I'm new to electronics, CBG's, everything, but I'm excited and willing to learn. I can wire a disk piezo to a 1/4" jack and volume pot successfully, but I am struggling with using the rod piezo's I got from C. B. Gitty. I have searched unsuccessfully for a wiring diagram dedicated to using these piezos. I have cut the tip off the lead and wired it to the volume pot, but still having trouble getting much sound out, and there is a disturbing hum. Can anybody tell me what I'm doing wrong, and maybe point me to a good diagram! Thanks out there!
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On the rod piezo wire after you cut the 1/8" plug off, fish the inner wire [ plastic coated one ] out of the wire braided one [ ground ] the most important thing is you want to get every strand of that braided wire together, twist it up and i apply a light coating of solder to hold it all together. Now with the hot wire i use a bic lighter to melt the plastic coating off the hot wire and apply a light coat of solder to that too. Now it`s ready for connecting to your other componets. Another trick i`ve learned with rods is it`s best to check that it`s working properly all through the stages of getting it ready for the final install into the bridge slot. I do this by having an input with alligator clips soldered on to the tabs, then i can attach it to the rod wires and run it through my cigar box amp and test it to make sure it`s working correctly. Nothing worse then installing a rod in a bridge , stringing up the build and having no sound!!
Thanks, Randy, helps a lot. What are you doing with the braided (ground) wire? Are you leaving it hanging out of the way, or are you grounding it somehow? And using the diagram above, I put the hot wire on the lug shown for the disk piezo, correct? Still not sure what to do with the ground wire. I wired the jack as shown above.
The braided wire from the rod gets soldered on the ground tab on the pot
OK, thanks for clearing that up. Big help!
Here is a diagram for that. It is a disc piezo, but they should wire up the same. I have not used a rod piezo yet, so I don't know if you have to be particular when you cut them or not.