:55pm
    Is it a disk or a rod piezo? Exactly how is it externally fixed? What gauge of strings and tuning? Does it have this same problem when played acoustically, or only when amped?
    • Damien > Clock The Wolf September 24, 2011 at 11:59pm
      Hi there thanks for the response. It's a 20mm disc piezo fixed to the neck under the bridge ( hole in cigar box). It is cushioned by a rubber grommet and fixed to the grommet with soft silicon. The problem isn't as bad acoustically but is still a little twangy.. The bridge is timber with grooves cut... Could the groove be to wide? The string is 13gauge plain steel. Tuned to open g

      CLOCKWORK said:
      Is it a disk or a rod piezo? Exactly how is it externally fixed? What gauge of strings and tuning? Does it have this same problem when played acoustically, or only when amped?
      • Damien > Damien September 25, 2011 at 12:50am
        Hi there thanks for the response. It's a 20mm disc piezo fixed to the neck under the bridge ( hole in cigar box). It is cushioned by a rubber grommet and fixed to the grommet with soft silicon. The problem isn't as bad acoustically but is still a little twangy.. The bridge is timber with grooves cut... Could the groove be to wide? The string is 13gauge plain steel. Tuned to open g

        Damien said:
        Hi there thanks for the response. It's a 20mm disc piezo fixed to the neck under the bridge ( hole in cigar box). It is cushioned by a rubber grommet and fixed to the grommet with soft silicon. The problem isn't as bad acoustically but is still a little twangy.. The bridge is timber with grooves cut... Could the groove be to wide? The string is 13gauge plain steel. Tuned to open g

        CLOCKWORK said:
        Is it a disk or a rod piezo? Exactly how is it externally fixed? What gauge of strings and tuning? Does it have this same problem when played acoustically, or only when amped?
This reply was deleted.