Which way works the best for building a license plate guitar. Is it better to put a full sound board on the top to mount the L. plate, or is a perimeter frame better, maybe with some bracing for the bridge? Also, do piezos work well on these builds. I don' t want to cut into the plate for a pup. This will be a birthday present for my son, he is a big Dallas Cowboys fan, and that is what the plate will be, but there isn't a good place on the plate to cut it for a pup without ruining the look of the plate. If you guys have any other suggestions for a good pup on a build like this, I'm all ears.
Thanks,
Bill
Replies
On my 1st one I used an external pup glued in place. I lacked the confidence to get the hole smooth in metal. I can always solder the wire to a jack, but have not done so yet. I was told that piezos did not perform well on LPG's, but others have differing opinions. The box is a frame crafted from old pallet wood.
I am knee deep on my 2nd LPG. This time using an electric pup and a frame crafted from leftover oak tongue and groove flooring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOJuW5aRt0Q
Duel Piezo discs wired in series... Wired this thing up just like a "normal" CBG (simple volume to the jack). I think she sounds pretty good (even better with a preamp dialed in.
Here's the box construction and neck,twin piezo's under the bridge
Post pics when you make some progress!
Looks like you and I are on the same page. What did you use for a pup?
Sorry Bill, I forgot to add...A piezo should work well mounted to the back of the plate under the bridge if that's how you end up going with it.
In the very top right corner of this page next to the sign out tab there is a search box. type in "pickup on license plate" and you will get many pages of references to postings on how to do it. I haven't built a license plate (yet), but I recall someone mounting the mag pup behind the plate and letting it pick up the movement from the back side of the plate. I would think that this would only work if the plate was steel. As for having a sound board or bracing on the back side of the plate, that would probably defeat the purpose of having the plate as a resonator and could cause buzzing as the plate vibrated against the wood. Get your beverage of choice and enjoy the research. Have fun with the build.
" I recall someone mounting the mag pup behind the plate and letting it pick up the movement from the back side of the plate. I would think that this would only work if the plate was steel."
I think this was the Phrygian Kid. He also recommended using acoustic strings as they helped get the plate moving. I've got that setup going right now. Hopefully, I'll get the under-plate mag pup mounted soon so I can post some sound samples.
This works well in that I have done this with most (if not all) of my lunch box guitar builds. Fair warning though... the entire top becomes a pickup. It acts very much like a piezo (as far as being touch sensitive).
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next