How Do Piezo Pickups Work? | Too Afraid To Ask

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Күн бұрын

Piezo pickups are capable of transforming string vibrations directly into an electric signal, but how do they work and what is the advantage to using them?
At 42 Gear Street we meet up with Ortega Guitars who utilise Piezo technology, allowing their Nylon Stringed instruments to be amplified.
Find more Ortega here:
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Guitar used in this video - BWSM/2:
www.thomann.de/gb/ortega_bwsm...
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Пікірлер: 263

@ScienceofLoud 4 жыл бұрын

@HumbleBasse 3 жыл бұрын

your channel is GREAT dude, interesting level of info, great educationnal delivery

@firebald2915 Жыл бұрын

Ok ok ok....why are we not putting this technology into electric guitars using both standard magnetic pickup and piezo under bridge pickups? We twist knobs twice to dial in a sound er... three times if we use a pedal. The uses are endless. I'm gonna purchase a inexpensive Fishman piezo and install it to my tele. Once,years ago, I used a clip on lapel mic in my mandolin and it worked fine without a pre amp. I used placement near the f hole just inside and breathable foam wind sock to keep the feedback to a minimum. Worked great on the house PA system.

@MonkyMonk729 4 жыл бұрын

Kudos to the mega-nerd who initially figured this shit out. All I know is if it was me who discovered this physical property of quartz and other crystalline substances, I would make damn sure the effect bore my name. Instead of piezo pickups you'd be putting together this awesome video about monkymonk729 pickups.

@snap-off5383 4 жыл бұрын

Wasnt it John Phillips Peizo who figured it out? 😜

@hazrod13 4 жыл бұрын

Electricity ! Physics ! Rocks ! Pikachu Shirt ! Yeah ! This video is brilliant !

@ScienceofLoud 4 жыл бұрын

It's most of my favourite things in one place.

@jasont3728 4 жыл бұрын

I agree mate- great video from start to finish!

@najeyrifai293 3 жыл бұрын

As a qualified chemist who's trying to learn lutherie: EXCELLENT explanation of the physics, and very well tied together with the lutherie!

@citizenparker 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for pronouncing piezo correctly.

@Ampher03 4 жыл бұрын

I always that that was the pronunciation

@Pauly421 4 жыл бұрын

I fuckin hope nobody pronounces it any other way lol

@bryantherocker 4 жыл бұрын

THEN HE PRONOUNCED CREATED AS KRI-IE-TID

@air9music 4 жыл бұрын

Bobby G and pronounced heard as haired.

@walkerdeserttracer6767 3 жыл бұрын

Peezo

@ortegaguitars 4 жыл бұрын

Phenomenal job, Colin. Thanks for having us on the interview.

@ScienceofLoud 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for being involved. It made for a very well rounded and interesting video. Let's work together on another project in the future.

@slap_my_hand 4 жыл бұрын

The piezoelectric effect works both ways. The crystal will deform slightly when you apply a voltage.

@dekjet 4 жыл бұрын

Those park distance sensors in cars exploit the effect both ways!

@S50Sinner Жыл бұрын

I believe they used that in BMW injectors for a little while.

@SHSULeadTrumpet 4 жыл бұрын

So much content!! I love the level of complexity you go to. It’s great to see someone not afraid to say it as it is when it comes to things like this. And it’s not that it’s offensive by any means, but often times information like this is really watered down just for fear of not losing the audience. But this is the level of understanding we as a species should always strive to achieve. Awesome job, I loved it!

@StudioChimiel 4 жыл бұрын

That Jay fellow seems to know his way around a fretboard quite well.

@mcswordfish 4 жыл бұрын

I have a question that I am NOT Too Afraid To Ask - Will it EVER shred?

@MrBiggordy 4 жыл бұрын

Considering John Petrucci's signature MusicMan guitar has a piezo pickup under the bridge, I'd say - hell yeah!!

@dascommissar5264 4 жыл бұрын

I use piezo pickups in a lot of the guitars I build. Trust me, alone or blended with magnetics the sound is just breathtaking.

@mcswordfish 4 жыл бұрын

"Will it Shred?" is an older video series of Colin's. I'm just trying to wind him up over the lack of a concluding episode

@synderonline5317 4 жыл бұрын

@@mcswordfish he already finished it? Did he not? I'm sure he did a conclusion

@mcswordfish 4 жыл бұрын

@@synderonline5317 He finished the rebuild, but was gonig to get a shredder to test and confirm that it could definitely shred.

