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Above: SDT1 contact pickup with jack (left) and without jack (right). Below: Piezo films in 6", 1" and 2.5" sizes.  Piezo cable not shown  To review our online ordering procedures (they're pretty simple) click here. For information on ordering offline by mail, fax, phone or email, click here. |
Piezo-electric film has several advantages over traditional rigid contact pickups: It shows an extraordinarily broad and flat frequency response; it is free of self-resonance; it mounts more readily on all sorts of surfaces whether flat or curved without inhibiting vibration; it can extend over a larger portion of the vibrating body to give a more balanced response; and it is sensitive enough to capture some of the air resonance tone when mounted inside the soundboard of instruments with air chambers. It is made of thin, flexible polymer, so it makes for pickups that are lightweight yet durable. It can work on any instrument with a solid vibrating surface, such as string instruments with soundboards, drum heads, marimba bars, etc., etc… and it can even work with many wind instruments (usually placed just inside the bell where air movement amplitudes are large). In the past we have spoken of a hum problem that sometimes appears in these films. But this problem is easily resolved, we've learned, if you just make the correct hookups as is described in the current version of the wiring instructions that we send with your order. We have several sizes available. You might be surprised at how well even a small tab of piezo film can work, but larger films will usually produce a more balanced response. Some customers like to use the largest film that there's room for on the vibrating surface they intend to apply it to. However, in some cases you might prefer the sound of the 2.5 inch films even when there's room for the 6 inch, because you can expect the 2.5 inchers to have a slightly brighter sound than the 6 inchers. (The reasons for this have to do with the acoustics of short wavelengths over large surfaces.) We purchase this film from its manufacturer, Measurement Specialties Incorporated (www.msiusa.com). You could purchase from them too, except that they're not in the business of selling to the little guy and they have a large minimum order policy, so unless you're planning to buy a large quantity you'll find it more economical to buy from us. The unit that we sell under the name SDT1 is essentially a ready-made, fully shielded contact pickup, consisting of 5/8" x 1 1/8" piezo film with 18" cable but no jack -- you can add whatever sort of plug or jack is appropriate for your purposes. For an extra $7 we'll put a standard, shielded, quarter-inch in-line phone jack on the end of the cable for you, making it ready to use with a standard guitar-type cable. The other piezo films we offer either are not pre-wired or have unshielded wires, as indicated below, so you'll need to do some soldering. The advantage of these is, you can get them in a variety of sizes, at much lower prices, and custom wire them to suit your purposes. In addition to the piezo films, we carry piezo cable. This is a cable with piezo material built in, so that the cable in itself acts as a pickup or sensor. This is the material that is widely used as under-the-saddle pickups in guitars and similar instruments. It is placed in the bridge slot under the saddle. A typical guitar bridge installation takes about 5" of cable. Important note: the cable is .104" thick (just under 7/64"). At that size, it fits nicely in most guitar bridge slots, but it’s a hair too thick for some. In those cases it’ll be necessary either to widen the slot or to delicately strip the insulation layer from the cable. (Confusion avoidance note: this piezo cable is not a cable designed to be used with piezo pickups; rather, it is a pickup in itself. Piezo pickups don't need any special cable; they can use standard shielded cable which is widely available at electronics outlets.) We'll include an information sheet along with your order with full instructions for wiring and shielding, as well as tips on using them with different instruments. Discounts are available on large orders of piezo film and cable. Call or email for information. For more information on these and other types of pick-ups, and the pre-amp question, click here.
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