Piezo bug pick-ups

[Drew Stephenson]

I'd like to add a pick-up to my guinjo so that I can plug it straight into my pedal board.
I don't think an under-saddle option is practical so I'm looking at the various bug options. K&K have been recommended but as I'm a cheapskate, and as the instrument cost less than £10 to make, I'm looking for any other budget recommendations.
The key thing is that I don't have room on my pedalboard for another power-supply or pre-amp - otherwise I'd use my Zeppelin Cortado.
Cheers
Drew

[Wonks]

Someone needs a bigger pedal board!

The time comes to us all.

[Wonks]

A K&K hotspot is just under £40, so you're looking for something cheaper that doesn't need an external preamp or needs to feed into a 10meg input impedance input.

[Wonks]

Lots of £10 bugs on Amazon. No idea how they sound but some get decent reviews (those that have actually tried with placement and not just stuck it on without testing). A lot seem to have 2.5mm micro jacks at the piezo end though, with a fairly short (10') supplied lead.

[BigRedX]

£40 for a piezo bug that doesn't require a pre-amp is cheap in relative terms. IIRC the Ibanez piezo bug I bought for my acoustic guitar in 1975 cost £15 and was very average sound-wise.

I've just had a look and second-hand versions of the Ibanez are in excess of £50 which means that the Kimbara acoustic guitar that it's fitted to has now tripled in value!

[Drew Stephenson]

A K&K hotspot is just under £40, so you're looking for something cheaper that doesn't need an external preamp or needs to feed into a 10meg input impedance input.

Actually that's in range. Most of the hits I was getting were a lot higher than that. I plainly need to brush up on my google-fu.

Lots of £10 bugs on Amazon... A lot seem to have 2.5mm micro jacks at the piezo end though, with a fairly short (10') supplied lead.

That would work because I can attach that tail to the strap.

£40 for a piezo bug that doesn't require a pre-amp is cheap in relative terms.

Agree, not sure how I'd missed that in my searches.

I'll see if anyone has any hands on experience with one of the Amazon jobs and if not see what can be negotiated out of the toys budget.

[Wonks]

One question to ask yourself is "Do I actually want it to sound like a £10 instrument"?

[zenguitar]

One question to ask yourself is "Do I actually want it to sound like a £10 instrument"?

Well that sounds like an improvement

Andy

[Wonks]

A good way to amplify a banjo-style instrument is to glue a large brick to where you’d normally stick a piezo element, then throw it down a well, where it will make a satisfyingly loud splash at the bottom.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

The brick is excellent advice IMHO

A K&K hotspot is just under £40, so you're looking for something cheaper that doesn't need an external preamp or needs to feed into a 10meg input impedance input.

They don't give any specs that I could find anywhere- but it looks like there is no pre-amp so it is still a passive piezo that requires a hi Z pre amp.

I think the Triton Big Amp Piezo pre-amp is small and a useful thing to have around, and very reasonably priced. I have a 5 packof piezos I bought from Amazon for something less than £20. Two of them match and I get beautiful sounds with a pair of Tritons.

[Drew Stephenson]

[Wonks]

The brck is excellent advice IMHO

A K&K hotspot is just under £40, so you're looking for something cheaper that doesn't need an external preamp or needs to feed into a 10meg input impedance input.

They don't give any specs that I could find anywhere- but it looks like there is no pre-amp so it is still a passive piezo that requires a hi Z pre amp.

I think the Triton Big Amp Piezo pre-amp is small and a useful thing to have around, and very reasonably priced.

There are different Piezo materials and K&K pickups have a strong output and actually prefer a lower impedance to run into, so you’re fine running it into a line input on a mixing desk.

I’ve fitted them to several instruments and although K&K themselves say 500k to 1 meg, I have modified a clean boost pedal with to have a 10k input impedance as that’s where it actually sounds flattest to me (my Fishman loudbox mini has a 10 meg input impedance and it sounds very boomy indeed plugged straight in, hence the pedal).

[Drew Stephenson]

I think the Triton Big Amp Piezo pre-amp is small and a useful thing to have around, and very reasonably priced.

But that requires phantom power, which means adding a power supply and then converting the output to go to the pedalboard.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

Good to know thanks!

How does the K&K sound compared to the Cortado?

[Wonks]

Yes it took me by surprise as well, I was expecting the opposite.

Drew has the Cortado and my K&Ks are all under-bridge mounted, so I can't say how they compare myself.

[shufflebeat]

Yoga D-606 cheapo drum mic clamped inside and low/hi Z adaptor (backwards DI) to match it to pedalworld.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pulse-D606-To ... B0CPDPYR1K

Forget the rim-clamp included, there are much better ways to fit it.

[Sam Spoons]

JJB Electronics do K&K typ pickup systems for a lot less money.

https://www.jjb-electronics.com/our-products.html

The only UK stockist I've found so far is Feline Guitars but he only seems to have the Prestige system in stock which is the most expensive JJB make.

https://felineguitars.com/collections/j ... ic-pickups

I've just bought one to fit to my Brian Eastwood acoustic.

[Wonks]

JJB Electronics do K&K typ pickup systems for a lot less money.

Not for the single disk version. Cheaper in the US but not over here with shipping etc.

[adrian_k]

Drew I think I can help - will PM you.

[Drew Stephenson]

Drew I think I can help - will PM you.

Received and PM'd.

[Wonks]

Drew I think I can help - will PM you.

Yes, I believe you're a therapist now, aren't you?

[Drew Stephenson]

Drew I think I can help - will PM you.

Yes, I believe you're a therapist now, aren't you?

"Why do you feel that anyone might like a banjo to be louder?"

[adrian_k]

Drew I think I can help - will PM you.

Yes, I believe you're a therapist now, aren't you?

Some problems just can’t be fixed though…

[Kwackman]

"Why do you feel that anyone might like a banjo to be louder?"

The last 3 words of that sentence aren't needed....

[Wonks]

Drew I think I can help - will PM you.

Yes, I believe you're a therapist now, aren't you?

Some problems just can’t be fixed though…

Though at least the padding in the cell helps muffle the sound.