I am about to build an electric CBG for the first time and I dont know anything about pickups. I am thinking about getting pre wired piexo pickups from CB Gitty. Should I go with the piezo or should I get a coil pickup?
Peter
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The Piezo element isn't so much of a pick up as a cheap ass microphone. So it picks up a lot of noise from the guitar body. And it can scream like a banshee with feedback. I have been encasing my piezo not in glue and wood, but in simple foam rubber. It lets you mess with it with out harming the element. And you can easily reposition it inside the guitar. I don't even glue the element in place, just cut a piece as wide (slightly wider) as the guitar box cavity. And I cut a small recess to hold the element. Close the lid on the cigar box and it is held in place.
I've done Piezos with good results by gluing them into a piece of 1/4" oak. I make a recess to fit the piezo with a fostner bit and glue the piezo in with silicone sealer, then after it sets up I fill the cavity and scrape it flush with the surface. A notch in the top side holds the bolt for the bridge in place. It works equally as well for single or double piezos.
I must admit - when I first saw this - I thought it was a little "Googly eyed character" !!!!
When I used this approach I cut the sides off to get a slimmer bridge, but that was a 27mm.
John is spot on. Chris is right too. Piezos can work well. Part of the answer to your question is purely appearance. Do you want a guitar that looks like it came out of the 1930s? Then a piezo is the way to go.
I've used pezos successfully in 10 builds, and yes, some installs work better than others.
Cons:
Feedback is easy to do
Sensitive to anything hitting the box
High-impedance: works better with a preamp/booster or pedal effect.
Feedback: If you just glue down a piezo, the box resonance can, under high gain, start to spontaneously feedback... How you mount the pickup is key to a successful build.
Somebody recommend a good glob of hot melt, followed by covering the piezo disc in hot melt glue. This dampens some of the high frequency vibrations. By gluing the disc to the box lid, near the bridge, you can ensure you're getting the best sound.
Somebody here (sorry, don't recall who) has a flat plate that has a cavity. The piezo is glued in that cavity, and the plate (opening side down) goes on the CBG, with the bridge on top. This, theoretically, reduces the resonance of the box as an issue, and gets as much string vibration as possible.
Me? I've used hot melt, and double-stick foam tape. My favorite CBG uses both: The disc is glued (brass side to the top) with hot-melt. A good thick (~1/8") layer of hot melt was put on the underside of the lid, and the piezo sunk into it. Over the piezo, I placed a piece of double-stick foam tape, ensuring the entire piezo is covered.
Works good enough for me, but like CC said below, my next build will be using a 4-pole P-Bass pickup.... we'll see how it works...