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Permalink Reply by colin mcgrath on December 23, 2010 at 9:27am

yes you can attach a volume pot to a piezo the wiring and electronics forum is a good place to look for info.

there are very good photos of people who have attached a premade neck to wood strip that runs through the body. You might have to scroll through. It seems that the strip running along the bottom would make sense...but I am not certain.

The last question might vary. Depends on the piezo element you have. Some build it into the bridge/saddle. Some right under the lid under the bass side of the strings.

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Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on December 23, 2010 at 10:00am

I would not depend on the box for any suppport, the stronger you build the inner support the better off you'll be for strength and substain. I would run from front to back of the box with wood and have wood at the front of the box also. Think battleship. Less feedback with under the bridge mounted piezos. Any value pot will work as a volume, it's only when a tone pot is added that the two interact. I'm curious, looking at the photo I calculate the bridge will set close to the back of the box. Correct?

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Permalink Reply by colin mcgrath on December 23, 2010 at 10:16am

I was thinking on that as well, the bridge placement that is. Did you, Dan, calculate the scale length? I have read from guys who need a certain length of box when reusing a electric git neck. And Don, are there bad zones to attach an p.element?
Don Thompson said:

I would not depend on the box for any suppport, the stronger you build the inner support the better off you'll be for strength and substain. I would run from front to back of the box with wood and have wood at the front of the box also. Think battleship. Less feedback with under the bridge mounted piezos. Any value pot will work as a volume, it's only when a tone pot is added that the two interact. I'm curious, looking at the photo I calculate the bridge will set close to the back of the box. Correct?

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Permalink Reply by Dan Kruitz on December 23, 2010 at 10:42am

I found out about a little thing called scale length last night - about an hour after I finshed this first cutout.....
I ran back into the garage, and fortunately, I'll have no problem getting the original 25 inches to the bridge (strat style clone).  Disaster averted.  Complete newbie here, last instrument I owned was air drums....  :-o

Dan

Don Thompson said:

I would not depend on the box for any suppport, the stronger you build the inner support the better off you'll be for strength and substain. I would run from front to back of the box with wood and have wood at the front of the box also. Think battleship. Less feedback with under the bridge mounted piezos. Any value pot will work as a volume, it's only when a tone pot is added that the two interact. I'm curious, looking at the photo I calculate the bridge will set close to the back of the box. Correct?

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Permalink Reply by colin mcgrath on December 23, 2010 at 10:57am

8D cool beans. My first 2 builds I had no idea about scale length. I just put a 3 foot piece of wood through a box and tuned it, man oh man...

Dan Kruitz said:

I found out about a little thing called scale length last night - about an hour after I finshed this first cutout.....
I ran back into the garage, and fortunately, I'll have no problem getting the original 25 inches to the bridge (strat style clone).  Disaster averted.  Complete newbie here, last instrument I owned was air drums....  :-o

Dan

Don Thompson said:

I would not depend on the box for any suppport, the stronger you build the inner support the better off you'll be for strength and substain. I would run from front to back of the box with wood and have wood at the front of the box also. Think battleship. Less feedback with under the bridge mounted piezos. Any value pot will work as a volume, it's only when a tone pot is added that the two interact. I'm curious, looking at the photo I calculate the bridge will set close to the back of the box. Correct?

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on December 23, 2010 at 10:59am

I would echo what Don say, reinforce the crap out of the box. Those boxes were never really designed for this type of thing, so make sure it is beefy enough to avoid a SPROING! and a catastrophic collapse.

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Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on December 23, 2010 at 11:03am

Hi Colin, You made a good point and I should have worded my response in a different  way. I guess I tend to think of any under the bridge mounting whether under the saddle or under the lid to be more or less the same location, it then becames a matter of application, under the lid would seem to me to be easier to execute, nothing to have to hide and more possiblities for a thin tall bridge. But whether on the top or the bottom I have found it less prone to feedback than say a soundboard mounting, and I hear less picking hand noise than soundboard location.

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Permalink Reply by rodney fruits on December 23, 2010 at 11:21am

What they said! plus, You dont need a tone pot with a piezo.... Dont press that blue tape hard with your finger,and take it off as soon as posible. Sometimes it will take the paper with it....

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Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on December 23, 2010 at 12:06pm

Dan, The Fender scale length is 25.5" Measure from the front of the nut to the middle of the 12th. fret. It should be 12.75". From the 12th. to the saddle will be the same, actually a little longer for compensation.

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Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on December 23, 2010 at 12:35pm

Oh yea, One more thing. I'm fairly certain your bottom board you attach the neck to will have to stick out of the front of the box to be able to pick up the forward two screw holes. I would make my cut out all the way to the bottom then. It needs to be thick enough so that the fingerboard stands up from the top of the box the thickness of the fingerboard.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Kruitz on December 23, 2010 at 12:39pm

OK, I've dug a little more around on the board, and I think I'm going to try the following.  I've got some scrap 1x2 poplar - I've just laminated three pieces together and it will be the continuation of the neck through the body.  This poplar block will be solid along the bottom of the box the whole length.  On top of the poplar block I'm going to cut away a 1/4" or 1/2" depression under the lid so the lid can resonate.  The bridge will be mounted to this making the neck assembly (in effect ) all one piece with the box hanging on it.

 

Sound reasonable? 

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Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on December 23, 2010 at 1:19pm

yep, understand though because your bridge will be so close to the back edge acoustically it won't excite the whole soundboard. It won't be very loud unplugged and lack bass.

Dan Kruitz said:

OK, I've dug a little more around on the board, and I think I'm going to try the following.  I've got some scrap 1x2 poplar - I've just laminated three pieces together and it will be the continuation of the neck through the body.  This poplar block will be solid along the bottom of the box the whole length.  On top of the poplar block I'm going to cut away a 1/4" or 1/2" depression under the lid so the lid can resonate.  The bridge will be mounted to this making the neck assembly (in effect ) all one piece with the box hanging on it.

 

Sound reasonable? 

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