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Electric Porch?

So I was practicing some songs the other night with a tin guitar and my electric soda crate stomp box (with license plate stomping area), and while I like the sound of the stomper through a bass amp, keeping a foot on it puts me in a weird, unstable playing position. I'd rather be

So I'm kicking around the idea of building a section of electric porch, about the size of a shipping pallet, only sturdier and with slightly nicer boards. Then I'll put a piezo or two in strategic locations and wire 'em directly to an output jack. Then, when needed, I can stand on my little section of porch and stomp away.

I think somebody had something similar posted here back in 2012 or so, but I don't remember who.

Any and all suggestions are welcome, whether for making it sound decent or for making it sillier than it already will be. License plate(s) again? Multiple "hot" areas on it, or just one?

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Permalink Reply by Jim Woods on May 6, 2014 at 7:01am

What a great idea.

Now I have to stick a piezo on one of the bottom of a deck board. Just seeing the 1/4" jack coming out of the deck would be a scream. Next step has to be making a 4' x 4' amplified dance / stompin floor for my grandsons. My daughter will love me!!

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Permalink Reply by Cigar Box Gus on May 6, 2014 at 11:56am

Okay, here's where I show how much of a doofus I am on the building side of things (after two years): do larger piezo discs produce a stronger signal? Like those big honkin' ones from Radio Shack where you have to crack open the little plastic thing they're encased in?

I'm using a couple of the real small ones I got from CBGitty, and while this thing is sounding pretty OK, it just ain't loud enough.

(I guess that means I'm not too old, eh? Y'know, 'cause, like...if it's too loud...never mind...)

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on May 6, 2014 at 11:27pm

Have you looked into piezo film? Can be had in pretty much any size you want.

You can read a little about them at Experimental Musical Instruments

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on May 7, 2014 at 4:53pm

Buy 4 27 mm discs, hook em up in parallel. That's like, what, 3 Miller Lights, or one Chimay?

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on May 8, 2014 at 1:02am

Not a big fan of light beer here either.

I brew a beer that is pretty close to a Dusseldorf style altbier but with a touch of Cascade hops. Dark amber, malty, bitter, hint of citrus at the finish, very drinkable.

This isn't really thread drift since beer, music, and the porch are synonymous.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on May 8, 2014 at 7:24am

Not a fan of light beer at all, was merely a lowest common denominator reference point. I brewed a nice Alt last month; tomorrow, I'm thinking to brew a double IPA. Just a few minutes ago, I was at a friend's, getting ready for a recording session on Saturday, and had a coupla nice homemade stouts.

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on May 8, 2014 at 8:34am

Love IPA, I brew it frequently. I did a dark 2x IPA 3 months ago that came out surprisingly well...guess I should call it an IDA? LOL

Have you tried making a smoked porter yet?

If you ever land in Birmingham, Al and have a layover hit Good People Brewing Company, it's just around the corner from the airport, and try the Snake Handler IPA. It's good on tap but don't waste your time buying it in the can. I try to stop in every time I go through there. Usually some live music going on too.

Permalink Reply by robert jones on May 8, 2014 at 12:49am

I linked to that site so you could read information on the use of film piezos as musical transducers as a possible alternative.

A quick internet search will show that prices are quite reasonable if you shop wisely.

But if you want to try one and you're really really cheap get yourself a razor blade and scrape one off the window at a place that has a monitored alarm system, piezo film vibration sensors being a very common item. :D

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on May 8, 2014 at 1:22am

Here I used a film piezo on my whiskey box bowed dulci, decent sound.

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on May 8, 2014 at 9:12am

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/whiskey-box-bowed-dulci?context...

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Permalink Reply by Cigar Box Gus on May 7, 2014 at 11:40am

Okay, so I guess the adhesive just took way longer than normal to cure, because my problems with it not transferring enough sound to the amp are gone today. This sucker is LIVELY. If I had a decent-sized bass amp to run it through, it would probably just about pick up your thoughts.

It also sounds nice acoustically, though you have to hit it a lot harder.

One other problem presented itself today, though: while the box will produce a nice sound with a very small foot movement, on certain songs it's almost impossible to not get real into it and start stomping with one leg going way up in the air, or alternating both in some kind of exaggerated march. And I'm not in good enough physical shape to hang. I was laid up a few times over the winter and it got me out of the habit of at least taking a little treadmill walk a few times a week. So when I play the Electric Porch, I get winded if I play an uptempo number and start having too much fun. Nothing wrecks your performance cred like hitting on an inhaler.

Guess I gotta work on that next.

Oh well, at least it ain't the wiring.