Radio Shack Piezo Buzzer

Pickup features: Piezo buzzer element transducer
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ultra cheapo korean Magnum acuoustic-electric
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Just adding a second pickup
Other pickups on guitar: Single coil embedded in neck between 18th and 19th frets
Artists using this pickup: Picasso, Michaelangelo, Lascaux cave painters (well, they would if they had an acoustic guitar they wanted to amplify on a budget)
You musical style(s): Pop, rock, experimental sounds
Reason for pickup change: Just wanted to get a second, more acoustic, sound out of my surprisingly nice sounding cheap korean dreadnaught. It came with a somewhat standard sounding single coil pickup in the neck which makes the guitar sound more like a electric than an acoustic.

Perceived output level: Pretty hot, depending on where you mount it, the ouput varies a lot. You put it on a part of the guitar that is vbrating a lot (like the soundboard) its very hot, if you put it on the endblock, its not so hot.
Tone: On my instrument, very strong high-mid 'bark' or 'quack' when mounted on the actual soundboard, better balance and more natural sounding when mounted sideways to the X-bracing
Sonic evaluation: Like everyone else says, its pretty trebly, but most of my amps have good enough EQ adjustment to acommodate it, just roll off the highs. Can't overstress how important placement is with this thing. When mounted under the soundboard, even on the bass side, this thing was very hot and hard to mix with too much trebly 'quack'. The guitar has an adjustable bridge on it and at one point I had adjusted the bridge down a bit too far, and the fret rattle sounded like machine gun fire! (loud) After moving the pickup around a bit, I settled on a mounting it perpendicular to the soundboard on a piece of the X-bracing behind the bridge on the bass side. I replaced the guitar's standard volume pot with a push-pull pot to select between the original pickup and the new transducer one. It's great to be getting a nice transparent acoustic tone in addition to the other, more electric sound I had. Through my vintage bassman and 2x15 cabinet, it sounds like the Voice of God and choirs of angels. All this from a cheapo Korean plywood acoustic electric.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Suitable for any acoustic guitar sound. Not recommended for brass bands or foghorns.

Comments: Additional mounting tips: I used postal strapping tape to mount this thing so it would be movable (and re-movable if necessary). That tape sticks so well I can't think of any good reason to glue in the pickup, plus it's in a hard spot to glue anyway. I also used a piece of 1/8" kraft foam rubber type stuff as a buffer between the pickup and the X-bracing, it seems to damp out the really shrill highs a bit. I basically mounted mine the way this guy describes, but with tape instead of glue - http://web.mit.edu/kumpf/www/Acoustics/main.html

Pickup features: Passive
Impedence or other specs: Element out of the buzzer

Model of guitar or bass: Seagull S6
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: None
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: ???
You musical style(s): Blues, Contemporary Christian, Classic Rock
Reason for pickup change: Didn't have one!

Perceived output level: warm
Tone: Balanced
Sonic evaluation: S6 w/ one piezo into Peavy mixer amp at the coffee house - bass feedback. Added second element in parallel - balanced out. Added DOD EQ pedal - great sound. Added internal preamp / eq from eBay, but lost some output! Still, if you are budget minded and handy, this is cool. It doesn't have the "quack" of an under the saddle bridge (such as my Martin D-16's Fishman Premier).
I experimented with positions. First was just above the 6th string directly behind the pin under the bridge plate. It sounded good, but adding the second behind the 2nd / 3rd pins rounded it out. Since the thing is not made as a pickup the impedence is wrong, and a long cable messes up the sound - bleeding treble. The answer is a preamp. The DOD EQ 7 pedal did a good job. Keep the cable out of the guitar short. Thats why I ultimately installed the preamp. IF you are a techie you could build a cheap preamp to meet this need. I was lazy and bought one.
I used some rubbery double sided adhesive from 3-M to stick the pup to the bridge. The foam stuff is not nearly as sticky or as good at transmitting the vibrations. I had to paint the underside of the bridge with polyurathane to keep the thing from peeling off, but now it is really stuck, but is still removable if necessary.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Sounds good for the money, but took some trial and error to get it sounding right.

