Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Habanera Hal on March 16, 2011 at 12:00pm

I just hooked up this monster piezo. WOW!  I thought my walls were going to come down!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by MichaelS Country Boy Guitars on March 17, 2011 at 6:51am

Did it really make a difference? I used a 1 3/4 on my first one and then changed it to 2 of the 20mm from gitty and I found no difference in volume. When I moved the piezo from inside the box to inside the bridge and  I got a real volume change. Seems like each guitar works different.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on March 17, 2011 at 1:46pm

size matters... if placed right smaller is better (less tendency to feed back)... I use a lot of 20mm because they often come prewired which I like...  And, 3/4" and smaller are easier to embed in bridges.....

 

If you think about it, the ribbon piezo's that are in commercial acoustic/electrics have relatively small area.... just placed very well....  and, if you use care, you can cut disc piezos with metal shears to make your own piezo strips...

 

the best,

 

Wichita Sam

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Habanera Hal on March 17, 2011 at 11:54pm

Thanks Sam.  I've read about cutting piezo's before, but I'm a visual kind of guy.  I need pictures to relate to.  I'm not even sure how to sandwich a piezo bewtween two pieces of wood.  Do you clamp them down tight against the surface, or do you cut a relief in the wood so the piezo can "breathe"?

Wichita Sam said:

size matters... if placed right smaller is better (less tendency to feed back)... I use a lot of 20mm because they often come prewired which I like...  And, 3/4" and smaller are easier to embed in bridges.....

 

If you think about it, the ribbon piezo's that are in commercial acoustic/electrics have relatively small area.... just placed very well....  and, if you use care, you can cut disc piezos with metal shears to make your own piezo strips...

 

the best,

 

Wichita Sam

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on March 18, 2011 at 3:35am

Cutting piezos is simple... if they are prewired, just cut a strip down the middle  (1/4-3/8") that borders the wires.  use metal shears or if you can get away with it, your wife's kitchen shears....  don't twist as you cut....

 

Yes, you must relief under the bridge plate so that there is room for the piezo and the wire "bump" when the wires attached.  Glue the metal to the face of the bridge's underside and then fill the void with something soft. (I used silicone caulk).  then glue the sandwich together......

 

hope this helps,

the best,

 

Wichita Sam

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Richard G Caudill on March 19, 2011 at 4:28pm

While on peizo/...   I got some from gitty and the wires are gonna b to short ,, gonna do em under the bridge ,, i got some 24 gauge wire  ,, this'll solder up and work for some extra length  right ?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on March 19, 2011 at 5:18pm

Richard,

 

24ga is perfect... actually almost anythng will do.... I've seen recommendations about shielding and/or twisting the wires to reduce interference, but interference really isn't a problem with piezos.... I don't worry about it now.  Often will use 22-24ga speaker wire pairs to connect to an output jack and it works just fine...

 

the best,

 

Wichita Sam

Richard G Caudill said:

While on peizo/...   I got some from gitty and the wires are gonna b to short ,, gonna do em under the bridge ,, i got some 24 gauge wire  ,, this'll solder up and work for some extra length  right ?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mark on March 20, 2011 at 5:32am

Getting back to the original question that started this thread, there's previously been some discussion and information posted here on the Nation. Check out the following forum thread.

 

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/group/thebritsarecoming/forum/topics/...

Seems it's not size, per se, that matters but the physical properties (such as resonant frequency, high-pass frequency and capacitance) of the particular piezo. Size may have some influence on those properties but it's not a simple question of "bigger is better" nor "smaller is better".

Also, from the data quoted by Maplin, manufacturing tolerances can be pretty wide so it's possible there might be variation in performance among a batch of piezos that are supposedly the same.

 

There might also be some info of interest in the following thread:

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/piezo-pickup

 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Edgel R Gillespie II on March 20, 2011 at 6:40am

I have been looking and shopping around for stuff and came up with this, it can be used acordingly.

I have also found pre-amps that I have yet to receive and use on one of my regular accustics as a trial unit.

Maximo

Attachments:

• Soft_piazo.jpg, 47 KB

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Edgel R Gillespie II on March 20, 2011 at 6:48am

I am also looking into this setup for future usage.

http://www.virtualvillage.com/acoustic-classical-guitar-piezo-pick-...,

This brand new EQ 7545R Piezo pick-up equalizer system with 4 bands can be easily fitted into your acoustic guitar and is essential for all musicians looking to electrify and amplify their sound.

• Mounts into the side of your guitar
• Pre-wired for easy assemble
• 4 bands
  • Presence control: ±12dB at 8KHz
  • Bass control: ±12dB at 60Hz
  • Mid control: ±12dB at 600Hz
  • Treble control: ±12dB at 2.2KHz
  • Input impedance: 2.2MΩ
  • Frequency response: 20Hz - 20KHz
  • Power: X1 9V battery [sorry, not included]
  • Pickup dimensions: 4.7 x 10.5 x 6cm [1.9 x 4 x 2.3”]
  • Colour: black
  • Volume control
  • Low battery indicator
• 
  
  Just my 2 cents for the day. Hope you all find this usefull.

8-) Maximo

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Habanera Hal on March 20, 2011 at 1:51pm

I have had limited experience with piezos so my statement about the 2" example may not be completely objective.  I will be using 1" units in my next few builds (because I just got some from C B Gitty) and I am curious about the rod-style units.

BTW, Edgel, that's a horrible price for that pre-amp.  You can get the same one off e-bay for $13.00 shipped: http://cgi.ebay.com/4-Band-EQ-Pre-Amp-Piezo-plus-Pickup-Acoustic-Gu...  You may also have a challenge fitting that curved frame onto a flat box.  If you do it, please let us know how it comes out.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Edgel R Gillespie II on March 21, 2011 at 3:33pm

I know, I just found the same deal for $0.99 and $11.00 shipping. It will be here in a couple weeks from Tywon. I did a search on the web for the parts and found it going for as much as $48+, so $0.99 was well worth the search. I did find someone to sell me the soft piezo strips with 4 elements at decent price along with the preamp setup too. Waiting to here back from them on a load purchase. Good hunten all 8-) Maximo

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page