Piezo pickup

Heft

Junior Member
Messages
147
I'd like to add a piezo pickup to my telecaster. Is it possible to do this with just one pot that dials in the signal and maybe a separate toggle to turn on/off a preamp?
Thanks,
Heft
 
Anything is possible. I don't know of any electronics out there that is ready made for that, but it would not be much work to put together a PCB with a FET style preamp for that Piezo with a sub-mini toggle to activate it. Should be able to fit it on a standard telecaster control plate with the extra knob / switch in the middle between the original volume and tone. To make sure the new piezo volume control would not interfere with the original tone/vol I would use one of those 9mm pots that just have a black plastic shaft and use that as is.

Would have to find a different place for the battery mind you...
 
Well that thing is cute! A couple of issues that I see off the bat:
1 - piezo pickups require a high impedance load, like 1M plus. Not sure what the input impedance is on that little guy, but might be higher than you expect.
2 - are you planning on running the piezo directly into that guy then into the pickup selector switch? That might work well (at least the low impedance of the volume / tone of the telecaster won't cause tone suck), and I see it's got a little trim-pot for adjusting the level. Might work out....
 
I'd rather keep it off the pickup selector and stick with a 3-way selector. I'll look into the impedance of the preamp.
 
Doesn't that Canadian company that makes TUSQ saddles do a strat piezo?
 
They do. I have one of their piezos on my other tele. I don't want to use that one again because they require a specific pre amp and have really complicated wiring. I would stay away from the Graphtec ghost system. IMO it sounds great but is a hassle to get working, I also want to use the pre amp by itself to drive an amp. The Graphtec doesn't do that.
 
Before you start thinking preamps, think about your signal downstream. Are you planning on separate mag and piezo sends, some switch into a single send, or a pot to dial in the sends.
I have 2 piezo guitars, had a 3rd I traded.
First consider your amplifier streams, that will narrow down you pre amp selection.
 
It would be the pot that dials in the piezo. Like a blend if possible.
 
It would be the pot that dials in the piezo. Like a blend if possible.
So a blend between the Piezo and the magnetic pickups? That's disabled (back to stock) when you flick the switch?

That's doable, we'd have to design and make it ourselves I think. BTW, I have done a PCB that fits under a tele control plate to do a switchable boost with a third knob to control the amount. This is not the same thing, but it's in the same wheelhouse...
 
So a blend between the Piezo and the magnetic pickups? That's disabled (back to stock) when you flick the switch?

That's doable, we'd have to design and make it ourselves I think. BTW, I have done a PCB that fits under a tele control plate to do a switchable boost with a third knob to control the amount. This is not the same thing, but it's in the same wheelhouse...
No. I'd like a blend when I turn up the dial. When I dial back to 0 its back to stock.
When I hit the switch it kicks in the preamp to boost the signal. The preamp could function independently I think. I really just want the diagram to dial in a pickup. I checked and the preamp has 500k input impedance and 2k output. So it may not work.
 
I don't think the EMG PA2 would be suitable for Piezos as it is designed as a boost for Active or Passive mag pickups.

Perhaps something like a a Fishman Powerchip may be closer to, or what you are looking for.

 
Still thing about your outs. Also a piezo without a preamp is pretty meaningless. Also think about onboard EQ for the piezo as it will want something different than the mags.
 
Yep, the piezo gits i've used have a pre-amp, and on board eq. I have no idea how they're wired. Like driving a car, I just know it works.
 
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