Radio Shack 273-073A Piezo Transducer

Passive - it was actually the speaker taken from a greetings card. I had read an article in guitar magazine about using radio shack bugs which seemed a bit fussy - you had to cut it up and all sorts - so while I was ripping this card apart I noticed the part looked the same and did the work. - I connected it to an ordinary plastic bodied jack with some spare crappy mic cable and stuck it with bostic - clear plastic glue like you get for model airplanes. I made the glue extra thick to keep it from rattling and if I remember rightly I added a blob of bluetack to give it weight because the barcus berry pickups of the day had some weight to them and the article had included some bumf about resonance frequencies.

Installed in my first jumbo acoustic guitar, I don't remember the make, years of gear lust have had me using a lot of instruments over the years. But back in the 1970s there were magnetic hole pickups and barcus berry piezo bugs - expensive!

My guitar was cheap for the time so I didn't see the point of spending the price of the guitar on a pickup

output fine, in and out of churches and rehearsals, no intereference, and I never noticed noise being any greater than anything else that was being amplified at the time

I got rid of the guitar years ago, with the pickup still stuck under the body just above the soundhole, but have had pickups up to ??150 in my guitars since and still not felt happy with the sound. The day a guy in Hank's said he had the best sound and showed me about ??350 worth of mic, magnetic and piezo bridge pickup on his gibson acoustic I really thought it was ridiculous when all I wanted to do was get reasonable close to picking up somthing that would be heard if I stuck a mic in front of the soundhole.

So I've just bought an inexpensive travel guitar and am looking for a way to stick a cheap light pickup in it so I can plug in if I get a chance to jam or perform, and don't have to worry about batteries running out or extra cost if I lose it.

So I'm popping to maplins to buy a 60p transducer - one of these in effect.

Unbelieveably high impedance

Handmade electric guitar, banjo (under treble side of bridge), mandolin (same), double bass (same)

You can sort of tweak the tone with EQ, but the impedance mismatch is the real problem. Build one of these http://www.scotthelmke.com/Mint-box-buffer.html for under $5 and solve it. Then this cheap pickup sounds pretty good! Every bit as good as the commercial offerings that will set you back $100 or more.

For less than a fast food meal I'd build another.

Pickup features: Passive piezo transducer
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Cortez acoustic, 1975
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Folk, Irish
Reason for pickup change: Beginning to record myself

Perceived output level: Powerful. Can run right into a mixer line input without preamp.
Tone: Good acoustic sound when not excessively boosted; more boosting means more electric sound
Sonic evaluation: Ordinarily I play unplugged, but have tried it on occasion with such amps as were available. It was almost too hot for them. For recording I've gotten good results running it into line input on a mixer or on a 4-track.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I've liked what I've gotten from this pickup both on fingerpicking and on strumming. I mount it on the soundboard next to the bridge on the bass side.

Comments: I just pry the flat side of the cover off, leaving the piezo disk inside its shell, unsolder the thin leads, solder shielded cable (shield to outer brass surface, center conductor to frosted inner circle), fill the space with Duco Stik Tak, and tape it down. The other end of the cable is connected to a 1/4" female in the usual way.
When it's mounted next to the bridge on the bass side, varying forearm pressure can be used as an effect.
A friend tried one that I'd made, as a replacement for a Dean Markley soundhole chip that had developed a hum. He's been so happy with it he gave me $25 for it, a good deal more than I'd have asked.
I really have to thank all those who have reviewed these here for giving me the idea.
Sorry if this went in twice ... hit Enter too soon.

Pickup features: passive
Impedence or other specs: I got it in a very poorly labled package at the local RatShack

Model of guitar or bass: Hohner HG-920
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: some bluegrass people
You musical style(s): Varied - Rock, Jazz, Folk, Christian, sometimes country if some pays me
Reason for pickup change: Originally this guitar had a mic style pickup, being an old guitar i didnt' really expect the electronics to work when i found it in a pawn shop. So i had been thinking about installing a new pickup. I talked to luthier who lives about 30 miles from me and he told me about making this for some national level bluegrass people who said it was better than the previous piezo setup he had been placing in his guitars. So i gave it a try.

Perceived output level: Slightly hotter than most piezo pickups
Tone: somewhat tinny, a bit to much in the mid level, but some eq fixed that right up, also playing through something besides my neighbors practice amp helps (mine were all set up for a show and didn't want to drive there just then)
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: pretty good for just about any style. Especially if you are on a budget. really $8 dollars in parts and cable and some glue and your set.

