Don357 Posted October 28, 2020 Report Share Posted October 28, 2020 I'm wanting to install an acoustic pickup on one of my solid body electric guitars with a strat style body. I have an under saddle pickup from an acoustic guitar and have placed it under the string saddles. It sounds good but is causing a problem with string height. All this being said, I now have a few questions. 1. Should I go with this type of pickup, only thinner? 2. Would a piezo disc type pickup mounted to the body give a comparable response and sound? And 3. Should I just buy a magnetic acoustic pickup and mount it under the strings between the other pickups. Any advice or suggestions will be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted October 28, 2020 Report Share Posted October 28, 2020 Hi Don, welcome to the forum! First, what kind of a bridge are you using and where exactly have you put the pickup? My imagination tells that you're talking about a fixed bridge (no tremolo) and the pickup (the type used under the bridge bone) is tucked under the separate bridge blocks. If so, a better location might be under the entire bridge where you could even carve a shallow groove for it. Not too deep, though, as you'd need pressure against it to transfer the vibrations. A picture of the guitar with explanations might help! A piezo disk works similarly to the bridge pickup. They can work very well and if not there's no fortune involved. Plus they're easy to mount! A magnetic acoustic pickup designed to be put across the sound hole is similar to any magnetic pickup so installing one won't give the acoustic sound you're after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don357 Posted October 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2020 The guitar is a Yamaha Pacifica and the bridge is a strat style tremelo. I put the pickup directly under the saddles. It works very well, but, it raised the action. It doesn't affect the intonation thankfully. I was wondering though, where would be the best place to put piezo discs should I decide to go with them. I can get a prewired set with tone and volume controls for about $10. Wondering about a preamp too. I'm going through an experimental stage and gathering information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted October 28, 2020 Report Share Posted October 28, 2020 There's quite a lot of room in the control cavity and with a solid wood contact you'd be able to use all the rhythmic tapping and banging typical for acoustic playing. I guess this guy has done it pretty nicely, knowing what he wants: If you feel like needing a preamp, here's how he made it: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted October 28, 2020 Report Share Posted October 28, 2020 if it's tapping you want... highly recommend you guy buy a drum head like the alesis dm5. then, wire up two piezo elements where you want to tap... and to a stereo jack. then you run that stereo cable to a dm5. now... when you tap you will triger electronic drum sounds. more importantly you'll trigger midi. if you run out midi from the dm5 to usb pc in, or two other synths... you can trigger any sound you like (conga!). Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted October 29, 2020 Report Share Posted October 29, 2020 I played around with building piezo pickups for upright bass for a while. The discs not only are thick but break down over time. I would suggest looking at piezo film. It is quite thin and durable. They were designed for installation in tractor trailer axles to work with rotten counters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don357 Posted October 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2020 Yeah, I forgot to mention that I am new to this forum. Hello from Chinchula AL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 29, 2020 Report Share Posted October 29, 2020 2 hours ago, Don357 said: Yeah, I forgot to mention that I am new to this forum. Hello from Chinchula AL. Welcome Don! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.