Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Roger Morin on March 17, 2010 at 4:21pm

I have bought around five instruments from Jay at tinyguitars and all he does is hot glue them in brass side against the lid and then covered with hot glue and they are all loud. Just look at some of his videos he has posted and see how loud they are.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jerryrig240 on March 17, 2010 at 4:34pm

How big are his boxes? Mine is just a small philly box.....I re-enforced it with some scrap lamenit flooring. Now....mine is free floating you could say....I have been useing the 99 cent alarm buzzers from the dollar tree....I just kept the peizo inside of it and hot glued the whole thing....I filled that whole casing full of hot glue. So, I am not all the way against the box....that may cause it to dampen my sound a bit....I am not saying it sounds bad..just wondering if it could sound better...then again....that's why we keep on buildin' huh....

Roger Morin said:

I have bought around five instruments from Jay at tinyguitars and all he does is hot glue them in brass side against the lid and then covered with hot glue and they are all loud. Just look at some of his videos he has posted and see how loud they are.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jerryrig240 on March 17, 2010 at 4:39pm

Here is a pic of what I have going on....I looked at it and my peizo is off to the side a bit....I might not be geting full vibrations in that spot.... I can always move it later.....

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Roger Morin on March 17, 2010 at 11:08pm

As Randy has said already use a bare piezo, everyone says even a radioshack piezo to take it out of the case. I believe that your problem. Jay does what Randy says, but jay puts doen a little hot then ads the piezo and covers it with more hot glue.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by MichaelS Country Boy Guitars on March 18, 2010 at 2:57am

I read on another web site, forgot the web address, that putting multiple piezo's together weakens the signal. So stick with one and get it out of the plastic case as said above. Also just curios, what is all the heavy wood inside your box for? Looks like you had a solid wood box to start with, they can sound nice.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Claude on March 18, 2010 at 3:57am

Hi Jerry, I'm afraid the poster above is misinformed about using multiple peizo's. I understand that most of us want to use the most inexpensive materials we can get. I got some Piezo's from JJB Electronics, I did this on a recomendation from Jay at Tiny Guitars a member here and really great guy. These Piezo's cost a bit, but they are great. Here's is what is on their website:

This system utilizes a dual piezo configuration for a crisp sound. The dual piezo
configuration offers a few advantages over single piezo systems. Having two
piezo’s affords you the opportunity to place them at two different points on the
soundboard thus resulting in an improved dynamic range due to the fact that they
transmit the resonation found at more than one point. These special surface
transducers are under less pressure than under saddle pickups thus decreasing
the likelihood of them transmitting a percussive or harsh sound. Each piezo is
designed to pick up the resonation found in a significant amount of the
soundboard. These do not "fade" or distort at high volume or with high-power
systems. The highs are crystal clear while the lows are, what they should be, low!
They are very responsive. This pickup configuration is offered in several high end
guitars. All of our products feature quality components and construction. These
utilize a ¼ mono jack that is of equal quality to those manufactured by
Switchcraft. These will work great in a variety of instruments. Mandolins, ukulele’
s, bass guitars, banjo’s, violins, dobro’s, dulcimers, stomp boxes, etc. The
possibilities are endless! These, like all of our systems, can be installed in about
15 minutes! They are a very simple and inexpensive means of turning your
acoustic instruments in to acoustic electric. Please don’t let the price fool you!
http://www.jjb-electronics.com/PPS-200.html
Oh yes, they have many sound samples on their site. It's always a good thing when you can hear sound samples.

As others have said your main challenge is probably the plastic housing on your Piezo's.
Best of luck. Oh yes, the people at JJB are wonderful to deal with, really great folks.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jerryrig240 on March 18, 2010 at 4:21am

All of that extra wood was to just re-enforce my box....keep in mind...this was one of my first builds...so I kinda did not know what I was doing at the time...that is why I re-built it...I changed my neck out for a oak neck and fret board...I am not saying that this cbg sounds bad at all...I just have to crank up my amp to hear it well.....which is nice in a way that I don't get a bunch of un-wanted feed back or noise....I just wanted to know if another peizo would make it louder....that's all.

