what kisnd of glue for piezo rod to bridge?
This article is a continuation of the Piezo 101 Introduction to Piezo Basics. In this article we motility from theory and general information to how-to info you can put to direct use in your builds. At that place are two main themes to this section: WHERE you should mount your piezo, and HOW you lot should mount it. Both of these are very important to consider when your goal is to go the best possible sound out of your cigar box guitar.
A piezo is a versatile electrical component, and the options for placing one in your cigar box guitar are pretty broad. We will cover some of the almost popular/effective placements here, and in the next section nosotros will discuss some different ways of mounting them to help get the all-time audio.First though we need to talk most one of the nicest features about a piezo, and that is that it can be cut and shaped to fit your intended placement. And so long equally you are yet able to adhere 1 atomic number 82 to the ceramic and one pb to the metal, it will still function every bit a pickup. So you can cut a thin strip for attaching to/embedding in a bridge, you tin cut an oblong oval for mounting under the lid, or some other custom shape. You tin can also drill a hole in the piezo and put a screw through it to mountain information technology instead of gum. This feature makes the simple piezo even more versatile for utilise every bit an instrument pickup.
In/On the Span
Many builders become practiced results from either embedding a piezo inside the bridge (sandwiching it between wooden pieces, for example), or past attaching information technology to the outside of the bridge. You can paint the piezo to assistance friction match it to the color scheme of where information technology beingness fastened, just make certain you don't utilise a conductive paint! The wires can be run down through a pigsty drilled but behind the span, and attached to a jack in the body.
Between the bridge and the Sound Board
Considering a piezo reacts to vibrations, placing it direct underneath the bridge, and 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 upward sound. Equally above, the wires can be run through a pocket-sized hole drilled through the sound board and fastened to a jack. This method is specially adept if you advisedly cut the piezo to match the base of your bridge. Yet, this method doesn't exit many options for insulating or cushioning the piezo (meet below).
Inside the 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. Finding just the right "sugariness spot" for information technology within the box tin exist a bit of an art form, and volition vary from build to build and box to box. Our advice is to kickoff with it just below the bridge, more than towards the bass side (the fatter strings) than the treble side. If possible, build your CBG in such a style that you tin open the box after the instrument is consummate, and then that you can endeavour moving the piezo around to examination how information technology sounds in dissimilar places within the box. Remember that the piezo responds to vibration. The more vibration it encounters, the more sound it is going to put out – then having information technology equally close as possible to the epicenter of vibration (the bridge) is mostly recommended.
Exist certain to check out our C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply web store for a dandy option of piezos, jacks and other guitar electronics!
Other Options
The not bad thing about Cigar Box Guitars is that at that place is so much room for experimentation. If you lot try something and information technology doesn't work, only take it apart/undo it and effort something else. This premise definitely applies to piezo placement – you lot can put them all over the place and encounter what kind of sound yous get. One could be placed under the nut up at the headstock to see what sort of sound is produced there. Or one could be placed down in the tailpiece. Or you could go hog-wild and put piezos nether a strip of wood all along the neck. The end result might non always be practical or pleasant to heed to, simply you lot volition have fun doing it!
A Note on Multiple Piezos
Yous are certainly free to utilize multiple piezos in a single build. Doing so tin provide some interesting opportunities for creating unique sounds. The question often arises as to how multiple piezos should exist wired – in parallel or in serial. To refresh, wiring in parallel means that each piezo has its own wires that run back to the jack. Wiring in series ways that yous "daisy-chain" them one to another so that only two wires go back to the jack. There is some varying opinion on this, simply the bulk stance seems to be that you should always wire piezos in parallel. When wired in series, each piezo changes the total impedance (recollect "sound pickup potential") of the whole circuit, so wiring in parallel tends to produce more consistent results. Nevertheless, here over again – experiment with both and reach your own conclusions!
Piezo Mounting Methods
Having discussed WHERE y'all should mount your piezo, now it's time to talk about HOW y'all should mount it. There are a few basic means of mounting a piezo, which volition of course depend on where you decide to mount it. About of these methods apply to when you are mounting the piezo inside the box, but some of the principles can exist applied to other mounting placements. Methods of mounting range from taping it to the within of the box, to gluing it using a diverseness of different glues and adhesives, to drilling a pigsty in the piezo and mounting it with a pocket-sized screw, to encasing the piezo in some other material before mounting. We volition discuss each of these briefly in plow, to give you an idea of the pros and cons that apply to each.
Taping
This is probably the simplest fashion to attach a piezo to a cigar box. It can be used either inside or outside the box, but if looks are a concern you probably won't want to slap a piece of duct record to the outside of your build. A proficient stiff double-sided tape is a good choice for this, as is duct tape, though of course there is a chance that in time it will let go. Tape tin be a good way to test a piezo in dissimilar spots, if yous are able to open up your box after it is complete. One time you find your "sweet spot" though we would recommend moving on to ane of the other attachment methods to make it more than permanent.
