Piezo pickup used onstage

Bluesheart March 29, 2011 at 10:31pm

Magnetic pick up will not sound like a resonator anymore. I agree with others here that plugging those holes will fix most of it, and the preamp should put the icing on the cake.

Mark Bliss March 29, 2011 at 1:57pm

Micing an acoustic has its own challenges with setup, preventing feedback and so forth. Thats why this has become an interesting discussion to me.

I kind of see this discussion as becoming general advise on amping difficult instruments Brian, not just about your particular situation, but perhaps help for anyone in a similar situation.

There are obviously some guys who have figured out how to make the piezos work pretty well when amped and played loud. The Pinecone Fletcher "king of the blues" contest video for example. While its not a reso, those guys have obviously figured something out. That thing wails! Others have done it too. Shane recently raved about the change to a piezo rod, but I think he does some mag pup stuff too.

So what about it guys? I simply cant accept the "cant be done" answers. This heres a challenge!

Brian "Pork Pie" Anderson March 29, 2011 at 9:41am

True and I think mic'ing it you really lose the slide sound from the piezo. I made a sewing machine bobbin pickup last night so I will see how it sounds this weekend.

Don Thompson said:

A magnetic pickup will only sense the movement of the strings. There will very little if any reso sound.

Don

Brian "Pork Pie" Anderson March 29, 2011 at 9:38am

Yea Jef is right, I did not really build it with the stage in mind. I am building a new one with a mag pickup. I do appreciate all the feedback.

Brian

Jef Long said:

i think you guys are all overlooking that the piezo is in the biscuit, which is bolted onto the cone..

how is muffling the air inside the box going to help ? the cone is singing with the strings. The biscuit with the cone..

think about it

mic it up dude. Or put a mag pup in. or both

Chester Winowiecki said:

Brian,

Just wanted to tell you about another potential solution for you (and others):

I was messing around with a cookie tin three stringer today (with piezo attached to the underside of the tin top) and plugged it in to a Big Muff Pi and then into my amp with predictably insane amounts of feedback. I was thinking about the feedback and ways to dampen it and grabbed a piece of bubble wrap and stuffed it inside the tin. It pretty much filled it up without pushing on the top too much. This really tamed the feedback....I could stand right in front of the amp at a decent volume with the distortion/gain up to max and had only the slightest feedback. On CBGs that can be opened this is a really fast and easy fix that you can adjust and can be removed later for the best acoustic sound.

Anyway, hope this can help you or someone else...

Don Thompson March 29, 2011 at 8:29am

A magnetic pickup will only sense the movement of the strings. There will very little if any reso sound.

Don

Mark Bliss March 29, 2011 at 7:36am

Having no experience with resonators, I have to ask, how much if any of the desireable resonator sound is lost if you go to a mag p/u?

It seems to me that to make the most of the resonator sound, you would want to capture the sound of the cone or biscuit area, therefore it would be desireable to make a piezo mounted in either position work in a managable way, if at all possible. I know there are commercially available piezo kits made to be mounted on the cone of resonators.

This part is highly sensitive, so it might be tricky, but with proper mounting, quality componenets, a good preamp, and caution as to exposure to the amps or monitors...... Might something work?

Chester Winowiecki March 28, 2011 at 9:57pm

jef, I agree with you mostly, but as you say, the piezo is in the biscuit so the cone is not contributing a whole lot to the amped tone. With that in mind, if you stuff the box with the stuffing touching and damping the cone you should be able to get a louder amped volume before feedback. If the feedback is being caused by the air moving the cone, moving the biscuit moving the piezo, then if you dampen the cone this should work. The key is the damping of the cone. In my case the bubble wrap is touching and damping the top (bottom) of the cookie tin and keeping it from being moved by the air, maybe I should have made that more clear.