@semin811 4 жыл бұрын

Much thanks to those "42nd GS frame dropping effect", I was able to locate Jay's hand. What a fantastic player.

@madeinuk01 4 жыл бұрын

Colin You the man... I could sit and happily spent the whole day watching CSGuitars content. Thanks for making the TATA series :)

@funkmcfingers 3 жыл бұрын

I just got my first electric bass with a piezo pickup and can't put it down, it sounds amazing! Now I have an idea of how it works 😃

@BAMozzy69 4 жыл бұрын

Jay is an amazing player!! Mesmerising to watch and stunning to hear... Colin is a great player too - just a different style of player.... I have an Electro Acoustic - around 30-35yrs old - and much more modern, a Piezo in my PRS Hollowbody ii which allows the blending of that Piezo with the Magnetic PU's an Electric Hollowbody guitar normally has. There are other models too - solid body guitars like the Music Man Majesty Monarchy (Petrucci's signature model) and PRS make a Custom 22 and 24 (often called a P22 or P24) too. Now you know exactly how they work and why they also require a battery too

@navalshastri 2 жыл бұрын

The guitar playing skills at the end really inspired me and I was waiting for it...

@joelspaulding5964 4 жыл бұрын

Great video; That was a proper explanation of piezos! Jay's playing: It is fun to watch the reactions of musicians watching other musicians- a couple times I smiled in appreciation along with Colin. Fabulous playing and a really nice sound. I heard nil piezo quackery in this audio track.

@ScrambleBandOfficial 3 жыл бұрын

Fantastic video man, really informative

@OIE82 2 жыл бұрын

Just what I was looking for in a technical explanation. Thank you.

@matthewrushin3800 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome video, great explanation. Jay Leonard J amazing playing, much respect!

@frikkiejacobs8858 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you Colin. Spot on as usual.

@WinchurchGuitar 4 жыл бұрын

This is a really cool video! Very informative, and all the information is precise. Thank you for the free education.

@garyr1934 2 жыл бұрын

a thorough and entertaining tutorial Outstanding Thank you so much

@robinleebraun7739 3 жыл бұрын

When I was a kid 60 years ago, you could get a crystal radio kit, which used pressure on a crystal to generate a voltage and would receive radio signals over the air.

@JackdeDuCoeur 4 жыл бұрын

Always a good lesson!

@pepedecoatza 4 жыл бұрын

Another amazing video, and that guy plays awesome!

@banjoist123 3 жыл бұрын

The most insane thing about this video is the guitar player at first plays 4 finger style WHILE HOLDING A PICK in his hand with his index finger, then only later puts the pick down and uses his index. And he seems totally comfortable with either configuration. (Selling all my guitars...) Amazingly scientic explanation that a lay guy like me can understand. Thanks! I'm a luthier and I occasionally work on under saddles and have always wondered why they use the same technology as my lighter!

@s.e.n3264 4 жыл бұрын

When it comes to recording acoustics and classicals, I prefer to record with the pickups, and close up mic and a distant mic all at the same time. Creates a beautiful sound, the extra work is definitely worth it!

@beervampier 4 жыл бұрын

Great video!

@decode9160 Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this. Was doing research so i could use both this undersaddle and piezo disks for a custom guitar im making.

@surethebest 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome explanation - awesome playing as well. Well done! Richard from Paris

@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars 2 жыл бұрын

Great explanation - thank you!

@MelvynHaas 4 жыл бұрын

Actually learned something. Glad I subscribed :D

@MarioHemsley 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent! Thanks!

@TheHellishRobin 4 жыл бұрын

Someone else is curious about what happened back there in 07:04 Or is it just me? :P

@JesseltonGaming 3 жыл бұрын

Lmao

@Furtheronmusic 4 жыл бұрын

Brilliant video Colin. Thanks to Ortega too impressive sounds for JLJ

@Highcastle_of_Tone 4 жыл бұрын

Great explanation, appreciate all the work you put into this to show the underlying science. I have a few acoustics with piezos and I appreciate their utility, but I'm not in love with the quack. Some guitar makers have made some improvements to the simple design, but they still don't approach the sound of a good condenser mic. Still, great video and very interesting.

@skarfie123 4 жыл бұрын

Love the scientific explanations!

