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Piezo feedback

Hiya guys, Just joined the site today,still trying to find my way around so I hope this lands in the right section. My million dollar Question??? How can I stop my cigar box guitar from feeding back? Built 3 guitars all with piezo pickups, every one screams its head of just like a Banshee!!! Is it me or just the way I constructed the instrument? Would I be better installing normal single coil pickups instead of the piezos? Any advice would be great. Looking forward to some feedback <excuse the pun> ha ha.

Thanks guys

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on July 4, 2012 at 7:27pm

I had many problems with feedback from piezos and piezo rod pickups when i was experimenting with them but use humbuckers now. The problem is that the feedback "field" is most sensitive when the pickup is close to the amp, and increases dramatically as the volume goes up, making piezos only really practical for home playing, unless you don't mind standing 10-15 feet away!

I bought a new Amp last year, a Marshall ASD50D Acoustic amp fitted with an anti- feedback control that really works well if you want to play at high volumes close to the amp...and sounds great with Flatpup 4 humbuckers too (-:

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Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on July 8, 2012 at 3:36pm

Joe,

that would work, but, I prefer some "cushiony" material like silicone caulk. The pickup side of the piezo (the shiny disc) needs to be attached directly to the top or the bridge. The use the silicone to fill in behind the ceramic side of the piezo. Most of the feedback is caused by the ambient sound being picked up by the back of the piezo.

While the neck does vibrate and will produce sound, the top or the bridge is the best source of sound.

hope this helps,

wichita sma