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

[john mahoney]

> 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
> >
> >
>
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