@JoshuaC923 4 жыл бұрын

Great video

@bcm1621 8 ай бұрын

JLJ is such a fun player to watch. Amazing talent!

@dimitarhristov9351 2 жыл бұрын

tnx helped me for physics homework! Always knew guitar knowledge would pay out

@subhrajitghosh666 4 жыл бұрын

Nice It's really informative.

@aliali-ce3yf Жыл бұрын

this channel is awesome

@KunchangLeeMusic 4 жыл бұрын

So informative thanks man

@DragonofLimerick 4 жыл бұрын

JUST TOO AWESOME!!

@RockStarOscarStern634 Жыл бұрын

They sound great w/ Nylon String Guitars

@soundofBeers Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Was having a talk about guitar amplification. I could figure it out regarding metal strings, mangets, coils and induction thanks to my physics courses. That obviously didn't apply to nylon strings and got me curious. Next time I meet my colleague I can now explain (:

@carlosalfaro1777 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!!

@Phaseish 3 ай бұрын

THAT 6 , 2, 5 , 1 WITH ALL THOSE GROUPINGS IN BETWEEN LOL WAS SERIOUS

@TheDevnul 4 жыл бұрын

Great video.

@jimamsden 4 жыл бұрын

Colin, great video, thanks. I wonder if you'd do a followup on using acoustic body impulse responses with piezo pickups to solve the "piezo quack" problem? I'd really like to see how you would approach capturing the acoustic body impulse responses and combining them with the piezo impulse to reproduce just the sound of the acoustic guitar.

@leilanisalas6739 4 жыл бұрын

I really love your videos ♡

@ScienceofLoud 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you! It's great to know that my work is appreciated.

@Mistertbones 4 жыл бұрын

I love the Pikachu shirt. Great video about piezo pickups.

@lnlnd 4 жыл бұрын

One of the most popular things where piezoelectric effect is used is a simple lighter. Some of them use traditional flint and steel mechanism that creates sparks to ignite the gas. Others use buttons. When you press one, it charges the spring and then releases it. The spring has a little hammerhead that strikes down on the piezo crystal which creates an electrical spark. If you happen to disassemble one of them you could find out that it has a little piece of wire and you can even experience an electric shock if you unload the mechanism while keeping your finger very close to the wire. The same thing lights up all modern gas stoves. So you can definitely find some application to this effect in completely routine things.

@968hbo Жыл бұрын

Very good information! Thank you for your clarification. I really learned a lot from that. One thought. I had some problems hearing from the people talking and yelling in the background. It's because I have a hearing loss. Thanks again I enjoyed it. I would like to hear more ideas on inter works of guitars.

@DrumWild 4 жыл бұрын

3:43 This is what you find inside electronic drum pads / triggers. For a long time I would buy "broken" electronic drum parts, replace or re-solder the Piezo electronic transducers, and then re-sell for good money. They're really cheap when it comes to drums. My EBMM Starry Night also has Piezo installed, and the option without those is $1,000 cheaper. I'm not sure why they're so much more expensive in the guitar. My guitar has two output jacks, one with Piezo and electric, and one that is just electric. I've noticed that the Piezo jack makes noise when I'm using my wireless system, so I'm trying to figure out how to deal with that. Could be a cheap wireless system, but not certain.

@fairguinevere666 4 жыл бұрын

I think part of the price is that they can get that much money out of folks! Although all electric guitar piezo systems I've seen are pricey - 200+ dollars for a simple setup, be it graphtech, Fishman, ebmm. The challenge of getting the crystal inside the saddle, plus cramming a small and efficient and quiet preamp into a guitar cavity is probably what makes it that bit more expensive when compared to an electric drum pad.

@MiSaLiAnW 3 жыл бұрын

I might have the explanation but i can't translate

@davidhollowelljr949 4 жыл бұрын

That double-neck Uke looks like an absolute unit

@DesAcetek 3 жыл бұрын

just brillant.

@DeadmanDance 4 жыл бұрын

You could tackle my #tata about impedance mismatch and piezos!

@TheLukster100 4 жыл бұрын

That is one hell of a guitar player

@JammyGit 4 жыл бұрын

Piezo electricity, and this, ladies and gentlemen is why crystals have energy. 👍

@RadityoPramAdi 4 жыл бұрын

Piezo pickups + IR loader (with acs guitar IR of course) = sounds pretty darn good.

@jimsmint 4 жыл бұрын

The background chat noise is really distracting!!

