[sdiy] Guitar Synth boards ready... OT Question

[Scott Gravenhorst]

Ok, I get it, a contact microphone.  It sounds like it would be difficult to
get them isolated if the idea is to make a hex pickup.  I'd think vibration
would conduct easily through the bridge and cause one piezo to pick up more
than one string.

"john mahoney" <jmahoney at gate.net> wrote:
>> Can anyone briefly explain how a piezo works with a guitar string?
>
>In guitars, piezo elements (film type) are mounted in the bridge. They are
>always under pressure from the string tension pressing down onto the bridge.
>String vibration is transferred to the piezo crystals, which then generate
>varying signals (varying voltage, I believe -- like a microphone or phono
>cartridge).
>
>This guy sells piezo elements for making your own guitar pickups (seems
>expensive, to me):
>http://www.members.tripod.com/~tclutherie/page4.html
>
>(Side question: Did the cheap, old "ceramic" phono cartridges use piezo
>elements?)
>--
>john
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Scott Gravenhorst" <music.maker at gte.net>
>To: <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
>Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2004 10:18 AM
>Subject: RE: [sdiy] Guitar Synth boards ready... OT Question
>
>
>> Can anyone briefly explain how a piezo works with a guitar string?
>> Magnetic pickups are pretty obvious, but piezo?
>>
>> "Paddock, Toby" <tpaddock at seanet.com> wrote:
>> >All Electronics has cute little piezo discs #PE-45.
>> >The crystal itself is about 0.4" (1cm) dia.
>> >But I'm guessing that's still too wide.
>> >
>> >I just cut one with scissors and it looks like a pretty
>> >clean cut. (As far as I can tell with these old eyeballs.)
>> >I expected it to crumble and shatter and bend and such.
>> >I'll take it to work and look at it under a microscope.
>> >
>> >Later,
>> >Toby Paddock
>> >http://www.seanet.com/~tpaddock
>> >
>> >
>> >Harry "dipped in BBD's and rolled in cornflakes" Bissell wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Mono Piezo pickup... sure.
>> >>
>> >> HEX piezo pickup....  woah that would be tough.
>> >>
>> >> If I had to try it... I would check out some to the piezo stuff made my
>> >> Measurement Specialties (Digikey)... but not the little plastic piezo
>> >> benders.   They did not work well for my drum application, and would
>> >> be SURE to be worse for a guitar app.
>> >>
>> >> The Brass benders have a very brittle piezo ceramic... I think its
>> >> possible the
>> >> heat of cutting them with a dremel tool might harm them as well.  But
>> >> hey...
>> >> for the price of those benders why not try it ???
>> >>
>> >> How about taking apart old crystal phonograph cartridges ???
>> >>
>> >> H^) harry
>> >>
>> >> Ingo Debus wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > Am Sonntag, 20.06.04 um 23:51 Uhr schrieb nils pipenbrinck:
>> >> >
>> >> > > I'm lucky 'cause I own a guitar with a piezo pickup.
>> >> >
>> >> > Has anyone tried to diy a piezo pickup? Can these piezo discs (from
>> >> > buzzers etc.) be cut, with a dremel perhaps?
>> >> >
>> >> > Ingo
>> >
>> >
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------
>> - Where merit is not rewarded, excellence fades.
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>> - What good are laws that only lawyers understand?
>> - The media's credibility should always be questioned.
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>>
>> -- Scott Gravenhorst | LegoManiac / Lego Trains / RIS 1.5
>> -- Linux Rex         | RedWebMail by RedStarWare
>> -- FatMan: home1.gte.net/res0658s/FatMan/
>> -- NonFatMan: home1.gte.net/res0658s/electronics/
>> -- Autodidactic Master of Arcane and Hidden Knowledge.
>>
>

---------------------------------------------------------
- Where merit is not rewarded, excellence fades.
- Hydrogen is pointless without solar.
- What good are laws that only lawyers understand?
- The media's credibility should always be questioned.
- The only good terrorist is a dead terrorist.
- Governments do nothing well, save collect taxes.

-- Scott Gravenhorst | LegoManiac / Lego Trains / RIS 1.5
-- Linux Rex         | RedWebMail by RedStarWare
-- FatMan: home1.gte.net/res0658s/FatMan/
-- NonFatMan: home1.gte.net/res0658s/electronics/
-- Autodidactic Master of Arcane and Hidden Knowledge.