Glueing
Using glue to adhere a piezo is probably the nearly mutual way of doing so, and we feel it is one of the best. A range of different adhesives can be used, from epoxy to hobby cement to silicone adhesive to hot gum. Pretty much any general purpose glue or adhesive will piece of work, but in our experience those that offering a bit more insulation are best. For instance, a rubbery adhesive similar silicone tin help to insulate and cushion the piezo a bit, creating a buffer zone between it and the difficult wood of the box height. Equally will be discussed in more detail below, this cushion can assistance to modulate and moderate the sounds and cut down some of the harsher tones. Hot glue from a glue gun tin can besides be used to encase the piezo and give it some cushion. An adhesive that dries hard, like epoxy, will provide less absorber and tin can lead to your piezo being "hotter" in terms of what information technology picks up. Equally mentioned in a higher place, if possible information technology can be a good idea to try your piezo in different placements with tape before gluing information technology down permanently.
Screws
Information technology is fairly like shooting fish in a barrel to drill a small hole in the center of a piezo then that you can put a spiral through it for attaching it to your box. Just exist certain to wear gloves or (gently) concord the piezo with pliers when drilling – a spinning metal disk tin can cutting your fingers badly earlier you even have time to react. Too be sure to choose a curt plenty spiral so that it volition not get all the way through your box – this can be a very unpleasant surprise. One affair to note almost using this method is that past itself, information technology provides NO cushion or insulation for the piezo at all. You lot simply take the blank piezo confronting blank wood. This can crusade some harshness in the pickup's response, so consider putting something between the piezo and the wood to absorber it a scrap. A pocket-size piece of rubber or a small-scale dollop of plumber'southward pipage dope can work adept for this. See beneath for more discussion on cushioning and insulating a piezo.
Encasing/Sandwiching
I of the biggest complaints that people tend to have with piezos is that they tin be a bit harsh, audio-wise. Whether the issue is with the piezo picking up as well many clicks and scrapes when the audio lath gets brushed while playing, or tending to be a bit "shrieky", the results are not always exactly what nosotros had in listen. Fortunately, there are steps that can exist taken to help insulate the piezo a flake to aid modulate the sound and cut out some of the more annoying stuff. In that location are two primary methods: using just glue, or a sandwiching method using some other materials to encase the disk before attaching it to the box.
The mucilage cushioning method involves using a rubbery agglutinative, such as silicone or hot mucilage, to provide a buffer between the piezo and the sound board. This method was discussed above under the "gluing" department, and in that location is not much more to exist said almost it here. Only be certain you really endeavour to encase the piezo in the gum, with a nice thick layer between it and the sound board. Endeavour to become over 1/viii inch if you can, only experiment with unlike amounts to see how it affects the audio.
The encasing method involves sandwiching the piezo betwixt some other material(south), such equally sparse pieces of forest, small pieces of leather, etc. This method can besides include dipping the piezo in some sort of condom blanket liquid, like the liquid vinyl they sell for dipping tool handles in. The betoken here is to cushion and insulate the piezo a flake, so that its harsher tendencies are reduced and it produces a more than even, pleasant tonal response. The options here really are broad open up for experimentation. Expect effectually your house and workshop and yous are bound to come up up with some woods scraps, bits of leather or cloth, rubber, or various other materials that could be used for encasing a piezo.
1 more reminder – we accept all sorts of cracking guitar and cigar box guitar parts and accessories over at our C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply web store, all at great prices!
Piezos and Pots and Jacks, Oh My
Before we're done, we should briefly affect the topic of potentiometers, or pots, in conjunction with piezos. A pot is basically a turnable knob, such as a volume or tone knob on a stereo. A pot is a variable resister that controls how much electric current/voltage is allowed to flow through the circuit. When used with a magnetic pickup, there are a lot of interesting things that can be done in terms of affecting both the tone and the volume of the sound output. With piezos nevertheless, wiring in a tone pot doesn't really take any noticable effect, so we won't get into that here. Much more than useful tin exist wiring in a simple book pot, to permit you lot to adjust the output volume right from your guitar. For this purpose you mostly desire a 500K audio taper potentiometer wired into the circuit between the piezo and the jack, though a 250K pot tin also work. Linear taper pots can as well piece of work, but they don't finer increase the perceived book as evenly as the audio taper (the reasons are fairly advanced, electronically, so we won't get into it here.)
The shaft of the pot tin can be mounted right through the side of the cigar box, and a knob (either homemade or store-bought) placed over the end of information technology to dress it upwards a bit. This tin can exist a prissy finishing touch for your build.
Decision
Well that is merely about all you need to know (and so some) to get started with putting a piezo pickup into your Cigar Box Guitar. Nosotros take talked about what piezos are and a niggling bit well-nigh how they work. We take discussed the different options available with piezos, such equally pre-wired, brass vs. stainless disks, and size. We have covered some of the key topics surrounding where you should mountain a piezo in your build, also as discussed how you lot can mount it to all-time effect. Finally, we touched on some of basic aspects of adding a volume pot into your build.
We promise that you detect this data useful in your edifice, and that you are able to create ever improve Cigar Box Guitars because of it. Be certain to check out the various electronics components nosotros offer in our web shop, including various sizes of piezos, jacks, and pots!
Source: https://www.cigarboxguitar.com/knowledge-base/using-piezos-in-cigar-box-guitars-part-2-placement-mounting/
0 Response to "what kisnd of glue for piezo rod to bridge?"
Post a Comment