Just clamp it on. I made a detachable piezo pickup

Introduction

"Is there a way to make electric guitars and electric basses sound more acoustic?"

With that idea in mind, I created a "detachable piezo pickup" that can be used simply by clamping it on.

While standard piezo pickups are often used by embedding them in the instrument or sticking them on with adhesive, by using a clamp structure this time, I achieved:

• Use without modifying the instrument

• Easy attachment and removal

• Tone adjustment via clamping pressure

which turned out to be quite interesting.

In particular, the characteristic I discovered during prototyping—that the sound changes depending on how tight it is—was more interesting than expected, and I eventually even created an improved version that can blend two types of piezo elements.

What is a piezo pickup?

A piezo pickup is a type of pickup that converts the "vibration of an object" into an electrical signal.

While standard magnetic pickups mainly pick up the vibrations of magnetic materials like strings, piezo pickups can also capture the vibrations of the body and wood.

Therefore, it is attractive because it can add textures different from magnetic pickups, such as:

• Body resonance

• Wood resonance

• Airiness

• Natural feel

that magnetic pickups cannot.

Why I decided to make it

In a previous article I tried out a piezo pickup, but what I felt once again was,

the fun of being able to record the "natural resonance of the instrument itself."

Recently, you can easily purchase very inexpensive adhesive piezo pickups on sites like Amazon, and you can try them out immediately just by sticking them on.

However, while actually using them,

I started to think,

"Wouldn't it be interesting if I could attach and detach them more easily?"

So,

I started this project with the idea,

"If I fix it with a clamp, could I make a detachable piezo?"

Unit 1: Making something that can simply be "clamped on and used"

First, as an experiment, I decided to make a simple "piezo that can be fixed with a clamp."

It is a structure where a piezo element is attached to the tip of a small clamp and clamped directly to the body.

As it turned out, it could pick up sound much more clearly than I expected, and

I felt,

"This might be quite interesting."

As I continued to test it, I also noticed that the tone changes significantly depending on how tightly the clamp is tightened.

Changes in sound based on tightening pressure

Loose

• Easier to pick up vibrations near the surface

• Tilted toward high frequencies

• Light and delicate sound

Tight

• Easier to pick up deep vibrations

• Increased low frequencies

• Thick sound with a sense of body resonance

The character changes as if you were adjusting an EQ, and this discovery was a major catalyst for creating the improved version.

Improved version - Toward a "blendable" clamp-style piezo

In the improved version,

• a surface-mount piezo that picks up surface vibrations

• a clamp-side piezo that picks up deep vibrations

are both installed, and I made it possible to adjust the volume of each independently.

For the controls, I used a dual-concentric potentiometer, allowing for a specification where two types of vibration components can be blended.

For example,

• emphasizing the surface side
  → increases attack and airiness

• emphasizing the deep side
  → increases low frequencies and body resonance

This allows for a fairly wide range of sound creation.

Also, for the wiring of the dual-axis tandem pot, I once again received help from my usual repairman...!

Comparison audio

Using a Squier XII and a Tascam Model 12, I recorded comparison audio for each pickup.

I am playing with fingerstyle.

In particular,

• how the high frequencies come through

• the sense of body resonance

• the sense of air

• the sense of attack

I think it is easy to hear the differences if you compare these aspects.

Summary

The clamp-style piezo pickup I made this time is:

• easy to attach and detach

• requires no modification to the instrument

• allows for tonal changes via clamping pressure

• provides a different texture than magnetic pickups

It turned out to be quite an interesting creation.

In particular, it allows you to add

• natural acoustic qualities

• airiness

• body resonance

which are difficult to achieve with a standard magnetic pickup alone, so I feel it significantly expands the range of sound creation.

Also, the freedom of being able to "turn anything you can clamp onto into a pickup" might be the appeal of this method.