need help with this piezo pickup

first time builder here. building a solid body, found this pick up on ebay. like it how it has volume and tone.

where does that other end of the piezo under saddle wire go to (circled red ) ??

do i need a preamp or that 9v battery eq thing??

Well the pickup will be made to plug into the jack or the controls. I dont see a battery but it does have controls so I would have thought that it was an active pickup?

It may be best to ask the seller for more details.

komedy said:

first time builder here. building a solid body, found this pick up on ebay. like it how it has volume and tone.

where does that other end of the piezo under saddle wire go to (circled red ) ??

do i need a preamp or that 9v battery eq thing??

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the "thing" is a 1/8 mono jack you plug into the housing where your two knobs is located ( im assuming ofcourse that there is one conspicuously hidden somewhere and it should) as far as pre amps go, its definitely a must with all peizo PU inorder to get the proper impedance, though im pretty sure it is already built- in in the unit since youve got the tone knob installed already.

thank you so much guys, ive been searching youtube and google for few days to figure that out. thanks for the explanation i needed.

It is entirely possible to do passive volume and tone controls with piezo ceramic pickups, and that's what you've got there.

You'll want to use an amp with a very high input impedance...on the order of 1 to 10 MegOhms or so...and keep cable length to a minimum.

Disclaimer...I design pickups. D-TAR

There is some intresting stuff on on passive piezo's pickups here http://www.cigarboxnation.com/group...passive-tone-control-for-a?xg_source=activity

There is very little critical listening applied to piezo pickups in the uke or guitar world. Too many folks seem to be satisfied with just about anything that makes a squawk. The very fact that it works at all masks the dreadful sound, and there is a desire almost to get something for nothing, hence the constant return to the Radio Shack piezo discs.

Just ask yourself this: Would I accept this as a great sound on a recording? Most uke players really don't care about pickup sound as long as they can plug in and be heard above the din of a uke club meeting... Is that me being a curmudgeon? No, it's what I see and hear, and it's real.

Unfortunately, it is not easy (nor inexpensive) to come close to rivaling the sound of a good microphone with a pickup. I dare say that I know how to do it, and I do, but my system adds well over $300.00 to the cost of a uke. But then again, I know a lot of people who regularly use microphones in the studio that are worth well in excess of $3,000.00, and that's considered mid-priced. There is a false ceiling on pickup cost that just isn't there for microphones.

For some great mics, check out my neighbors here in Santa Cruz: Josephson Engineering. They're two blocks away from me.

When you really get into this stuff and you start doing shoot-outs among multi-thousand dollar microphones and hear the differences, you develop a whole other level of critical thinking about sound. It's like being in a great sounding room alone with twenty really good ukes...knowing that they're all wonderful...and then going for the differences and understanding them. You come out of that experience quite changed in what you perceive as being OK, good, or great...and you now know how much stuff out there really sucks.

That's a mis-matched Artec brand system...

I was wondering what brand, model and price range more experienced luthiers use in their ukuleles? Is there a minimum cost you need to use to get decent sound? Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Tom

I fit Artec under protest... they are as good as any under the saddle system. I really don't like doing it.

I use a customized version of my D-TAR (Duncan-Turner Acoustic Research) "Timberline" with internal preamp and external 18 volt battery box. I'd put it up against anything, any time, any day including a Sure SM-57 mic, but I have to charge about $350.00 for it installed.

But I am one of the few luthiers who is just about equally at home on the amplified side of things as the acoustic side. I've been making pickups since 1969, and it's just part of my normal bag of tricks. Most acoustic luthiers abhor having to deal with amplification, but in the real world of professional acoustic musicians, pickups are an absolute necessity. I personally believe that pickups have saved acoustic stringed instruments from the dust bin of history. That is a very unpopular attitude among acoustic luthiers...

Rick Turner said:

I use a customized version of my D-TAR (Duncan-Turner Acoustic Research) "Timberline" with internal preamp and external 18 volt battery box. I'd put it up against anything, any time, any day including a Sure SM-57 mic, but I have to charge about $350.00 for it installed.

But I am one of the few luthiers who is just about equally at home on the amplified side of things as the acoustic side. I've been making pickups since 1969, and it's just part of my normal bag of tricks. Most acoustic luthiers abhor having to deal with amplification, but in the real world of professional acoustic musicians, pickups are an absolute necessity. I personally believe that pickups have saved acoustic stringed instruments from the dust bin of history. That is a very unpopular attitude among acoustic luthiers...

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I'm sure luthiers understand and that's why they have options to add a pickup. I have a Fishman Prefix Pro attached in one and getting a K&K Twinspot installed in another. I'm sure it can't compete with yours but I got two different styles to see which type of pickups I will like in the future.

Different pickup types also perform very differently in various acoustic situations. Soundboard transducers can put you in feedback hell, but may sound woodier than cheap undersaddle pickups. Undersaddle pickups can sound quacky, but can resist feedback like crazy. Either type can be done well, and even then each style has it's pluses and minuses. Convenience, battery access, extraneous noise issues...all factor in.

BaldEagle5556 said:

I was wondering what brand, model and price range more experienced luthiers use in their ukuleles? Is there a minimum cost you need to use to get decent sound? Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Tom

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For my personal 'ukulele (if I had one & played on stage), I'd have to go with Rick & DTar. Nice that he dropped an external box - I totally get the 18v concept, now. Until you realize what headroom brings to the table, you really don't know what you're missing. Besides the fact that I've played and heard a DTAR equipped Compass Rose that got turned up LOUD without even blinking or quacking, I just converted my bass from 9v to 18v.

Funny, when I first read how 18v will give 6db more headroom, I thought that wouldn't make that much of a difference (only 6?). Then I read what 6db means as far as loudness, depending on who wrote it, seems 25%+ greater volume (some say 100%). Whatever, my bass is now the FAT bass that I was looking for. Tone is definitely enhanced.

That said, LRBaggs works well for me and my clients haven't asked for anything other (actually wanting to replace the Fishman with the Baggs). That said, minimum cost would be $120 retail, plus installation.

Aaron

I'ts come a long way since I amplified my first accoustic guitar in the 1950's..I used one half of some headphones, the old ex army type with an iron disc/diaphram and electro magnet coils..I fastned this to the soundboard with a woodscrew and a simple clamp..Then dismantled the pickup arm on my Parents radiogram and wired up my guitar to that..it had a terrible mains hum..but my mates thought it was fantastic.