Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on February 21, 2022 at 9:15am

I prefer the rod piezo's over the round disc type piezo for quality sound.
That being said, every type can sound good if they are placed in the right spot and have the right wiring/electronics schematic.
Tone is always subjective to who is actually hearing it too. What one person deems horrible, another one will like it.

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Permalink Reply by MadGomer on February 21, 2022 at 12:09pm

I apologize if I asked this previously, couldn't find evidence of it. Getting ready to do my first resonator build. If I use a rod piezo under the bridge in the center of my pie tin, will it actually amplify the reso tone, or simply sound like any other guitar with a rod piezo?

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on February 21, 2022 at 12:48pm

Hi, Undersaddle piezo pickups have a more string-focused sound, and often have the "quack sound" referred to by many guitarists. but will exhibit a different sound on a metal surface.

Disc piezo's on the other hand are more driven by the timber vibrations so have a different tone. Resonator guitar piezo discs are normally attached to the cone in my experience. I would suggest a pre-amp be fitted.

However if there is a video of me playing my reso on here, it has under saddle pick-ups. and sounds fine. I'll see if I can find a photo or a video clip

Hope this helps.

Taff

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on February 21, 2022 at 12:48pm

Actually, there are several good rod piezo systems out there for biscuit bridges that are well worth the money? Most people don’t like the idea of cutting into expensive acoustic instruments, but I’ve seen & heard both magnetic & piezo pickups on resonators, sad to say, a microphone actually captures resonators the best?

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on February 21, 2022 at 3:27pm

Forgot to add, yes the resonator sound will be retained with the rod piezo. If you really think about it, the piezo is absorbing all that vibration  coming from the cone on one side & the strings on the other? Fishman has some real good resonator pickups, but if you’re looking to spend less for a professional system, K&K has some great resonator pickups? They usually come with a driver circuit integrated within the endpin jack, which is a great feature! Let us know what you end up with?  :)

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on March 14, 2022 at 3:46pm

Hi again, I forgot to mention this earlier, but Paul touched on it by saying the player also has an effect on tone. Some areas worth a mention are, the type of material, and thickness of the plectrum, playing with fingers, and the direction/angle that the flat pick hits the strings can have an effect on tone and volume.
Taff

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on March 14, 2022 at 8:56pm

Correct, and also the area where the player picks has a bit to do with it too. Picking close to the fretboard gives a darker tone than picking towards the bridge.
Gauge of strings help too.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Floyd on March 15, 2022 at 3:16am

"Gauge of strings help too."

Stevie Ray Vaughan thought so (13-60 set).  Of course, a slinky set of strings would have not held up to his style of playing.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on March 15, 2022 at 9:16am

Hi, yes and he also tuned his guitar down, so that may contributed too.
Taff

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on March 21, 2022 at 12:03pm

Hi again, Just to add to my comments earlier about Piezo pickups and Timothy’s observation about the quality of the sound they produce, I found this interesting. It is in line with what I was saying about the quality and placement of these pickups.

The better-quality ones are used in Red Dog CBGs.

This is from the JJB website…

Check out "Mr. Red Dog" himself, John
McNair laying down some blues on his
beautifully handcrafted instruments!
He is using "The Rectifier" pickup
system. This is a pickup that was
designed in a collaborative effort
between us and John. This pickup is
built for Red Dog guitars exclusively. If
you want to know more about "The
Rectifier", you're just gonna have to
get yourself a Red Dog guitar! The guy
makes some amazing videos so please
check them out by CLICKING HERE!
Thanks John!

Cheers Taff

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