Hi all. I want to put a piezo with pre-amp, along with a magnetic pickup and three way switch on my latest build and I've got a couple of questions...
Should I wire the pre-amp directly after the piezo or doesn't it matter. I'm just wondering if putting it before the tone pot would improve the function of the tone pot as I've noticed people here say it doesn't have much effect on a piezo. I also don't see the point in sending the magnetic pickup through the pre-amp (or doesn't this matter either?).
Also, can anyone give me any hints on how I can get the pre-amp to switch on when I plug it in by using a stereo socket? I've seen it mentioned but can't find any more detail on how's best to wire it.
I've never added a pre-amp before so I'm curious about how it's going to affect the sound. I quite like the honky sound of an unamped piezo. Does a pre-amp affect the tone to a great degree (I wind magnetic pups to put on mine for when I want a more guitar-like tone anyway) and, if so, has anyone considered putting a switch on to turn the pre-amp on and off?
Thanks for any advice.
Replies
ok ignore me, I should have looked at your drawing first. That seems to cover it nicely. I'll report back on how I get on.
Thanks again.
I just must add that I'm more than happy with my blend pot. Some people don't like em but I love it. Usually I play with ca 60 percent humbucker, 40piezo giving the sound some nice dirt to it. On my project I ended up with using a on/of/on switch because I was not sure how the circuit would work and I wanted to be able to totally disconnect the piezo part. It wasn't necessary I found out. A on/on switch is enough ( as I made it in my drawing). Note that when u disconnect the preamp you also direct the piezo directly to the blendpot so that you can play piezo without the preamp. Why I have the 250k tone pot is just because they were out of 500k pots in the store. Don't know if a 500k would work better, you'll have to examine that part for yourself. However I'm pleased with how my set up works. All grounding wires I connected to a piece of strip board then to the jack. I'm just a rookie so beware. Don't take my words to seriously but my schematic worked fine for me and I hope it will for you as well (if you decide to use it). Also remember that the preamp in and out are mixed up in my drawing!
Good luck with your wiring!
/Emlas
Thanks for that. I'll have a look. Where did you wire the on/off switch? Is it just wired between the amp and battery compartment?
Hello Calla,
I set up something similar on my latest build. Its a four string diddleysteel with one piezo pup with preamp and one humbucker. Instead of a switch i have a blendpot and I´ve got a on/of switch to my preamp. The preamp is wired directly after the piezo. On my build the tonepot doesnt effect the piezo very much even with the preamp active. No big difference in sound but in order to make the magpup and piezo to mix you need to preamp the signal from the piezo. Otherwise the piezo signal will be to weak. At least thats what I´ve experienced on my build. Have a look at my schematic under Please help me with my piezo-blend-magpup schematics. I have an attachment there somewhere with my circuit. Just note that theres a fault in the schematic. As I recall now, The IN and OUT on the preamp shall be the other way round.
/Emlas