Jef Long said:

i think you guys are all overlooking that the piezo is in the biscuit, which is bolted onto the cone..

how is muffling the air inside the box going to help ? the cone is singing with the strings. The biscuit with the cone..

think about it

mic it up dude. Or put a mag pup in. or both

Chester Winowiecki said:

Brian,

Just wanted to tell you about another potential solution for you (and others):

I was messing around with a cookie tin three stringer today (with piezo attached to the underside of the tin top) and plugged it in to a Big Muff Pi and then into my amp with predictably insane amounts of feedback. I was thinking about the feedback and ways to dampen it and grabbed a piece of bubble wrap and stuffed it inside the tin. It pretty much filled it up without pushing on the top too much. This really tamed the feedback....I could stand right in front of the amp at a decent volume with the distortion/gain up to max and had only the slightest feedback. On CBGs that can be opened this is a really fast and easy fix that you can adjust and can be removed later for the best acoustic sound.

Anyway, hope this can help you or someone else...

Wichita Sam March 28, 2011 at 9:52pm

beer or chips or hershey kiss or .... or... We used to say "Welcome to your new addiction." Surrender and enjoy.

Glad you got your wiring issue sorted out.... take some pics... let's see. first builds are soooo fun. so are 2nd's and 3rds and 4ths and ... and ... and....

the best,

Wichita Sam

ernie said:

thanks. not too good with this computer stuff. as for my problem, got it. builder error. rechecked my connections on jack and realized i had soldered to wrong tab. anyway, she sounds really cool, and i'm addicted. i'll be using this site for ideas and hopefully will have something helpful to say now and then. you can't stop at just one, sorta like beer

Wichita Sam said:
Hi Ernie,

At the bottom of the forum section on the home page there is a "Start Discussion" link. You can start a unique discussion that way. otherwise, just log into one of the groups (basic building, pickups, the beginners club) and just ask your question. (You usually have to join each group by clicking the "join group" button before you can post).

Now about your question, if you're using a second hand pup, first check the resistance with a continuity tester. That way you know it's not doa before you spend the time wiring it up. Second, always swap guitar cords, they have a nasty way of going dead, just as you are checking new gear. If your pup and cord is good, then it is either your wiring job or your amp. Assuming the amp is good, backup and resolder everything.....

that should get you going,

the best,

Wichita Sam

ernie March 28, 2011 at 9:04pm

thanks. not too good with this computer stuff. as for my problem, got it. builder error. rechecked my connections on jack and realized i had soldered to wrong tab. anyway, she sounds really cool, and i'm addicted. i'll be using this site for ideas and hopefully will have something helpful to say now and then. you can't stop at just one, sorta like beer

Wichita Sam said:

Hi Ernie,

At the bottom of the forum section on the home page there is a "Start Discussion" link. You can start a unique discussion that way. otherwise, just log into one of the groups (basic building, pickups, the beginners club) and just ask your question. (You usually have to join each group by clicking the "join group" button before you can post).

Now about your question, if you're using a second hand pup, first check the resistance with a continuity tester. That way you know it's not doa before you spend the time wiring it up. Second, always swap guitar cords, they have a nasty way of going dead, just as you are checking new gear. If your pup and cord is good, then it is either your wiring job or your amp. Assuming the amp is good, backup and resolder everything.....

that should get you going,

the best,

Wichita Sam

The Phrygian Kid March 28, 2011 at 8:07pm

i think you guys are all overlooking that the piezo is in the biscuit, which is bolted onto the cone..

how is muffling the air inside the box going to help ? the cone is singing with the strings. The biscuit with the cone..

think about it

mic it up dude. Or put a mag pup in. or both

Chester Winowiecki said:

Brian,

Just wanted to tell you about another potential solution for you (and others):

I was messing around with a cookie tin three stringer today (with piezo attached to the underside of the tin top) and plugged it in to a Big Muff Pi and then into my amp with predictably insane amounts of feedback. I was thinking about the feedback and ways to dampen it and grabbed a piece of bubble wrap and stuffed it inside the tin. It pretty much filled it up without pushing on the top too much. This really tamed the feedback....I could stand right in front of the amp at a decent volume with the distortion/gain up to max and had only the slightest feedback. On CBGs that can be opened this is a really fast and easy fix that you can adjust and can be removed later for the best acoustic sound.

Anyway, hope this can help you or someone else...

Forums

Piezo pickup used onstage

Replies