@Truedoogie 3 жыл бұрын

Yes...what the heck is happening? Who shoots a video in a room where other people are chatting and laughing?

@blakecurtis7809 4 жыл бұрын

So the piezo trigger you used on the electric guitar has that crystal in it? I use a drum trigger on my kick and curious about that. The first trigger I had was a piezo I got from radio shack years ago. Spliced it to a patch cord then plugged into my drum module. Worked pretty good. Cool video, thank you.

@mikesmoviemadness24 4 жыл бұрын

I have a question I'm too afraid to ask: Pickup rings vs direct mounted pickups; is it aesthetic, or does it make a difference in sound?

@loganstrong5426 4 жыл бұрын

Science KZfaqr Steve Mould has a great video on the piezoelectric effect with some nice physical demonstrations!

@anvil777 4 жыл бұрын

Jay Leonard Jay is quite a fantastic player... Watch the last years (?) performance at the Thomann music university

@leoleoleonor 4 жыл бұрын

damn colin, I really love your videos!

@ScienceofLoud 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you, I'm glad you are finding them informative.

@leoleoleonor 4 жыл бұрын

@@ScienceofLoud I have been watching you for a couple of years, and you changed every aspect of my guitar playing and setting up, thanks so much for everything!

@leviathan_is_me 2 жыл бұрын

Flex that knowledge 💪grrrrrr.

@zeromustafa401 4 жыл бұрын

Considering the sound of a pickup changes so drastically depending where along the scale they're placed, are there benefits or sacrifices on sound due to that placement? Are the pickups generally too weak to be fully utilized in an area with weaker vibration?

@TrypticOwen 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome video. I'd be interested to know what pickup technology induces an electronic signal that is the truest representation of the actual mechanical signal? This may stray into subjective territory as the echo in the soundbox seems to be a key difference between the sound of mic and of piezo and people may differ in opinion as to whether this echoing is truly part of the mechanical signal or something that might be better added via effects...

@shaymiantewhau3014 4 жыл бұрын

Imagine if they tried to make a piezoelectric power station 😂

@janerickallado8881 3 жыл бұрын

Like place them under roads and walkways. UNLIMITED POWAH

@charlesbatsold31 3 жыл бұрын

So glad i smoked before watching. Learned so much.. Lol

@17silence 4 жыл бұрын

I want sleek the saddle in order to lower the strings. is that possible with a piezoelectric acustic guitar?

@hansyulian3671 4 жыл бұрын

Hi colin! nice explanation! I wan to ask, how does the sound wave looks like in digital form? how many dimension does it being represented as? and how does the equalizer process the certain frequency based on the sound data? and why the guitar produce several sound frequency even though we playing certain notes?

@jimmitch40 Жыл бұрын

If the extra part of the piezo that left over from under the saddle touches say the back . Does it effect the sound? Thanks

@THEGLASSMANSWORLD 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this detailed information! I actually just cut my piezo wire and trying to figure out the correct way to reconnect the wires or to reattach to the piezo pickup itself. Have any info on that? I actually learned that my guitar which has had a piezo should have also had a preamp installed as well. I was told this is passive and not and active pickup. I have always had issues with plugging directly into a sound board without the preamp or without just mic'ing my acoustic amp. Thank you for this info! I will probably go purchase a really nice preamp with new piezo now and cut some holes into my trusty Ibanez. Eventually I'll upgrade to a Martin or eventually a Taylor.

@morbidangel989 4 жыл бұрын

Well, this is a nicely timed video lol. I'd just been thinking about getting a piezo pickup equiped Fishman Powerbridge for my Strat, and was wondering exactly how a piezo system works.

@ScienceofLoud 4 жыл бұрын

Now you know! Sensing the string vibrations directly gives a very different signal to magnetic pickups, and processed correctly will allow very different sounds from the instrument than the standard magnetic pickups.

@raggedrascal5463 4 жыл бұрын

We use the same phenomenon to creat the ultrasound waves used in echocardiography. The electrical input apl,ied to the crytal creates the sound wave that is passed through body tissues and converted to an image used in medical diagnostics.

@nicolasaraistrujak208 2 жыл бұрын

If you install the Pìezo under the Hardtail Bridge, squeezing between the Tele wood and bridge, how will it sound?

@MonkyMonk729 4 жыл бұрын

Me wondering to myself: Man, what kind of classical guitar is this dude absolutely shedding on? Colin, no less than 2 seconds later: Here's absolutley everything you were just wondering in an eloquent graphic. Me: That was f@#$ing scary mate. And also thank you.

