Hello everyone, i'm currently having a battle with my first build.
i have tried mounting piezo pickups in several places but i cant seem
to get rid off the exsessive handling noise. the body is made of powder coated metal
and a table leg runs through it keeping the neck in place.
so, if you all could give tips, advice and succestions how to
make the darn thing sound better.
thanx
Replies
Full details of my crazy electronics are in the build thread comments: http://www.cigarboxnation.com/profiles/blogs/rough-cuts-and-adjusta...
Mostly designed by experiment rather than any knowledge of what I was doing :)
okay, i've finally settled with something... after ten different caps and discs i now have
a 2cm brass piezo between two pieces of cork, cut from a wine bottle
sandwiched between the soundboard and the tableleg by a lid from an old class container
and a lid from a moustache wax tin.
it sounds good, with as much handling noise you would get recording with a dynamic mic.
demonstration coming soon(ish).
the output level seems to increase soon as i clue/tape/what ever the thing to its place, maybe because less resonation?
IMG_20160412_214959.jpg
piezo signal strength is in direct proportion to how solidly the vibrations are conducted to the crystal layer of the disk.
that would make sense, but WHY does it work the opposite.
i am puzzled.....
i have found that taking a "plastic water bottle cap" and hot glueing over the top of the piezo (creating an air gap) helps.
another option is to see the "unwanted noise" in a different way : - ) http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/unwanted-noise
If you wire 2 in serial, they might cancel out the high frequencies. Since your box is metal I guess it's the high freq that are problematic. Also, make sure your lid is firmly attached. If it's moving about a bit then it might not be a piezo problem at all.
hmmm, for some reason two piezos both in series and parallel cut only volume, i added a third one
and that made things a bit better. still had a load of handling noise, though.
so i rewired the whole damn thing just to be sure. now i have one stainless steel piezo,
it's quite a bit hotter, but the handling noise somehow has'nt increased as much as one would expect. so i'll try to find a good spot for it now. we'll see what happens...
and as for the lid i have window sealing tape keeping it in place :)
Good luck. Let us know how it comes along as good tips travel well.