I have an Artec 'soap bar' bass humbucker for this. It's a passive unit - to my mind, not wildly different in theory to a piezo, if wired straight through to a jack without pots. Yes, I know the difference, really! Impedance matching, being our problem from an electrical POV...
But. I have a good, cheap active pre-amp and EQ unit, designed to run an under-bridge piezo for Guitar.
What's my likely result, if I were to wire my Pickup down to a mini-jack, and plug her into this 9v preamp? Am I stupid or just crazy? :-)
I'd just test wire the thing myself, but I don't have all the parts together and strung in any meaningful fashion, at this point. If it won't work out, I don't want to punch a hole in the violin ribs for the box-unit.
If it does work - from the input of those more experienced on this forum - then I am excited to start!
Thanks all
You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!
Replies
I just watched your December clip - I think I got my (positive) anwer from this. I compensated for little laptop speakers - they drop all low-end.
All the best,
-- Jeremiah
David Lloyd said:
Thank you for the link - I'll have a look later when the kids are in bed.
The magnetic pickups are minihumbuckers with a resistance of around 11k. It has been a while since I played it (too many guitar projects on the go) so I'll have to have a play to check out the sound - what are you especially interested in (eg humbucker at different tone levels)? If you let me know I can do a video clip over the next couple of days if that would be of any help.
Regards,
David
Good God Almighty! That's Franken-Tastic! Thanks for sharing your experience, and your great pictures! You built the real, ideal busking machine, with the onboard speakers.
You have me thinking, now, with the mixed piezo/coil setup. I don't think it'll go on this bass - but probably my next box... I am currently finishing a 30' cigar box bass, starting the violin - and annoying my wife. Still, I see another guitar on the horizon.
Impedance? You took care of that with your pre-amp! The Takamine is designed to handle the need of the piezo for this, as a buffer amp. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_amplifier
What is interesting to me, is that the single-coils also work in your setup. I was unsure that their low, internal resistance, wouldn't just result in being lowered further by this.
The coils output OK, I'm guessing? How is your bass from them? Can she sound "fat"?
What do I hope to achieve? HA! A weird Bass!
Seriously, I like having the tone and volume on a little console - the body is small as it is. Traditional pots sticking up from the lower bout would be crowded, and bracing them from beneath would really crimp the movement of the soundboard.
I have dorked around on basses with active electronics, in the past. I get real happy with an EQ that can be fiddled to sound "right" or "passable" on whatever amp is available - even guitar amps. My experience is also that these little pre-amps sound cleaner than a pot with a cap.
Here is a video of the sounds you get http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/comparing-cbg-pickups If you are going to do this have you thought of adding a 3way switch and piezos? If you know about impedance matching could you explain it to me please? I have read various bits on the www where this is stated as to why magnetic pickups and piezos cannot be used together - yet clearly they can be. I look forward to photos of the project. Regards, DavidThe humbucker you have is perfectly OK as it is for connecting into an amp...I don't really see the point in fiddling around with a preamp.