@paulmurray1298 4 жыл бұрын

Listen to paco pena ..lots of toobvids dont have to thank me lol

@MrJumboblimpjumbo 4 жыл бұрын

Here's the TATA I'm stuck on...I recorded my guitar player through a Radial J48 DI in to both his amp and my RME UFX. After a good take we hooked up a Radial X-amp and re-amped his performance through the same amp, but it just didn't have the same punchiness no matter the gain setting on the X-amp. Is it an impedance matching issue perhaps? Are there any gadgets that can help get the job done better? Thanks Colin, great channel.

@stateofblitz 3 жыл бұрын

Are some piezo pickups better than others? I'm looking for one to install on my acoustic bass guitar.

@Nathouuuutheone 2 жыл бұрын

Does the piezo pickup add up the waves of all the strings? How does something like a harpejji have individual pickups without them picking up the sound of all the other strings?

@PooNinja 4 жыл бұрын

transducers are cool! as a driver or a mic/pickup

@damien6685 4 жыл бұрын

Stunning as per normal, I learn something from every one of your videos, but a question: It was mentioned that piezo pickups are supposed to reduce feedback. If I plug my Tanglewood TW9E with a B Band M-450T EQ into a 'standard' guitar amp, as I did but once in my life while sitting with the amp elevated for easy reach, the resulting feedback was almost capable of launching me into the next room. I have never plugged it in since. Or is it a case that piezo's are better but not feedback free and I was just lucky I wasn't using a normal mike as I would have still been in a low earth orbit?

@michaelp9061 Жыл бұрын

Will the mat of the saddle affect on how the piezo translate the pressure ?

@FalloutUrMum 2 жыл бұрын

Is there any comparison to how it sounds distorted? I get that humbuckers are meant to reduce the feedback of a magnetic pickup, do these have any quirks when you distort them?

@anonamours5843 4 жыл бұрын

TATA... how long do valves take to warm up? Can you move a valve amp when it’s on/hot? If not, how long should you leave valve amps to cool before moving them?

@JuveriSetila 4 жыл бұрын

Patreon boiz coming strong again!

@hazrod13 4 жыл бұрын

yeah !

@katyungodly 3 жыл бұрын

wow that dude is really good at guitar :o

@cavanimakesthenoise 3 жыл бұрын

Hello,great video!!Sorry about my English,I have a question.In ur opinion is possible to install this type of pickup inside the guitar?Of course in the proximity of the bridge.I ask this because,I am makeing a solid body ukulele and I don't want to work on the white saddle.So I am wondering if strings vibrations can be caught by the piezo even under the top.Thanks so much.

@pinelopitselioumusic 2 жыл бұрын

what type of DI Box match with piezo pickup? Passive or active? thanks in advance! :))

@GiordanoCirillo 3 жыл бұрын

I would like to buy a K&k pure classic for a custom nylon guitar. This is a special project because the body of the guitar is hollow (of course) however there is no front hole on the body. I wonder if this is going to work fine. I can't use the type like Kremona because it's an headless Guitar and the bridge also act as a tuning knobs.. any suggestions?

@metalupyourass9 4 жыл бұрын

Atta boy Glen! way to represent Canadians! haha

@WimBlock 4 жыл бұрын

Niceone :)

@imt2798 4 жыл бұрын

My favorite scotsman 😘

@Noone-of-your-Business 4 жыл бұрын

As much as I appreciate piezo pickups for live performance, I have grown to loathe them for recording in a controlled environment. When I recorded an album as a student, we were forced to use the built-in piezos because we simply could not afford condenser mics or even more than 2 mono channels. So when we recorded guitar _and_ vocals in one take for timing purposes (no click), I was stuck with the harsh, brittle piezo sound of the guitar, which was a bitch to iron out in the mix. I later modified my Spanish-style guitar with a flat piezo glued to the inside of the body top, where the vibrations are much more smoothed out in comparison to the pickup position directly under the bridge, which produces a maximum of shrill high frequency response that is very unrepresentative of the acoustic sound of the instrument, which takes most of its frequency response from the body's resonance.

@PrizmSeeR 4 жыл бұрын

I think I'll try that now. In fact my favorite classical guitar that has the perfect sound and feel will be recordable. Thank you for figuring this out.