Comments: Been playing for guitar for 3 years, before that 8 years on bass and before that 12 years on violin. I own several basses (Dean, Zon, and one i made when i first started) and a ton of bass gear, a telecaster, this hohner, two ventura acoustics, and a takamine. If something happened to this pickup that would probably mean that something happened to my Hohner because i epoxyed it in, but i would make another if something went wrong, I mean $2.00 really isn't that much compared to other things.
Other than some EQ needed, it's a bit picky about what amps you put it through and such, but a lot of things are. Didn't really compare it to anything else expect now i'm making another one and the Ratshack was out of this one so i'm making it from part #273-060A and yet another form #273-059, just different sizes.
This pickup is worth while for anyone with a budget. The expensive part would be the solder. Maybe you have a neighbor who can help if you don't want to spend the money on that. The overall sound is Good, it doesn't seem to do this guitar justice.
If you are mounting this permanent use some sort of epoxy cover the entirety of the element but don't put too much then when it is dry place some on the back of the transducer to prevent oxidation. If you are doing this just to see use clear tape, like for gift wrapping.

Pickup features: Passive Piezo
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Classical, no idea what model
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: very passive
Tone: trebly to the max
Sonic evaluation: This pickup needs equalization before use. Turn bass all the way up, and treble way down. Otherwise, there's too much treble & it tends to squeal.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Unsuitable for hard strumming, great for fingerstyle

Comments: If it was destroyed, i'd build it again for 2 bucks. Incredibly cheap for the sound.

Pickup features: Passive
Impedence or other specs: no clue

Model of guitar or bass: Yamaha Canary - Classical Guitar
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: None
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Rock and Roll!
Reason for pickup change: Needed a pickup and fast and couldn't borrow an acoustic/electric from anyone.

Perceived output level: Surprisingly Hot. but still in need of a pre-amp
Tone: Quite trebly, but once the bass is turned up a bit and highs rolled off, its magical
Sonic evaluation: Ran it through the practice PA two days before a gig, the first real test was at the club though. I ran this pickup into my Tech21 SansAmp Bass Driver (its the only DI type pre-amp that i have, and I've heard of people using these on acoustics before). From there I put it into my mixer, and then into the house PA. The only reason i used the mixer is that for the gig we had two acoustic guitars and we wanted to have a feedback destroyer in the effects loop so that we could turn up.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: We are a loud rock band who's drummer was on vacation, so we decided to play a gig acoustically. I was amazed at the sound.

Comments: This pickup needs alot of EQ tweeking. I read the other reviews here and many talked about trying out different positions of the pickup. Having only 2 days before the gig and not feeling like changing the strings a million times, i just went with an educated decision of placing the pickup closer to the bass strings near the bridge. It worked out well. I recieved many good comments about the sound and the clarity. It only took me about 15 minutes to put the whole thing together. The crowd seemed very impressed that I put it together myself (it got a good chuckle). Before the gig we were searching for someone who could loan me a guitar, but after the two days of practicing, the rest of the band was so impressed with the sound that we decided to go with the homemade job. So we went up there, and Radio Shack played side by side with mondo expensive Takamine and the sound was great. I will do it again and again. In fact. I am going to experiment using a pickup like this on all kinds of intruments to see what kinds of sounds we can get. I don't know if i would use this as a substitute for a good mic in a recording situation, but i will definitely use this live any day and just to get some pretty cool sounds out of my various instruments. What an awesome and cheap little gadget!

Pickup features: dunno
Impedence or other specs: whats that?

Model of guitar or bass: epiphone 'coustic
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: the guy i copied
You musical style(s): the stones the stones the stones etc....the stones
Reason for pickup change: so i can play stones songs that have 'coustic gitars in them

Perceived output level: very hot, got to rebmber to roll back the vol before I plug in
Tone: pretty balanced after you roll back the treble, super treble blast otherwise
Sonic evaluation: I usually run my 69 harmony rocket thru my 74 SFTR. no FX boxes. THD hot plate when I'm at home. Only a neck pick up, tone change for lead done w/controls on guitar. So I duct tape the p/u to my 'coustie , tunr down the treble to 2 and vol down to 1. then I let loose with some dead flowers or street fighting man. played in open tunings of course...oh and the strangs are elixirs to keep the finger sqeak at bay.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: the stones mostly but also.......ha ha had you there...the stones

Comments: yeah If i lost it i'd just go back to the shack and drop another tenner and make another one. I need to get some cheapo Eq pedal to really make this mofo sound like the 'coustic track on brown sugar.

