Has anyone ever made their own piezo pickup?

[luigib]

I've seen some stuff online and it looks pretty simple- get a piezo transducer and 1/4" female jack, and viola! I'm thinking of making one for my Terada TR100 experiment/beater guitar.

I'm not overly concerned about how it sounds amplified since I don't ever really plug in, just thought it would be a fun little project. If you guys could offer any advice, suggestions, or point me in the right direction I would very much appreciate it!

Some specific questions:

Where do I place the pickup under the soundboard?

What should I use to attach the pickup? Would regular hot glue work?

Thanks in advance?

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by luigib

I've seen some stuff online and it looks pretty simple- get a piezo transducer and 1/4" female jack, and viola! I'm thinking of making one for my Terada TR100 experiment/beater guitar.

I'm not overly concerned about how it sounds amplified since I don't ever really plug in, just thought it would be a fun little project. If you guys could offer any advice, suggestions, or point me in the right direction I would very much appreciate it!

Some specific questions:

Where do I place the pickup under the soundboard?

What should I use to attach the pickup? Would regular hot glue work?

Thanks in advance?

I've never made my own but you can buy the piezo elements very cheaply from on-line suppliers such as Mouser.com. Those piezo discs in a guitar system are basically cheap doorbell-buzzer piezo elements.

[ricdoug]

Many have done it. You will end up with hot and dead strings. Placement is experimental. I suggest practicing with double sided foam tape. Here's how Dave. from Waverly Street Ukes does it:

http://www.wsukes.com/electric/electric.html

[TOCS]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

I've never made my own but you can buy the piezo elements very cheaply from on-line suppliers such as Mouser.com. Those piezo discs in a guitar system are basically cheap doorbell-buzzer piezo elements.

Are you sure? I mean, how come there seem to be a significant difference between piezo SBTs then? Would you say the same piezo elements are used in e.g. a K&K Pure Mini and a Trance Audio Amulet system?

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by TOCS

Are you sure? I mean, how come there seem to be a significant difference between piezo SBTs then? Would you say the same piezo elements are used in e.g. a K&K Pure Mini and a Trance Audio Amulet system?

K&K and JJB likely use the same or similar piezo disks (and the other K&K like products from most of the larger guitar pickup suppliers are likely the same too). For systems with active electronics all sorts of options come into play since you can get by with a smaller element and lower output polymer materials. Passive systems benefit from hard glues (cyanoacrylate) or massive sensors (Mcintyre Feather - weak glue and likely a polymer piezo material too). Given how inexpensive the perfectly acceptable JJB options are, it is hard for me to see the motivation to do it yourself, other than the joy of doing.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by TOCS

Are you sure? I mean, how come there seem to be a significant difference between piezo SBTs then? Would you say the same piezo elements are used in e.g. a K&K Pure Mini and a Trance Audio Amulet system?

Trance Amulet Lens transducers are handmade in Santa Cruz, California, and each contains several elements inside to sense vibrations in multiple planes. I don't know where Gary Hull sources the elements or what they're made of, i.e., polymer or piezo crystal, or their shape (rectangular?) but the end-product Amulet Lens would obviously cost more to make than buying piezo elements for a buck or so apiece and making a pickup system from them. Both the Trance Amulet M Dual Mono and Trance Amulet Stereo systems use the same handmade in U.S.A. transducers. Read up on Trance Audio Amulet Lens transducers:

http://www.tranceaudio.com/lens.html

http://www.tranceaudio.com/qa.html

[luigib]

The K&K pure mini, while I'm sure is much more sophisticated, looks a lot like this. Which is basically the same setup that I'm thinking of making, except I would only use 2 piezos at most.

[FrankR]

This site is a great resource for piezo parts:

http://www.cbgitty.com/piezo-elements/

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by luigib

The K&K pure mini, while I'm sure is much more sophisticated, looks a lot like this. Which is basically the same setup that I'm thinking of making, except I would only use 2 piezos at most.

All you need to add is some black epoxy to hide the soldering!

[SpruceTop]

If anyone is feeling really adventurous, why not start from scratch and make your own piezo-electric crystals and take it from there? Who knows what may unfold; maybe your own acoustic-guitar pickup manufacturing company?

How to make piezo-electric crystals:

This could be a great way to get started making your own custom guitar pickups, contact mics, etc. Either way, tapping on a crystal you’ve grown and watching it produce 26 volts is pretty darn cool! http://makezine.com/2008/07/31/how-t...piezo-crystal/

A how-to video:

[luigib]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

If anyone is feeling really adventurous, why not start from scratch and make your own piezo-electric crystals and take it from there? Who knows what may unfold; maybe your own acoustic-guitar pickup manufacturing company?

How to make piezo-electric crystals:

This could be a great way to get started making your own custom guitar pickups, contact mics, etc. Either way, tapping on a crystal you’ve grown and watching it produce 26 volts is pretty darn cool! http://makezine.com/2008/07/31/how-t...piezo-crystal/

A how-to video:

That was awesome! I also watched the video where he makes a preamp, great stuff.