Hi,

I just tried my first rod-piezo, mounted under the saddle of the bridge.  I was rather underwhelmed. The sound was just fine, a bit more mellow than my usual disc type piezo, but the volume was so soft that I had to crank my 15 watt amp to 11 with full gain to hear it at all.

I swapped it out for a disc and was back in bussiness.

Is it typical to use a preamp with rod piezos?  Or did I just get a bad one?  Maybe there is some trick to mounting inside the bridge that I am unaware of?

Cheers,

Mark

Views: 460

Replies to This Discussion

In my opinion,a rod piezo is superior to a disc.It sounds to me that it might not be connected properly or more likely,it's not seated properly under the saddle.Make sure the saddle is firmly making contact with the rod along it's full length and check your soldering.As for preamps,they do help,especially with discs but I've never found it absolutely essential to use one.I use a rod piezo on my one string diddley bow which I plug straight into my amp and as long as I don't raise the roof with the volume,i get no feedback whatsoever.....

Rod piezos are in my opinion far superior to the disks.

You need direct contact with a rod piezo, and that's where your problem arises.....there needs to be good pressure form the strings onto the rod.

I insert rods directly under the bridge so that the string pressure down on the bridge presses against the rod.

The way I do it:

Build the bridge piece, then slot a trench along the top of this.

Drill a hole at one end of the bridge piece for the lead to the piezo rod to go through.

Drop the rod into the bottom of the trench, then drop a piece of corian on top of the rod, the same length as the trench......that becomes the bridge piece the strings mount on, so the string pressure pushes down on the corian strip, which in turn pushes down on the rod piezo.

You'll never go back to the disks once you have a rod piezo set up properly....great sound with almost no box sound.

RSS

The Essential Pages

New to Cigar Box Nation? How to Play Cigar Box GuitarsFree Plans & How to Build Cigar Box GuitarsCigar Box Guitar Building Basics

Site Sponsor

Recommended Links & Resources


Discussion Forum

Piezo location

Started by Jack Noller. Last reply by CJWilky Mar 29, 2016. 9 Replies

Preamp for rod piezo?

Started by Mark Reaney. Last reply by Bruce Trappes Sep 27, 2015. 2 Replies

Tuneable water bottle bongo

Started by C Cook. Last reply by C Cook Jan 18, 2015. 4 Replies

Bass Uke set up?

Started by Tom Lauten. Last reply by Tom Lauten Jan 2, 2015. 2 Replies

Cable Piezo

Started by Seasick Mick Feb 10, 2014. 0 Replies

Piezo rezo

Started by Bert the Welder. Last reply by nailtown slim Dec 16, 2013. 7 Replies

Compressor for piezo

Started by Wade Aug 2, 2013. 0 Replies

Piezo forms and size

Started by Kevin M. Kraft. Last reply by HarleyTodd Jun 27, 2013. 5 Replies

PIEZOs - To Glue, or not to Glue....

Started by Keith Stanford. Last reply by Eric Johnson Mar 18, 2013. 1 Reply

Piezo for a wash tub bass?

Started by Tony. Last reply by Tony Feb 15, 2013. 6 Replies

Multiple Piezo Installation

Started by Redbelly. Last reply by Alan Bluesboxguitars Jan 18, 2013. 9 Replies

Hoboking Standard

Started by Alan Bluesboxguitars Jan 18, 2013. 0 Replies

Rod PiezoInside the Bridge

Started by Redbelly. Last reply by Redbelly Dec 19, 2012. 24 Replies

piezo between box and neck?

Started by matthew. Last reply by Mark Dec 12, 2012. 4 Replies

Piezos...extreme frustration

Started by Tim Fleischer. Last reply by Keith Stanford Dec 5, 2012. 9 Replies

Which kind of piezo to choose?

Started by Alan Bluesboxguitars. Last reply by Alan Bluesboxguitars Nov 6, 2012. 8 Replies

Sources for PVDF sensor cable

Started by Flatfish. Last reply by Randy S. Bretz Oct 6, 2012. 3 Replies

piezo on concrete block guitar

Started by Wade. Last reply by rusty case Oct 5, 2012. 2 Replies

Latest Activity

A.D.EKER commented on Dar Stellabotta's video
Thumbnail

A Cigar Box Guitar Six Stringer Built by Louie Lamanna

"i See Your ready to Blow away the GRAND STADIUM ! tree strings more of DAR DELIGHT !! Shine Girl !…"
31 minutes ago
A.D.EKER commented on A.D.EKER's video
Thumbnail

Im Troubled (Tribute) Mc K Morganfield by BCB - A.D .Eker 2024.

"Thank you for the kind comments Doug! Glad you liked the Picture !"
45 minutes ago
BrianQ. commented on Dar Stellabotta's video
5 hours ago
BrianQ. liked Dar Stellabotta's video
5 hours ago
Southern Ray commented on Southern Ray's photo
Thumbnail

Project Punch!

" Thank ya again Keith!"
7 hours ago
Southern Ray commented on Southern Ray's photo
Thumbnail

Punch Project!

" Thank Ya Keith!"
7 hours ago
Doug Thorsvik commented on AGP #'s photo
Thumbnail

AGP #527 - ''Led-Zep 2''

"This build really strung you along Alan! Reminded me of all my fishing line experiments; a lot of…"
9 hours ago
Doug Thorsvik commented on A.D.EKER's video
Thumbnail

Im Troubled (Tribute) Mc K Morganfield by BCB - A.D .Eker 2024.

"Diggin’ the slow blues. I like that last pic Andries! Look at all those cool guitars. Yeah!!!"
9 hours ago
Dar Stellabotta posted a video

A Cigar Box Guitar Six Stringer Built by Louie Lamanna

This video is the unboxing and the demonstration of a beautiful, six stringer built by Louie Lamanna. Join Louie and I June 15 at the second annual Pittsburg...
10 hours ago
Doug Thorsvik commented on Doug Thorsvik's video
Thumbnail

Hail the Resurrection Day: 2-String Violin Chugger Cigar Box Guitar

"Happy Easter to you too Andries! The passion is definitely in full swing. Turns out I’m…"
11 hours ago
A.D.EKER commented on Doug Thorsvik's video
Thumbnail

Hail the Resurrection Day: 2-String Violin Chugger Cigar Box Guitar

"Happy Easter Doug ! the Passion is in full swing !"
11 hours ago
A.D.EKER commented on Ricky D's photo
11 hours ago

Music

© 2024   Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

\uastyle>\ud/** Scrollup **/\ud.scrollup {\ud background: url("https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/963882636?profile=original") no-repeat scroll 0 0 transparent;\ud bottom: 25px;\ud display: inline !important;\ud height: 40px;\ud opacity: 0.3 !important;\ud position: fixed;\ud right: 30px;\ud text-indent: -9999px;\ud width: 40px;\ud z-index: 999;\ud}\ud.scrollup:hover {\ud opacity:0.99!important;\ud}\ud \uascript type="text/javascript">\ud x$(document).ready(function(){\ud x$(window).scroll(function(){\ud if (x$(this).scrollTop() > 100) {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeIn();\ud } else {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeOut();\ud }\ud });\ud x$('.scrollup').click(function(){\ud x$("html, body").animate({ scrollTop: 0 }, 600);\ud return false;\ud });\ud });\ud \ua!-- End Scroll Up -->