Hello All,
I have been building CBGs for several years now, mostly acoustic. I have seen a few videos of people playing CBGs that have a small amplifier board, battery and speaker built in to the CBG. I would like to build one of those, Does anyone have any experience with this? I bought a couple of cheap LM386 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/330941303655?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_...) Amplifier boards on eBay but I'm not too sure if a piezo can put out a strong enough signal to use with it and also, what size and type of speaker works well with this type of setup?
Any input on this would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Chuck
I have been building CBGs for several years now, mostly acoustic. I have seen a few videos of people playing CBGs that have a small amplifier board, battery and speaker built in to the CBG. I would like to build one of those, Does anyone have any experience with this? I bought a couple of cheap LM386 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/330941303655?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_...) Amplifier boards on eBay but I'm not too sure if a piezo can put out a strong enough signal to use with it and also, what size and type of speaker works well with this type of setup?
Any input on this would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Chuck
Replies
What sort of a pickup (or pickups) are you using?
I'm a newbie, so I suppose this is part an answer to your question and part hijack...
:)
As I understand it, piezo pickups (regardless of type) really require a preamp. This can be quite small and simple. CB Gitty sells one like this: http://www.cbgitty.com/cigar-box-guitar-parts/cool-in-line-pre-amp-... This is not the same as the controls on the side of the box amp that you might be referring to, but I wanted to mention it.
People on cigarboxnation have mentioned the Tillman amp design, which appears to be so simple to build it is mighty tempting to try that for an on-board piezo pre-amp. I haven't see anyone who has demonstrated one at work, but (as I said) I'm a newbie and haven't yet explored all the nooks and crannies around here. Here are some links on the Tillman amp design:
Don Tillman design: http://www.till.com/articles/GuitarPreamp/
http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=110330
http://www.hawestv.com/amp_projects/fet_preamp/fetpreamp3.htm
My name is Roy
From Houston Texas
I'm new here and wondering if you can help me with a cb amp project
I'm using LM386 chip
My first build too. I have already built a few electric guitars, tele and Gretsch. So I do know a little about builds and electronics, I was wondering you could help find a easy schematic to start from scratch
I have all electronic components and breadboard to bench test
I have already been to few websites and tried a few without success
All have been failures
Your help will be much appreciated
With thanks
Roy from Texas
Nice to meet you Roy,
To be totally honest, it is hard to beat the LM386 amplifier boards on ebay. Here is a link to one of the sellers with free shipping:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121152827073?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_...
I have had good success with these boards. They are already complete, all you need to do is supply power (9 to 16 volts), input sig from piezo or pickup, and wire the output wires to your speaker. It is really simple and most of the work is done for you. There are several sellers on ebay offering them for sale, some have free shipping, etc, look around for the best deal. The only bad thing is they ship from China and take a couple of weeks for delivery.
I hope this helps. Good luck,
Chuck
Thanks for the heads-up on those amp boards. I am working on building a guitar case with an integrated amp and pedal board, I think this will be just the ticket!
Hi Chuck,
I've done it a few times - I am having problems getting the search function to work but from an old thread over at the clubhouse there are some CBG's showing it http://handmademusicclubhouse.com/forum/topics/mounting-a-minty-amp...
I find the LM386 circuits work well with magnetic pickups by giving a nice meaty overdrive sound with the volume up. With a piezo disc it means you get very little increase in volume before you get feedback. Trying to get a clean sound with a magnetic is possible but the trade off is very low volume.
More recently I came to the conclusion that due to volume limitations the main use is for me to hear rather than a room full of people (as I said above it does give a nice electric overdrive) so now put them in the side so they face me in the playing position.
Also if you run the signal through a preamp first it does give a superior sound.
You can now get preamp/headphone amps (like they use on the "silent" guitars) off ebay and they give a nice sound - I used classical strings on this one and 2 piezo discs (the kit comes with a plug in rod with in a saddle if you prefer) so I can strum away without disturbing the family http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Belcat-HS-1000F-Preamp-EQ-For-Aria-Silent...
If I can be of any help please feel free to ask.
Regards,
David
I tried one with an onboard amp, but I ended up with so much feedback as to make the whole thing pretty much worthless. How did you avoid the feedback.
Wow, it looks like you put a lot into this project! Very nice job it looks great. Thanks very much for the info with pics it gives me a much better idea about what is needed to do this build. As with most projects there is much more to it than I initially thought but I think it is something I would enjoy building.
Thanks!
Chuck
Chuck, I drive a 2x8 cab with that module, Piezo works ok. I assume try to fit the biggest speaker you can into your CBG.