Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Order99 on December 13, 2015 at 6:15pm

  I've done mostly semi-resonator builds myself (candy dish lid or paint can lid)- I usually just press the piezo between two 1mm birch strips and wood glue (the round ones that come in Dollar Tree's 1$ window alarms) and then glue it just beyond the rim of the lid and barely touching same. So far i've got the sound I wanted from it.

 I do plan a more ambitious build in the future- a lidless metal rectangular tin lodged inside an equally lidless cedar box with a neck. The tin will be suspended 1/4 inch above the back of the box (hopefully resulting in a slight pressure wave hitting the cedar and funnelling out the sides) with small cedar divots...my piezo insert will be one of those divots. I'll try and let you know if it works once i'm done...

 I see no problem with a rod piezo in the bridge-or even as the bridge-as long as you don;t mind the visible wiring...I doubt you would want to drill a hole in your lovely bowl after all.

  With my earliest builds, I attached my piezo-and birch pickup at various spots using hospital-grade cloth tape...not only would it stay where I put it but I could relocate the pup at will and play around with it a bit, then either leave it taped for months at a time or finally pick my spot and glue it down.

  Best of luck with the build, BTW.

Permalink Reply by Michael Hagen on December 14, 2015 at 1:37am

Order99: Large new selection of holiday-themed tin boxes at Dollar Tree. Six sizes.

Bad news: They no longer sell the steel dog dishes (ceramic now). But I found one for $1.49 at a non-chain dollar-plus store. It has doggie paws embossed around the outside,

In your new build idea, is the tin box nested in the wood box with the lidless side facing in or out? If out, how does the bridge work? And how is the inner box floated? Intrigued...

Permalink Reply by Order99 on December 14, 2015 at 3:44pm

 Re the future build-the tin box will be facing out, open side facing the cigar box back and suspended with friction and spacers. Bridge will be floating across the tin,

 It may be my imagination, but for some reason the older candy boxes seem to have a better tone than the new Dollar Tree ones-and if I want a decent Dog bowl I can still try Ebay, even if it steps on the toes of my 'found objects' philosophy (which is also the reason I haven't purchased a manufactured resonator yet...

Permalink Reply by Al Williams on December 15, 2015 at 1:15pm

The small stainless pet bowls in various sizes from about 4 1/4" diameter upwards are still available on Ebay from China for around $2 US, free postage. Seller;  'abala.coco'. Type in Stainless pet bowl.

Permalink Reply by Jittery Jay on December 14, 2015 at 2:36am

I've done a few dog dish resonators, only did one with a piezo for a reason, they're a pain in the neck.  I spent over an hour taping the piezo to different places trying to get a sound that wasn't over modulated in itself not to mention the bowl picks up every sound within 10 feet of the guitar...loudly.

In the end I attached it off the bowl entirely somewhere between the two sound holes directly to the box using a silicone glue to cushion the sound transmission through the body.  Tried this on the bowl, but the silicone muted the resonance and you lost that bright twang sound.   I've since stuck with standard coil pickups and had great success   

Permalink Reply by Al Williams on December 14, 2015 at 1:39pm

My current build, a double resonator, license plate and cat bowl. Photo 1; the guts, with 2 Piezo pups, hot glued into beer bottle caps, one placed under the license plate on the neck in the hole, the other in the hole under the cat bowl, and wired in parallel. I heard one similar being played on one of these forums, and it sounded great. No plans, simply putting it together as I go.

Photo 2; the front, I'm trying to make it look as though it's been lying in a paddock for a few years. The plate is aluminum, painted to look like rusty steel.

Photo 3; the back. To make the wood look old, I've soaked a piece of steel wool in a mixture of balsamic and white vinegar for a while, at least a couple of days, strained and painted on with a brush. The Levi Strauss logo was printed with an inkjet and transferred to the ply. I'm still experimenting with this process, this one will remain as it is.

The neck is swamp mahogany, fret board Tasmanian oak. How will it sound? Won't know 'till it's plugged in. 

Permalink Reply by Rooster on December 15, 2015 at 7:03am

Thanks guys................some good info that will get me started in the right direction.

Al, that is a great looking build. Are you using the "wax paper" transfer method on the logo? I have read about it but never tried it.

Permalink Reply by Al Williams on December 15, 2015 at 12:15pm

The image was done with a Canon inkjet printer on Avery label backing, and then onto a Mod Podge prepared piece of ply. I've tried this a couple of times, but found it not very successful. The best method IMO is to print onto the Avery label backing (taking the labels off first of course), and then place it directly on to a clean piece of plywood. This seems to work best for me. Not forgetting to reverse the image first. 

I'm leaving this one as is, because I'm using up too many of my resources, we live in rural Queensland, and I want to keep it looking rustic, so a few bruises and stains, don't matter.