Dipping piezos...

I saw somewhere, maybe here, that dipping the piezos in the plastic stuff you dip tool handles into was a good idea. What is the advantage to dipping it, or covering the piezo in something? Does it change the tone, and if so, how? I found a source for cheap piezos, so I thought I would experiment a bit.

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  • But I like that reverb.......

    Monte said:
    I used clear silicone like you would use for sealant in automotive repair mainly because I had it handy. It's cheap and it works for me. I also inlay my piezo in the hidden side of the neck for aesthetics. No reverb on mine. It just "keeps o rockin!"
  • That is exactly what I do. I only know what works on the stuff that I have put together. I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. I m learning as I go. You guys have helped me avoid alot of problems with your ideas. Thanks alot.

    Doc Oakroot said:
    I think he means that he cuts a shallow hole in the top of the carry-through to make space for the piezo between the carry-through and the top of the box. This seems completely unnecessary and even counter-productive to me, but some guys do it. OTOH, it might cut down on feedback.

    Iggy said:
    Monte said:
    I also inlay my piezo in the hidden side of the neck for aesthetics.

    How do you mean?
  • I think he means that he cuts a shallow hole in the top of the carry-through to make space for the piezo between the carry-through and the top of the box. This seems completely unnecessary and even counter-productive to me, but some guys do it. OTOH, it might cut down on feedback.

    Iggy said:
    Monte said:
    I also inlay my piezo in the hidden side of the neck for aesthetics.

    How do you mean?
  • What could it hurt to experiment with cheap piezo's ,sounds like a good Idea I may try it myself,Tom
  • I gorilla glue one or two piezo's under the bridge and clamp it/them lightly. The gorilla glue expands as it dries but dries hard - so you get a tiny bit of space between the top and the piezo. I then put a coat of silicone over the piezos and cover them with a thin square of the thinnest end of a cedar shim. I then run a bead of gorilla glue around the edges of the shim. This seems to isolate the piezo's really well and takes care of the negative microphonics. I can now turn up the volume and maintain a good tone.
  • Monte said:
    I also inlay my piezo in the hidden side of the neck for aesthetics.

    How do you mean?
  • I used clear silicone like you would use for sealant in automotive repair mainly because I had it handy. It's cheap and it works for me. I also inlay my piezo in the hidden side of the neck for aesthetics. No reverb on mine. It just "keeps o rockin!"
  • My first one I super glued the piezo to the lid. But on recent ones, I have used double sided sticky tape. I think that has worked better and isolated the piezo from the lid a bit. I think I may try the plastic dip thing, since I have a few tools I would like to dip as long as I am at it.

    Thanks for the suggestions!!
  • I've been using silicone sealer; It seems to accomplish much the same thing. The piezo I put on my resonator guitar is not nearly as "microphonic" (picking up noises from the guitar body) as my first attempts glueing the thing directly.
  • I would think that it would mechanically reduce high freqs which would be a good thing. I achieve the same thing by using a thick dab of rubbery space filling glue when I attach a naked piezo.
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