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Piezo Pick-Up Question! :)

Hi again!

ALMOST done with my first build- SO FAR so good for the most part! :)

Question regarding piezos- at SOME point, I remember seeing something in a video about this- vaguely remember it- and now can not find the video and wonder if I'm just losing it or dreamt it or something!

So the volume knob thingy (yeah, very girly of me I know) lol I have it coming out of the lid of my cigar box- it however, doesn't sit quite right, and the threads are BARELY above the hole- NOW, what I REMEMBER seeing in a video, was a guy explaining that if you wanted it to sit more flush- you could totally cut down that little bit of medal sticking up as a post.... (see below please!)

See that tiny bit of metal sticking up to the left of the knob? That's the thing I want to cut down if possible!

Is that OK to do? Or? :)

THANK YOU MUCH FOR ANY AND ALL ADVICE! :)

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Permalink Reply by Fomhorach on November 14, 2016 at 8:06am

Yup. You can. Take a pair of pliers and bend it back it usually snaps off.

Alternative, you can use a screwdriver to shallow out or punch through a hole to fit it in. Your volume button will usually cover up any holes etc.

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Permalink Reply by Rosanne Reynolds on November 14, 2016 at 10:57am

Oh OK- cool! Thank you!

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on November 14, 2016 at 8:35am

I think those tabs were intended for use with a metal control panel, and the hole had a little slot in the side that the tab fit into. That kept the whole potentiometer (pot) from turning when you rotated the knob.

Should you build any more, you can buy a pot that has a longer shaft on it that will reach all the way through the lid of the box.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on November 14, 2016 at 8:37am

But yes, clip, cut, file, or break off that tab, you don't need it.

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Permalink Reply by Rosanne Reynolds on November 14, 2016 at 10:58am

I see.... hmmm. I wonder if it that's going to be a problem- it turning in there... I will have to play with it and decide what to do! Thanks for your input!

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Permalink Reply by Rosanne Reynolds on November 14, 2016 at 11:03am

The last part of that KIND of sounds like a foreign language to me lol

So I am planning on soldering everything, then hot gluing the piezo in really well- kind of insulating it in the glue so-to-speak. For the jack- I got the hole big enough to stick the whole thing in, since it's kind of a thick box- then I am using a 'jack plate' of sorts, screw mounted to the box, to then bolt the jack to- will probably glue it in as well just to secure it there? As for this volume- now I'm a bit concerned as to whether or not snapping that off is going to cause it to spin in there- more glue? lol I'm not sure- I will have to go brainstorm with it a bit now that I am armed with some knowledge!

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on November 14, 2016 at 11:16am

Break that little tab off, friction will keep it from turning under the lid...

A drop of superglue under the plate will work, too...

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Permalink Reply by Rosanne Reynolds on November 15, 2016 at 4:47pm

This is what I've got going on so far.... suggestions? And I hope your hand is OK- I didn't know CBG building could be so dangerous! ;)

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Permalink Reply by Rosanne Reynolds on November 16, 2016 at 5:33am

I got the neck pre-fretted, as I did not want to attempt that my first build but DID want to be able to play fretted- (but also slide?)

Yes- the neck is notched to glue into the lid of the box and be nearer to flush with it. I originally wanted to glue it into the bottom of the box but kind of had to run with this lol -here's some close ups- I have not glued the neck into the lid yet, once I do it will be a hair closer to flush even.

So- SINCE the box lid is nearly even with the neck, that is why you think the bolt is up too high, correct? Everything I read said to notch it to where about 2 thirds of the bolt is above the notch. I did that, but was a bit conservative as I figured I can always take more out but not the other way around! Should I make that deeper? Also- my bridge is the same bolt, only with the head cut off- which will sit on the box itself.

The neck came with an exact line for where to put the bridge, so I marked that spot on the box..

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Permalink Reply by Rosanne Reynolds on November 18, 2016 at 5:43am

Really?! I had no idea! I went off of several plans I found online- to where the goal was to get the neck/frets as level to the box as possible? So that's wrong? I WOULD like to be able to use frets as well, so pretty important.

If I were to raise it up somehow, THAT much,, I think I'll have to notch the neck deeper across the length of the box, then mount it onto some wood blocks or something like the diagram you posted....

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on November 15, 2016 at 6:18pm

I think Wayfinder might be right Rosanne, it does look a bit low, but an easy fix would be to raise the tail up till it's flush with the box, as it looks like you're a fretboard lower there, if so that will give you a bit of neck rake, allowing a higher bridge and a lower nut, all helping to make it better, i realise you don't have an added fretboard, but the shadow makes it look like the tail is lower which would give you some fudge room.