Doing Things Wrong

Electronics - Piezo

Projects utilizing piezo pickups and electronics.


This is the biggest of the Audiovoxes, weighing in at a full 12 pounds, with a 36" scale. The neck is a Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba) floorboard over maple, with a straight cutout headstock. There are over 100 marker dots. The body is veneered masonite over solid plywood, with Danelectro-style Tolex binding. There are also strap buttons, this instrument can be played vertically or horizontally.


This one is almost identical in construction to the Danelectro-style - masonite over chambered plywood body, masonite pickguard. The neck is purpleheart over maple, with plastic fret lines. The soundhole merely serves as a pickup mount, and the pickup was just insurance against never getting the intended piezo system to work. Eventually, I did get it to work, the piezo is incorporated in a modified bridge, and sounds great. 30" scale.


This bass is a 21" scale, with a piezo saddle mounted in an adjustable bridge. The soundhole is just for looks. The strings are metal-wound Kalas. The fretboard is cut out of the ugliest piece of wood I ever received. For such a small neck, I managed to cut around most of the ugly, and the result isn't half bad.


Built as a testbed for a number of ideas:


Hollow plywood body with Mighty Mite 34" neck. Graphtech Ghost piezo saddles with a backup soundhole-mounted magnetic pickup, active electronics.


21" neck, adjustable bridge with piezo saddle, active electronics. EBay body. Now has metal-wound strings.


Minor dings in bare wood can often be popped out by applying a bit of boiling water, which will swell the grain. If water doesn't work, try heated acetone. Place a small container of acetone in a large container of hot water to heat it, away from any ignition source. Steam will also work - to fix up large areas, use an iron on low over a damp towel. I have even gotten the hot water trick to work through a finish, but there is no telling what the result may be, and I don't recommend trying it.

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