A few years ago I had the chance to play with the great Louisiana Red. He had a preamp someone had given him that was mounted in a Marlboro pack. Does anyone have a 9V powered preamp circuit that could possibly fit in similarly small package like an Altoids tin? There's a good preamp circuit in Craig Anderton's book "Electronics Projects For Musicians", but it seems too big to be practical in a package that small. Can anybody help me out.
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I think your preamp and my preamp are the same, just the transistor is different?
Mark Vickroid said:
Well, I guess I'll have to tweak the resistors a little for the MPF102 then.. Or one could use McMaster Carr to order the proper transistor.. Or course, then it wouldn't be RatShack friendly anymore, would it?
Well, I guess I'll have to tweak the resistors a little for the MPF102 then..
Or one could use McMaster Carr to order the proper transistor..
Or course, then it wouldn't be RatShack friendly anymore, would it?
there's the main msg. it's got pics and everything
Parts list [everything avaliable at rat shack]
> 2N3819 FET transistor [the round thing in the middle]
> a FET has source gate and drain. Look it up, it's important you get
> those connections right.
> 56k 1/4 watt resistor
> 10meg 1/4 watt resistor
> 22k 1/4 watt resistor
> 10uf capacitor, polar [electrolytic]
> .1uf capacitor, nonpolar [ceramic]
> 9volt battery and clip
> 1/4" mono jack
>
> wire the red wire from your piezo to the gate [middle] of the FET
> wire the black wire to a common ground point
> wire the 10meg resistor from the gate to ground
> wire the 22k resistor and the 10uf capacitor together in paralell as
> shown. Wire this assembly so the + side of the capacitor is wired to
> the source [look at the diagram on the transistor package to determine
> which is source] and the other side is wired to the common ground.
> Wire the red side of the 9v clip to the 56k resistor and the other
> side of the resistor to the drain
> wire the black wire of the 9v clip to the ground point.
> wire one side of the .1uf capacitor to the drain, and the other side
> to the tip of your output jack. Wire the ring to the common ground.
>
> This circuit provides unity gain, with no controls, but as I said, its
> as simple as it gets and it will really improve the sound of your
> piezo pickups.
>
> You MUST use the parts and values specified, as the circuit was
> optimized to use those components with that FET.
>
> good luck, let me know if you have any questions
>
Check my website, www.fuzzboxworld.com for a pre-amp kit specifically designed for CBG's and will fit in an Altoids tin. Don't feel like building one yourself, email me and make me an offer and I might just build it for you!
there's the main msg. it's got pics and everything
Parts list [everything avaliable at rat shack]
> 2N3819 FET transistor [the round thing in the middle]
> a FET has source gate and drain. Look it up, it's important you get
> those connections right.
> 56k 1/4 watt resistor
> 10meg 1/4 watt resistor
> 22k 1/4 watt resistor
> 10uf capacitor, polar [electrolytic]
> .1uf capacitor, nonpolar [ceramic]
> 9volt battery and clip
> 1/4" mono jack
>
> wire the red wire from your piezo to the gate [middle] of the FET
> wire the black wire to a common ground point
> wire the 10meg resistor from the gate to ground
> wire the 22k resistor and the 10uf capacitor together in paralell as
> shown. Wire this assembly so the + side of the capacitor is wired to
> the source [look at the diagram on the transistor package to determine
> which is source] and the other side is wired to the common ground.
> Wire the red side of the 9v clip to the 56k resistor and the other
> side of the resistor to the drain
> wire the black wire of the 9v clip to the ground point.
> wire one side of the .1uf capacitor to the drain, and the other side
> to the tip of your output jack. Wire the ring to the common ground.
>
> This circuit provides unity gain, with no controls, but as I said, its
> as simple as it gets and it will really improve the sound of your
> piezo pickups.
>
> You MUST use the parts and values specified, as the circuit was
> optimized to use those components with that FET.
>
> good luck, let me know if you have any questions
>
I posted detailed instructions for a < $10 preamp I called a rat-shack preamp at the old place. someone even made a stripboard layout. lemmie see if I can find it real quick..
Pat Cook shot me this comment to my page after trying to post it here. The picture in the link actually shows the curcuit mounted in an Altoids tin. Here is his comment:
Howdy Bob,
I tried to post this in the "It goes to 11" group, but it won't let me join for some reason. So here is a link to a piezo preamp/buffer in an altoid box. http://www.scotthelmke.com/Mint-box-buffer.html
Have a good one, Pat.
My family is the other way around. i am the son and i build amps and effects, and my parents don't really want me building electrical circuits because they know nothing about electrical stuff, and they're afraid of me being electricuted.
Thanks. This is a good simple and cheap amplifier circuit. It's hard to beat op-amps for audio applications, but I'm actually looking for a preamp that would go in between the CBG and an amp or PA to give it a more reliable sound. When I play my CBGs out, I'm usually at the mercy of the house PA and most sound guys/open mic emcees don't want to get too adventurous when they see the CBG.
This could probably be used as a preamp with a minimum of modifications. Would the output of the amp still be considered a low-level signal or would it be line level? Anyhow I'll try it out. My son's been bugging me for a homemade amp anyway.
Thanks.
Replies
Mark Vickroid said:
Or one could use McMaster Carr to order the proper transistor..
Or course, then it wouldn't be RatShack friendly anymore, would it?
Mark Vickroid said:
there's the main msg. it's got pics and everything
Parts list [everything avaliable at rat shack]
> 2N3819 FET transistor [the round thing in the middle]
> a FET has source gate and drain. Look it up, it's important you get
> those connections right.
> 56k 1/4 watt resistor
> 10meg 1/4 watt resistor
> 22k 1/4 watt resistor
> 10uf capacitor, polar [electrolytic]
> .1uf capacitor, nonpolar [ceramic]
> 9volt battery and clip
> 1/4" mono jack
>
> wire the red wire from your piezo to the gate [middle] of the FET
> wire the black wire to a common ground point
> wire the 10meg resistor from the gate to ground
> wire the 22k resistor and the 10uf capacitor together in paralell as
> shown. Wire this assembly so the + side of the capacitor is wired to
> the source [look at the diagram on the transistor package to determine
> which is source] and the other side is wired to the common ground.
> Wire the red side of the 9v clip to the 56k resistor and the other
> side of the resistor to the drain
> wire the black wire of the 9v clip to the ground point.
> wire one side of the .1uf capacitor to the drain, and the other side
> to the tip of your output jack. Wire the ring to the common ground.
>
> This circuit provides unity gain, with no controls, but as I said, its
> as simple as it gets and it will really improve the sound of your
> piezo pickups.
>
> You MUST use the parts and values specified, as the circuit was
> optimized to use those components with that FET.
>
> good luck, let me know if you have any questions
>
Howdy Bob,
I tried to post this in the "It goes to 11" group, but it won't let me join for some reason. So here is a link to a piezo preamp/buffer in an altoid box.
http://www.scotthelmke.com/Mint-box-buffer.html
Have a good one, Pat.
to fit into anything you wanna put it into.
SimplePreAmp.gif
My family is the other way around. i am the son and i build amps and effects, and my parents don't really want me building electrical circuits because they know nothing about electrical stuff, and they're afraid of me being electricuted.
This could probably be used as a preamp with a minimum of modifications. Would the output of the amp still be considered a low-level signal or would it be line level? Anyhow I'll try it out. My son's been bugging me for a homemade amp anyway.
Thanks.
Anybody else have any ideas for a compact preamp?
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