Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) on January 28, 2011 at 8:33pm

Hey, bro.  Don't get discouraged.  Those freaking things can be maddening!!  I know I always used to grab a handful of them when I'd go to buy them.

I can't speak to the hot glue damaging it but I can't imagine it would have done so.  Anything is possible, though.  A quick way to tell if it's okay is to pull it out of the box and just press the bare wires up against a cable.  Hold the red up against the tip and the black up against the base of the cable connector.  Turn the amp on and tap the element and see if you can hear anything.  That should help to tell you if the crystal element is dead or if you just didn't solder the wires up well enough.

Keep at it man.  Remember that you always learn 10 times more from your mistakes than your successes.

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Permalink Reply by Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) on January 28, 2011 at 8:33pm

Incidentally, 3M brand double sided tape works really well for securing a piezo disc.

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Permalink Reply by JJ on January 29, 2011 at 5:58am

would just electrical tape work?

Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) said:

Incidentally, 3M brand double sided tape works really well for securing a piezo disc.

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Permalink Reply by JJ on January 29, 2011 at 3:23pm

so i soldered another piezo and this one seems to be working. but i used the doubled sided tape and there is a lot of feedback. but when i touch the end of my cable the humming stops! why is this? i read somewhere on hear about grounding it to the bridge? 

Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) said:

Incidentally, 3M brand double sided tape works really well for securing a piezo disc.

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Permalink Reply by neil lindsay on January 28, 2011 at 10:41pm

Yep double sided tape works.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on January 28, 2011 at 11:07pm

The way that the wires are soldered to the disc is not the most secure. I had a whole pile of them that the wires had come off. I doubt the hot glue had anything to do with it, maybe it just came loose on its own.

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Permalink Reply by Outhouse Instruments on January 29, 2011 at 1:06am

Nope ... not the hot glue. That's what I use. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Attaching and a bit of isolation at the same time.

Most likely it's a wire/solder issue.

 

Matt

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Permalink Reply by JJ on January 29, 2011 at 5:52am

do you put glue on the bottom of the disk then press it down, and them put more glue on to or do you just press it down and put glue on the top of it?


HOOTCHIE COOCHIE MATT said:

Nope ... not the hot glue. That's what I use. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Attaching and a bit of isolation at the same time.

Most likely it's a wire/solder issue.

 

Matt

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Permalink Reply by Mark Werner on January 29, 2011 at 4:29am

One thing to watch out for is the connectors at the 1/4" jack.   I had a couple that I thought were just fine, but when the plug makes contact there's a short....No sound.

Make sure the wires are routed well away from the plug contacts and well insulated.

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Permalink Reply by Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) on January 29, 2011 at 6:56am

I can't see why it wouldn't but you might have some noise issues.  It's very thin stuff.  Give it a try, though.  You can always pull it off if it doesn't work.

JJ said:

would just electrical tape work?

Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) said:

Incidentally, 3M brand double sided tape works really well for securing a piezo disc.

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Permalink Reply by Outhouse Instruments on January 29, 2011 at 9:23am

I just smear a "ring" of glue around the back of the piezo and then smush it to the soundboard.

 

Matt

 

btw - "smush" is a highly technical term!

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Permalink Reply by Mister Scott on January 29, 2011 at 9:52am

Agreed. But on the hot glue angle, a number of people at the forum swear by a thin layer of glue on the face of the piezo disc to cut down on feedback and squawk noises.

(Hey Matt, "squawk noises" -- another highly technical term!)

 

Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) said:

Incidentally, 3M brand double sided tape works really well for securing a piezo disc.

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