I have an idea

[waynepunkdude]

I bought these today.



My plan is to hook the piezo to the jack then to a pre amp then stick the piezo on the bridge.

I'm sure this won't work because I haven't thought of something, any ideas?

[slobluesine]

a cunning plan indeed sir, lotsa folks gonna be watching this one me thinks, that little lot must have have set you back at least 50p mate, GO Waynepunkdude

be great if that's all we needed in the first place hey

Edited October 14, 2010 by slobluesine

[JoshJ]

I've been thinking about doing this, got to be good if it saves us £100 or so on a "proper" pickup, and I've even seen people suggesting they can sometimes be used without a preamp which would save us another big lump.
One of the best sets of instructions I've seen is [url="http://fittell.id.au/piezo/"]this one[/url]. He suggests putting it under the bridge foot, but if you do that, you need to use the layer of cork so the piezo can still move, and then I can imagine you having a lot of fun getting it to sit nicely.

From what I've read so far, the "something" you've forgotten could be:
Piezo needs to stretch so don't fasten it too tightly (I guess), but obviously it needs to make good contact with your wood .
Keep the wires (and the cable to the preamp, I think) short and secure them as well as possible because movement in the wires will be picked up in the signal.
DON'T solder anything directly onto the piezo terminals because you can melt the piezo film.

And most important of all: Take lots of photos and write everything down so I can copy off you and learn from any mistakes you make

Good luck!!

[phil.i.stein]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='988339' date='Oct 14 2010, 07:35 PM']I bought these today.



My plan is to hook the piezo to the jack then to a pre amp then stick the piezo on the bridge.

I'm sure this won't work because I haven't thought of something, any ideas?[/quote]
mate of mine made a'bug' years ago using the same principle. it was the alarm speaker from a digital watch attached to an input jack.

we used it at school (blu-tacked to a door) to listen to teachers/girls conversations.

1987 (nostalgia ). it produced very clear results.

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='JoshJ' post='988431' date='Oct 14 2010, 09:07 PM']I've been thinking about doing this, got to be good if it saves us £100 or so on a "proper" pickup, and I've even seen people suggesting they can sometimes be used without a preamp which would save us another big lump.
One of the best sets of instructions I've seen is [url="http://fittell.id.au/piezo/"]this one[/url]. He suggests putting it under the bridge foot, but if you do that, you need to use the layer of cork so the piezo can still move, and then I can imagine you having a lot of fun getting it to sit nicely.

From what I've read so far, the "something" you've forgotten could be:
Piezo needs to stretch so don't fasten it too tightly (I guess), but obviously it needs to make good contact with your wood .
Keep the wires (and the cable to the preamp, I think) short and secure them as well as possible because movement in the wires will be picked up in the signal.
DON'T solder anything directly onto the piezo terminals because you can melt the piezo film.

And most important of all: Take lots of photos and write everything down so I can copy off you and learn from any mistakes you make

Good luck!![/quote]


I'm going to start basic and adjust for problems when I get them, my first run will involve masking tape on the bridge.

[ahpook]

you'll most definitely need a preamp with that.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I've made loads of these. The most recent one was housed in a colmans mustard lid (yellow english mustard IIRC) for Pete o5b's open-backed banjo. I think I also used double sided carpet tape & a disc cut from a mousmat. It worked a treat first time he tried it at a gig - straight into his geetar amp for a couple of songs.
There's a recording here:
[url="http://www.o5b.co.uk/petes-banjo/"]http://www.o5b.co.uk/petes-banjo/[/url]

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='ahpook' post='988489' date='Oct 14 2010, 09:59 PM']you'll most definitely need a preamp with that.[/quote]

I take it you know what the output signal's impedance will be and what the impedance on the input of his amp is?

I need a pre between my Bassmax and my Hartke head, but got away without a pre when using a GK combo recently.

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='988728' date='Oct 15 2010, 01:20 AM']I take it you know what the output signal's impedance will be and what the impedance on the input of his amp is?

