![]() Having discussed WHERE you should mount your piezo, now it’s time to talk about HOW you should mount it. However, here again – experiment with both and reach your own conclusions! Piezo Mounting Methods When wired in series, each piezo changes the total impedance (think “sound pickup potential”) of the whole circuit, so wiring in parallel tends to produce more consistent results. There is some varying opinion on this, but the majority opinion seems to be that you should always wire piezos in parallel. ![]() Wiring in series means that you “daisy-chain” them one to another so that only two wires go back to the jack. To refresh, wiring in parallel means that each piezo has its own wires that run back to the jack. The question often arises as to how multiple piezos should be wired – in parallel or in series. Doing so can provide some interesting opportunities for creating unique sounds. You are certainly free to use multiple piezos in a single build. The end result might not always be practical or pleasant to listen to, but you will have fun doing it! A Note on Multiple Piezos ![]() Or you could go hog-wild and put piezos under a strip of wood all along the neck. Or one could be placed down in the tailpiece. One could be placed under the nut up at the headstock to see what sort of sound is produced there. This premise definitely applies to piezo placement – you can put them all over the place and see what kind of sound you get. If you try something and it doesn’t work, just take it apart/undo it and try something else. The great thing about Cigar Box Guitars is that there is so much room for experimentation. Gitty Crafter Supply web store for a great selection of piezos, jacks and other guitar electronics! Other Options The more vibration it encounters, the more sound it is going to put out – so having it as close as possible to the epicenter of vibration (the bridge) is generally recommended.īe sure to check out our C. Remember that the piezo responds to vibration. If possible, build your CBG in such a way that you can open the box after the instrument is complete, so that you can try moving the piezo around to test how it sounds in different places inside the box. Our advice is to start with it just below the bridge, more towards the bass side (the fatter strings) than the treble side. Finding just the right “sweet spot” for it inside the box can be a bit of an art form, and will vary from build to build and box to box. Perhaps the “standard” method of mounting piezos in Cigar Box Guitars, attaching the piezo to the inside of the box has been used by many, many builders over the years. However, this method doesn’t leave many options for insulating or cushioning the piezo (see below). This method is especially good if you carefully cut the piezo to match the base of your bridge. As above, the wires can be run through a small hole drilled through the sound board and attached to a jack. Between the bridge and the Sound Boardīecause a piezo reacts to vibrations, placing it directly underneath the bridge, so that it is sandwiched between the bridge and the outer surface of the soundboard (the top of the cigar box that makes up the top of the instrument) is a prime location for picking up sound. You can paint the piezo to help match it to the color scheme of where it being attached, just make sure you don’t use a conductive paint! The wires can be run down through a hole drilled just behind the bridge, and attached to a jack in the body. ![]() Many builders get good results from either embedding a piezo inside the bridge (sandwiching it between wooden pieces, for example), or by attaching it to the outside of the bridge. This feature makes the simple piezo even more versatile for use as an instrument pickup. You can also drill a hole in the piezo and put a screw through it to mount it instead of glue. So you can cut a thin strip for attaching to/embedding in a bridge, you can cut an oblong oval for mounting under the lid, or some other custom shape. So long as you are still able to attach one lead to the ceramic and one lead to the metal, it will still function as a pickup. We will cover some of the most popular/effective placements here, and in the next section we will discuss some different ways of mounting them to help get the best sound.First though we need to talk about one of the nicest features about a piezo, and that is that it can be cut and shaped to fit your intended placement. A piezo is a versatile electrical component, and the options for placing one in your cigar box guitar are pretty broad. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |