Hello everyone, this is my first post here at CBN, although I've read through quite a few threads here.
Yesterday I decided to build some surface mount piezos for an archtop I have, the plan being to wire the output to the existing one so I could blend the transducers and the p90 already installed. My problem is while testing, ( soldered to its own output jack for test purposes) the pickups are VERY quiet, I had to turn my 40A tube amp up to 100% to get loud volumes out of them, they sounded fine but are unuseable due to this volume issue. Second test, I plugged them into a di box into garage band. Again way too quiet to be useable, even with all settings maxed. (not a good start) I used small disks inside on beer caps encased in silicone, audio cable from some old pedal connector cables, a 500k pot. Another test I did was to remove all insulation from the disk and I mounted it directly to the surface of the guit. louder. but still unuseable. Any sugestions? did I chose the wrong disks? wrong pot? any help could be VERY helpful on the matter. Thanks guys/gals.
Tags:
here is a photo of the pickup, (no insulation on the disks) and the disks I used, beside a dime for size ref. (10 cents canadain...)
Hope this pics work...
a disk piezo noisey i find ,maybe a rod piezo under the saddle be the way to go .
A rod piezo is the way forward.I`ve used them alongside single coil pickups with volume and tone pots to good effect.No issues with volume but I would certainly copper foil insulate.
It sounds quite odd as they usually but out quite a health signal and you usually ahve to dampen them abit
hot glue on the disk is good
Is there more than one pick up in there and how did you wire them ?
I guess they could be over damped
The closer to the bridge (where there is more downward pressure and string energy), the louder the piezo will get. Directly under the bridge or saddle would be the best spot.
An archtop bridge is a little different animal. I have an archtop I was experimenting with. I sandwiched two disc piezos in series between the saddle and the base with some cork. It seemed to work pretty well and be loud enough. You have to make the cork exactly the right height to allow some pressure on the discs. That particular archtop is acoustic, so I haven't tested putting it in a circuit with a regular pickup.
I was using typical Radio Shack piezos. Something that fits inside of a bottle cap sounds smaller than that? Where did you get the piezos?
Try a Tillman FET pre-amp. Google it for build instructions. You could either build it into the guitar (requires a 9v battery), or into a separate box, but in any case, blending with mag pickups may be difficult. You may want to consider a separate jack for the piezos to go to a separate amp channel.
hey folks thanks for the replys, I assumed (wrongly) that I didnt need a preamp,when using a firewire sound interface, as if that WAS the preamp. I will probably try and build a simple preamp next. These are my first builds, and Im having a fun time doing so. Also just curious, Ive seen acoustic guitar built in preamps, but as far as pedal preamps, is this one, I know its not the most reputable brand, but they are cheap. http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/ADI21.aspx, thanks again!
That wire doesn't look right. What guage is it. It seems way too thick. The right guage and material makes a difference.
the wire isnt really thick at all, its just the rubber insulation, they are pedal to pedal cords...
Have you tried de soldering the volume and testing the signal from just one of piezos ?
I would do this in this situation
Started by Rich Butters in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by BrianQ. 2 hours ago. 2 Replies 0 Likes
Started by J. D. Woods in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by BrianQ. 2 hours ago. 2 Replies 1 Like
Started by Nomad Jack in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by J. D. Woods yesterday. 7 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Moritz Voegeli in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray on Monday. 6 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Apr 10. 14 Replies 3 Likes
Started by Tom T in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 9. 9 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Southern Ray in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 4. 7 Replies 1 Like
Started by Timothy Hunter in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 27. 1 Reply 2 Likes
Started by Taffy Evans in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 10. 1 Reply 3 Likes
Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by BrianQ. Mar 9. 4 Replies 3 Likes
Started by Ghostbuttons in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 9. 5 Replies 1 Like
Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 8. 6 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Ken I in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Brian partington Mar 8. 8 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Southern Ray in Cool gear discussion - that's not cigar box related. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 6. 5 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Taffy Evans in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 5. 4 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Carl Floyd Mar 1. 15 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Joe in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Carl Floyd Feb 29. 13 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Chance in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 22. 12 Replies 1 Like
Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 21. 2 Replies 4 Likes
Started by Brad in Cool gear discussion - that's not cigar box related. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 19. 6 Replies 3 Likes
Posted by Vlad on March 31, 2024 at 11:48pm 0 Comments 1 Like
Posted by Vlad on March 6, 2024 at 2:32am 5 Comments 2 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 28, 2024 at 2:09pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 17, 2024 at 11:00pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by Vlad on February 11, 2024 at 1:06am 1 Comment 1 Like
May 11, 2024 from 11am to 8pm – Speakeasy Grill
0 Comments 0 Likes© 2024 Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker. Powered by
Cigar Box Nation is presented by C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply, your one-stop-shop for Cigar Box Guitar parts and accessories!