I need a pre between my Bassmax and my Hartke head, but got away without a pre when using a GK combo recently.[/quote]


I have no idea but I have a DHA pre amp that I use for my acoustic so I'm going to use that.

[SteveO]

[quote name='ahpook' post='988489' date='Oct 14 2010, 10:59 PM']you'll most definitely need a preamp with that.[/quote]

not necessarily.

using exactly the same things I made a pickup for a broomstick/washtub bass. Plugged straight into the combo and it works fine, although it can be a little sensitive to high frequency noise - it picks up every knock, but a low pass filter will sort this out - I use a behringer guitar graphic eq pedal.

[TPJ]

I have a pile of those to with the same exact idea . If you google "contact mic" you'll find lots of similar ideas.

First one I tried to wrap in heatshrink but the heat caused one of the leads to come undone rendering it useless.

I then tried to make something similar to a realist with copper shielding tape but somewhere the connections either came off or the tape bridged the connections.

Well worth a go, as long as you're not as inept as me with leccy bits.

[Beer of the Bass]

I've messed around with piezo discs in the past, and you'll get much more output if you can mount it so that the disc is squeezed a bit, rather than just attached to a surface. I'd recommend putting it in the bridge wing slot on the bass side and working out some sort of shim to wedge it in place. It will probably give a workable sound mounted that way.
Personally I found it nigh-on impossible to come up with something that was sturdy enough and well shielded against hum though, so I went with a Rev. Solo pickup.
The DHA should work OK as a piezo preamp - I've used mine for that before. The passive input on most Ashdown heads is also fine for piezos, as it has 4 megaohm impedance, IIRC.

[JoshJ]

How did/is it go(ing), wayne?

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='JoshJ' post='993900' date='Oct 19 2010, 06:27 PM']How did/is it go(ing), wayne?[/quote]


I'll let you know when I get my soldering gun back from a friend on Thursday.

[tino]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='988339' date='Oct 14 2010, 07:35 PM']I bought these today.



My plan is to hook the piezo to the jack then to a pre amp then stick the piezo on the bridge.

I'm sure this won't work because I haven't thought of something, any ideas?[/quote]
Darling Simply love the rug...Tell me its a Berber Twist

[harmonicon]

It will work. It may not be very robust, but it will work. If you plan on using it for gigging, I'd just suggest you bring a back up. You can just stick the sucker somewhere on the bridge with a bit of tape or blue tack - find a place that sounds good.

[waynepunkdude]

Stupid question, which terminal does the red wire go to?

[Beer of the Bass]

It'll work either way round, but you'd be best to connect the wire that goes to the brass surround to ground (i.e jack sleeve) and use the one attached to the piezo face as the signal.

[waynepunkdude]

First attempt didn't work, I bought the output jack from Maplins and none of my leads stay in it :S

[Andy Nervous]

[font="Verdana"][/font]Hi Wayne,
How did it go with the piezo?
I have been using that exact same pick-up myself for at least 15 years,gigging several night's a week,
not on my bridge but tucked away under the finger-board. They are superb as a click pick-up for playing slap-style.
I use a shadow bridge pick-up through my bass amp,line-out to PA,then plug the piezo direct input to the PA.
I've played in all sort's/sizes of venue's,through all sort's/sizes of PA - and never had any problem - no feedback,noise,distortion etc.
The click sound it produces is absolutely spot on,clean and crisp - crunchy even - and it enhances triplet's beautifully.
I'd recommend this set-up for any bassist wanting to become a Rockabilly plank-slapper,(a bargain at 78p),but it's not
a viable option as a bridge pick-up. It's missing all the qualities you need for bass-notes,forget it.
By the way,the best way to attach this under the finger-board is to hold in place with a strong,thin implement,(eg;your nan's knitting needle),
and slap a dollop of Araldite,completely covering it,over the back of the piezo. It makes a superb contact,hence strong signal.
Very best wishes and good luck,

Andy.[/font]