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Piezo Problems

Ok so, I'm really frustrated with my Muddy Waters/Little Walter build at the moment. I've got her all wrapped up except the pickups. I'm using two piezos through one volume pot. I watched videos on YouTube how to pot them into bottle caps and mount them. My problem is that I get almost no volume out of these. I notice that if I press down on the disc suddenly the volume is perfect. If I tap on the face of the cbg the knocking is loud. I thought about using CA glue (super glue) instead of hot glue thinking maybe it wouldn't dampen the piezo so much. I've moved it all around the inside of the box. Still the same thing. The piezo discs seem to only give me good output if I,m pressing directly on the back of them. I took one back out of the bottle cap and cut the glue away and tried it... Same thing. There's got to be a solution to this. Any ideas???? Please help!

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on September 12, 2015 at 11:09am

take them out of the bottle caps and try double stick tape...put a piece of tape against the underside of the lid- push the brass side against the tape- put another piece of double stick tape against the top side of the disc. You could also glue a piece of leather against the disc. I only use hot glue when I use disc`s in my carved saddle bridges. Never had any problems with hot glue on them.

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on September 12, 2015 at 11:14am

Carved saddle bridge...these are the only bridges I use the piezo disc`s in anymore..all my other bridges get the rod piezo in...easier installation and better sounding.

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Permalink Reply by Don Cook on September 12, 2015 at 11:19am

Thanks Randy! I'm going to give that a try tomorrow. Gotta head to the store for some tape.

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on September 12, 2015 at 12:07pm

Double stick tape works pretty good cause it`s just the right thickness to cut out some of those unwanted handling noises out.

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Permalink Reply by Don Cook on September 12, 2015 at 12:59pm

At first I'm thinking, could it be that the neck is glued to the underside of the box and deadening the vibration? But then I read that some say to put it right on the neck near the bridge. Well the neck is the most dense part of it. If that works then the top should be fine. When I press on the back of the piezo, the bass response is great and the volume increases greatly. I'll try the tap and see if that solves it. If not I may have to install a bracket that places pressure on the back of the pickup.

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Permalink Reply by Shawn on September 12, 2015 at 1:38pm

You got an air pocket under the disk between it and the cap. I did the same on my first one too. I now put a thin layer of hot glue down then press disk down with a wooden scrap and hold till it cools down all the way then top coat with hot glue and use aluminum foil to hold down glue and give it a smooth finish top. Hope this help on the next one. Yah that pressure thing through me as well till I took mine apart and found the void in the very center then I saw the light bulb.

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Permalink Reply by Don Cook on September 13, 2015 at 12:52am

Thanks Shawn! I'll give it another shot before I go with double sided tape. I hope it works. This guitar is ready to deliver except for the pickup problem right now. Thanks for the advice man!