MichaelS said:

I read on another web site, forgot the web address, that putting multiple piezo's together weakens the signal. So stick with one and get it out of the plastic case as said above. Also just curios, what is all the heavy wood inside your box for? Looks like you had a solid wood box to start with, they can sound nice.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Outhouse Instruments on March 18, 2010 at 6:08am

All that extra wood could be pat of the problem .... killing the vibration of the thin wood which makes the acoustic noise and which the piezo picks up.
Another thought ... a piezo is low output and your amp may need something more, such as a pre-amp.

Matt

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by MichaelS Country Boy Guitars on March 18, 2010 at 6:18am

Here is were I got my information, this site has lots of info on piezo's, seems like good info to me. He did say 2 piezo's would be negligable in their loss so the advantage may be worth it. http://windworld.com/tools-techniques-ideas/piezo-film-pickups-how-...

Claude said:

Hi Jerry, I'm afraid the poster above is misinformed about using multiple peizo's. I understand that most of us want to use the most inexpensive materials we can get. I got some Piezo's from JJB Electronics, I did this on a recomendation from Jay at Tiny Guitars a member here and really great guy. These Piezo's cost a bit, but they are great. Here's is what is on their website:
This system utilizes a dual piezo configuration for a crisp sound. The dual piezo configuration offers a few advantages over single piezo systems. Having two
piezo’s affords you the opportunity to place them at two different points on the
soundboard thus resulting in an improved dynamic range due to the fact that they
transmit the resonation found at more than one point. These special surface
transducers are under less pressure than under saddle pickups thus decreasing
the likelihood of them transmitting a percussive or harsh sound. Each piezo is
designed to pick up the resonation found in a significant amount of the
soundboard. These do not "fade" or distort at high volume or with high-power
systems. The highs are crystal clear while the lows are, what they should be, low!
They are very responsive. This pickup configuration is offered in several high end
guitars. All of our products feature quality components and construction. These
utilize a ¼ mono jack that is of equal quality to those manufactured by
Switchcraft. These will work great in a variety of instruments. Mandolins, ukulele’
s, bass guitars, banjo’s, violins, dobro’s, dulcimers, stomp boxes, etc. The
possibilities are endless! These, like all of our systems, can be installed in about
15 minutes! They are a very simple and inexpensive means of turning your
acoustic instruments in to acoustic electric. Please don’t let the price fool you!
http://www.jjb-electronics.com/PPS-200.html
Oh yes, they have many sound samples on their site. It's always a good thing when you can hear sound samples.

As others have said your main challenge is probably the plastic housing on your Piezo's.
Best of luck. Oh yes, the people at JJB are wonderful to deal with, really great folks.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by charles kimbler on March 18, 2010 at 10:57am

First thing you need to do is take the piezo out of the case.I think you are loosing a lot vibes here since it's still in. .It's kind of hard not to get some kind of feed back from a piezo,don't get me wrong it can be done I have done it.Try some different things.I have have good luck with closed cell foam or a small block of wood,just cut out the center and place the piezo inside and seal well. I also get good results from leather.I have used the brass side on the box and the other side.Depending on what you use to incase your piezo you can get a different sound,sharp ping or a warm deep sound.Try some different things until you like the sound you get.I also try to put my piezo under the bridge If I can.Thats where you get the best sound.I am no expert by no means.Hope this helps.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David L. on March 18, 2010 at 12:41pm

This book off google gives a good summary of wiring multiple piezos (page 53)
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ynxQQJfcf3oC&pg=PA53&lpg...

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Skeesix on March 19, 2010 at 1:24am

Getting the piezo out of the case will make it much louder. Mounting it underneath the bridge (outside the box) will make it even louder. I mount mine on a piece of cork to dampen extraneous noises from handling the box.

I did a double piezo wired in parallel for a bass project. It sounded just as loud as a single piezo, but it calmed down the harsh sounding highs.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next ›
• Page