making piezo pickups for acoustic instruments, held on with magnets

[GalenH]

Hello All,
has anyone made piezo pickups for acoustic instruments? I would like to make a piezo pickup for an oud. I am thinking of making the kind that sticks on with a magnet above the piezo element, and another on the underside of the soundboard. Has anyone done this? or have plans? Thanks!
Galen

 

[Philbo King]

I have (had...) a friend who did this with his handmade instruments. He had a guitar shop in Clarksdale and was called Blues Wizard. Sadly, deceased.

Anyway, he said he made his own piezo pickups by growing crystals inside a copper tube, which then served as the bridge. He learned how from Youtube. Like this one:

They worked pretty well as long as the tube ended up on the grounded side; I played a number of gigs using his instruments at the Juke Joint Blues fest.
Here's a performance I did with him with me playing a creation of his, a standup bass made from a milkcan.


Copper won't work with magnets, of course. But maybe you can adapt the idea.

 

[GalenH]

I have (had...) a friend who did this with his handmade instruments. He had a guitar shop in Clarksdale and was called Blues Wizard. Sadly, deceased.

Anyway, he said he made his own piezo pickups by growing crystals inside a copper tube, which then served as the bridge. He learned how from Youtube. Like this one:

They worked pretty well as long as the tube ended up on the grounded side; I played a number of gigs using his instruments at the Juke Joint Blues fest.
Here's a performance I did with him with me playing a creation of his, a standup bass made from a milkcan.


Copper won't work with magnets, of course. But maybe you can adapt the idea.

that's wild and way more complex than what I'm thinking of. What im thinking of is more like a simple round piezo element with a magnet glued to the far side from the sounboard, with another magnet to tack it on to the underside of the soundboard. Like this...https://www.123sound.jp/enindex/product.html?fbclid=IwAR25BX6c1It4meHnvwfDK-qEuRBRAlvUh0xuW3okL1vDh4tIRixEkDBJEyY

 

[Philbo King]

Normally for guitars they are just stuck to the underside of the bridge (inside the body) with double sided tape or other adhesive. Usually 2 or 3 piezos are used on a guitar. A magnet pressing against it will probably interfere with its vibrational response, but it would be fairly easy to test.

 

[CJ]

They have under the saddle piezos too

Amazon.com

 

[GalenH]

Normally for guitars they are just stuck to the underside of the bridge (inside the body) with double sided tape or other adhesive. Usually 2 or 3 piezos are used on a guitar. A magnet pressing against it will probably interfere with its vibrational response, but it would be fairly easy to test.

they're widely used- see link Acoustic instrument pickup maker 123sound.jp for guitar,ukulele and so on

 

[GalenH]

They have under the saddle piezos too

Amazon.com

no saddle on this instrument, it's an oud

 

[Disco Volante]

Love the video. True DIY. I'd like to get closer look at that bass, that is some mean looking monster...

 

[Philbo King]

Love the video. True DIY. I'd like to get closer look at that bass, that is some mean looking monster...

He told me he sold it for $2500

 

[terry setter]

I've made several of these. I bought "buzzers" from Radio Shack (RIP) and pulled the piezo element out of the plastic housing. I take an old guitar cord, but the bad end off (I usually had a pile of "bad" cords with one broken end) and VERY DELICATELY soldered the positive lead to the crystal area and the negative lead to the brass disk that has the crystals coated on it. These things are EXTREMELY HIGH IMPEDANCE, so long cable runs are out and noise can get in from many sources, but they work great.

I'm not big on the double-sided tape, because that stuff is soft and absorbs high frequencies from the source. But then, if you try it and it works, you're all set!

My big thought on this subject is that I should try using one of the FET mic circuits that I've pulled out of donor mics. The FET should be a perfect termination for the piezo element. AND, I'd then have a low Z, balanced output. PM my your address and I'll send you just such a circuit (I have a bag of 'em).

 

[CJ]

you gotta place the piezo underneath the terminus of where the strings hit the body, whereever that is, probably a guitar shop repair guy job,

 

[Whoops]

has anyone made piezo pickups for acoustic instruments?