Pickup features: Passive piezoelectric transducer
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Yamaha FG-411S Acoustic
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: Dean Markley Pro-Mag
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Folk, Fingerpicking, Praise and Worship
Reason for pickup change: Wanted something more permanent than the Dean Markley and wasn't pleased with the Pro-Mag's sound

Perceived output level: Very high output. with the knob on the amp turned to 1, this pickup is equivalent to the Dean Markley turned up to about 6.
Tone: A little trebly, but pretty well balanced I think. This depends a lot on where you mount the pickup.
Sonic evaluation: I just glued this thing on the inside of my Yamaha Acoustic and plug it into my church's PA and it sounds great! I don't really have an amp of my own. I think it has a really natural sound, much more acoustic sounding than my friend's yamaha thin bodied acoustic/electric with built in preamp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Mostly in church for praise and worship songs, and this setup works well for it.

Comments: This thing is such a steal! I built the whole thing for under 20 bucks, needing to buy an endpin jack and some shielded audio wire. It osunds so much better than the tinny, fake sounding Dean Markley soundhole pickup.

Pickup features: Passive Piezo Transducer
Impedence or other specs: N/A

Model of guitar or bass: Classical DiGiorgio (Brazilian) with nylon strings
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): All
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: The output level is lower than a typical humbucker or single coil. However, after driving it on an effect pedal or a mixing board, the power is easily compensated
Tone: The position must be well sought. I used scotch tape temporarilly, placing it on several locations over the body until reaching the sound I was looking for.
Sonic evaluation: Guitar+pickup, thru an ABY switch, entering a series of Zoom 505, 508 and 509 into a stereo channel on a Samson mixer, finally onto a Crate GFX212.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play classical, pop, rock. I'm building the same pickup on my Epiphone 12-string (stell) and Yamaha 6-string (stell). The sound out of my nylon guitar is better than I could achieve with microphones, added that I can drive it through effects for reverb & echo in stereo.

Comments: You absolutely cannot beat the deal that it is to build this simple pickup for close to $1. Its performance is comparable to any other brand-name stick-on piezo pickup I've tried on my nylon-string guitar.
Thanks to Jim McGowan for his great article on how to build it, available on http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/piezo-pickups.txt
If you know how to use a light soldering iron, you can do this and have a pickup running in a few minutes. For a more permanent assembly, you can glue the pickup inside the guitar's body, and drill a small hole for the output jack. Read the article. It is worth a try (you'll spend less than $2), even if it is just to compare its performance to your existing pickup. It could also be used as a second pickup (alternate sound, stereo, etc.) to guitars with existing pickups.
I kept the small piezo disc attached to the guitar body temporarilly with scotch tape, while waiting for the output jack I'd ordered. It did not affect the guitar's finish.

Pickup features: don't know
Impedence or other specs: 76dB (at 30cm/12VDC) resonant frequency: 2.7KHz Temp Range -20 C to +60 C Are you impressed? I read the back of the package and have no clue what this stuff means.

Model of guitar or bass: 1959 Martin 0018
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: fishman rare earth dual coil soundhole pu
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: the other guy that posted a review THANKS
You musical style(s): Finger style, country, gospel, contemporary Christian
Reason for pickup change: Sold the rare earth after a few months. Got tired of the thing being in the way of picking and the stupid cord hanging out of the soundhole. Also sold the Guild D35. The Fishman is pretty good but I went overboard on rating it in my review. I would not buy it again after doing this for a total cost of $15.78 including the end pin jack. This sounds incredible, especially with the EQ pedal.

Perceived output level: Other reviewer said you need a preamp. I have lots of volume without it. I did use a DOD Acoustec Effect Preamp pedal, not needed in my case.. You do need an EQ pedal to get the nice tone you want. I use a Boss GE-7.
Tone: Without the EQ adjusted the tone is very bright, and a bit trebly. With the EQ it sounds very natural. NO feedback problems. I am very pleased with this set up.
Sonic evaluation: Music Man HD130 and a Fender Deluxe 112 Plus. Sound is the very best running through the speakers I use for my Bass a 15" Eminence Delta Bass and a 10" Eminence Bass speaker. Sounds good through my two Celestion V12 80's and pretty good through the Stock 12 speaker in the Deluxe. It sounds the most natural through the Bass speakers.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: finger, strumming, country, gospel, folk, etc.

Comments: What a deal! Nothing sounds like a true natural acoustic once it is "electrified" but this is as good or better than anything I have heard. For the money there is no comparison. A Monkey could build this setup. It took me about two hours. I could do it now in about 30 minutes. Check the web site the other reviewer listed, for detailed instructions. I used DAP Fun Tack to hold the pickup in place instead of glue. I placed the pickup transducer in the center right in front of the Bridge inside the guitar. With the Fun Tack you can move it easily to whatever spot sounds best on your guitar. Thanks to the guy that did the other review. I never would have found out about this if it weren't for his review. In my opinion this truly is a bargain and you don't have to butcher your guitar to do it.