I building a bass :)....What size piezo do I need?...I was thinking...Yes! It hurt at time...A larger piezo would give a better bass sound...
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I building a bass :)....What size piezo do I need?...I was thinking...Yes! It hurt at time...A larger piezo would give a better bass sound...
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This bass uses one of my Tesla Transducer piezo pickups as the bridge with a brass rod as the saddle.
Agree with the earlier comments about the piezo's size not making much if any audible difference when used as a pickup.
The only real problem IMHO with piezos is that they can sound harsh and/or muddy with low frequencies unless you use an active preamp or buffer with them. But maybe that's just me and my admittedly aging ears.
If you do want to do an active circuit, check out this page for schematics and parts plus a video of one very nice circuit. This one doesn't use an op amp so it has a slightly higher part count than some - but it's still cheap enough to put together. And I think it sounds nicer than your average op amp circuit - but again, maybe that's just me.
Another good sounding non-op amp buffer circuit can be found here.
Still experimenting with the Piezos.
Sometimes I stick 'em straight to the lid but usually sandwich them in thin Balsa Wood. One I sandwiched in thin
1/8th inch thick foam.
Building my 1st 3 string Bass at the moment and would welcome advice on Padding and position for the piezo.
Somebody here earlier encased them in rubber using one of those dipping solutions you get at a hardware store that are for putting a rubber coating on the handles of hand tools. He said he thought it helped.
As for positioning, it's wholly subjective. The two most useful spots for pickup placement on a bass are in the vicinity of the bridge (try directly under and to the left and right sides with a piezo); and in the "sweet spot" which is somewhere around the midpoint between the 12th fret and the bridge. The actual position depends upon the pickup and strings being used. But there is usually one placement position somewhere close to the midpoint where your instrument will sound noticeably "better." That's your sweet spot.
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I've done a lot of experiments with piezos as part of developing my line of pickups. I didn't find any real difference in output based on size, even when cutting a small part of a disk and using it. Size makes a difference when using it as an output device like a buzzer or speaker.
I embedded a 20mm in the bridge on one I built. it had a very warm, full sound. The next one I made I used a rod piezo with a bone saddle and it went to a preamp- also sounds good. Both were wired straight to the jack.
I guess a large one would be fine. I used a small one on a 3/4 size double bass and that sounded great. You could also use an under saddle bass pick up. They work well as well as anything.
The piezo positioning seems to be the important thing so experiment with its location.