For sure, many times. But it was really simple, just used Piezo round elements, soldered a cable into it, and glued the element to the instrument with double side tape, just that.

Nowadays I do piezo pickups anylonger as you can buy a pickup with 3 piezo elements, already with the cables and with the adhesive putty for 50bucks, and it works great

https://www.thomann.de/gr/shadow_sh713_tripleducer.htm



If you go the DIY route, wish you all good with it and have fun along the way, but there's so cheap and good options nowadays that is something to consider

 

[GalenH]

you gotta place the piezo underneath the terminus of where the strings hit the body, whereever that is, probably a guitar shop repair guy job,

I understand piezo pickups, and what you are describing is already on my guitar. but this is not the question that I am asking. I am asking for help in diying a product that already exists that requires no modification to the instrument, and is used already, I know it works.

 

[GalenH]

For sure, many times. But it was really simple, just used Piezo round elements, soldered a cable into it, and glued the element to the instrument with double side tape, just that.

Nowadays I do piezo pickups anylonger as you can buy a pickup with 3 piezo elements, already with the cables and with the adhesive putty for 50bucks, and it works great

https://www.thomann.de/gr/shadow_sh713_tripleducer.htm
View attachment 119328


If you go the DIY route, wish you all good with it and have fun along the way, but there's so cheap and good options nowadays that is something to consider

I mean, sure. but what I am looking for is not exactly that, and is completely removable and requires no modification to the instrument.

 

[GalenH]

I've made several of these. I bought "buzzers" from Radio Shack (RIP) and pulled the piezo element out of the plastic housing. I take an old guitar cord, but the bad end off (I usually had a pile of "bad" cords with one broken end) and VERY DELICATELY soldered the positive lead to the crystal area and the negative lead to the brass disk that has the crystals coated on it. These things are EXTREMELY HIGH IMPEDANCE, so long cable runs are out and noise can get in from many sources, but they work great.

I'm not big on the double-sided tape, because that stuff is soft and absorbs high frequencies from the source. But then, if you try it and it works, you're all set!

My big thought on this subject is that I should try using one of the FET mic circuits that I've pulled out of donor mics. The FET should be a perfect termination for the piezo element. AND, I'd then have a low Z, balanced output. PM my your address and I'll send you just such a circuit (I have a bag of 'em).

I would love that! I will pm you my address, thank you for the offer.

 

[GalenH]

I would love that! I will pm you my address, thank you for the offer.

Isn't the output of a piezo element unbalanced? how would you balance it?

 

[GalenH]

For sure, many times. But it was really simple, just used Piezo round elements, soldered a cable into it, and glued the element to the instrument with double side tape, just that.

Nowadays I do piezo pickups anylonger as you can buy a pickup with 3 piezo elements, already with the cables and with the adhesive putty for 50bucks, and it works great

https://www.thomann.de/gr/shadow_sh713_tripleducer.htm
View attachment 119328


If you go the DIY route, wish you all good with it and have fun along the way, but there's so cheap and good options nowadays that is something to consider

to be clear about why I am asking this question, because I feel like it may not be quite clear-
I have seen multiple oud players and other players with piezo elements held on to the soundboard with magnets on either side of the soundboard. They work, and as the oud is a delicate instrument, I don't want to drill through it to put a jack, or use tape on it. As these are fairly simple pickups, I thought I could save myself the money and make a few of them myself.

 

[Brian Roth]

I have no suggestions.....but had to see what an Oud was/is:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oud
Interesting instrument and wish I could hear an example!

Bri

 

[Whoops]

Isn't the output of a piezo element unbalanced? how would you balance it?

You use a DI Box for that.
Connect the unbalanced Hi-Z signal from the piezo to the DI Box, and the it converts the signal to Balanced Microphone Level

 

[Whoops]

I mean, sure. but what I am looking for is not exactly that, and is completely removable and requires no modification to the instrument.

I don’t know what you mean, the Shadow Tripleducer I showed is “completely removable” and “requires no modification to the instrument”.
The white putty comes of very easily and leaves no marks on the instrument.

I use this with many different musicians and different instruments all the time