Comments: I would do this again rather than spend the $$$ on a name brand for a cheap guitar. I would probably not install on a Martin, Guild, Gibson, etc. simply because it is less that what such instruments deserve. It is not a perfect reproduction, but is certainly good enough.
I am not yet satisified, as the loss of signal from the preamp bothers me, but it is not the transducer's fault. Just use a EQ pedal or other external pramp and it would be OK.
I sould have bought the Seagull with the LR Baggs - big mistake.

Pickup features: Passive piezo disk made to Radio Shack's quality standards.
Impedence or other specs: Who knows... I bought a bunch for experimentation...

Model of guitar or bass: Martin D2R (factory special)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Martin Thinline
Other pickups on guitar: EKG internal mic
Artists using this pickup: I'm sure most top performers run down to Radio Shack for their quality buzzer to install...
You musical style(s): Rock, Blues, Country, Jazz, Folk
Reason for pickup change: My factory installed Martin 332 gave out in the middle of a performance while making all sorts of pops, scratches and feedback. It wasn't pretty...

Perceived output level: I can't tell the difference between the $2.00 disk glued under my saddle to the Martin $100.00 pickup. This thing actually works!!!
Tone: Traditional piezo chunk with an emphasis on bass (my mic was installed to round out the sound).
Sonic evaluation: I experimented with a number of elements. These things are so cheap you can try a bunch of them. I saw set welling on the net that was priced over $600.00. It looked like it wired three in series. While I initially put this in for experimentation purposes (while waiting for my under saddle to arrive), I'm cancelling my order. I have a lot of my own music recorded and tried some side by side testing. I could not hear a difference between my old 332 and the cheap radio Shack buzzer. Who would have guessed!!!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play mostly electric for a large church but occasionally play acoustic when electric just doesn't work.

Comments: I do not tend to like piezo elements in acoustic guitars. To my ears, they tend to compress the sound. I give my buzzer a ten rating because it sounds as good as most of the elements that the manufactures sell to us for considerably more money. I recommend that performers try a good mic with the piezo. It fills out the sound and sound much more natural. There are a number of sites on the net providing instructions for installing piezo buzzers (http://web.mit.edu/kumpf/www/Acoustics/main.html). Keep it simple- it really does work.

Pickup features: piezo passive
Impedence or other specs: high

Model of guitar or bass: hand-crafted thin-line cutaway custom-made by jack Armbrust
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: Don't know, but they should give it a try
You musical style(s): acoustic finger-pickin' folk, folk blues and blues
Reason for pickup change: Wanted something that was unobstrusive and let the guitar sound the same way amplified as it does unamplified.

Perceived output level: Well, you might have to crank things up a fair bit...
Tone: natural, transparent.
Sonic evaluation: I submitte an article a whort while back about mounting the piezo element under the guitar;s top, near the 6th string, just ahead of the bridge saddle plate, in my Jasmine cutaway. On this Armbrust, that proved jsut too bright. After trying a number of positions, we settled on taping the thing to the neck's endblock inside the guitar. Not near the amount of volume, but man! all the tonal characteristics of the guitar come through with flying colours! The only difference in sound is the volume. I am impressed, and all this for a few cents and a bit of work. Jack and I intend on trying to install a piezo element on the endblock right by the end-pin jack on the next guitar he builds to see how that sounds. I'll keep you-all posted.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Finger-pickin' folk, folk-blues and blues.

Comments: hey all of you in the U.S.A., you can buy a piezo element for $1.49 at RadioShack. With a bit of work, you can get the natural sound of you acoustic guitar amplified unhindered. yeah, I wouldn't hesitate to go with this in any acoustic instrument. The trick is to find the "sweet spot" for mounting. Go ahead and experiment. I'm gonna put one in my old '62 Gibson SJ25 next! At the cost, were my guitar lost or stolen, well, I'd cry a lot but wouldn't hesitate to go with the piezo self-installation in any future axe.

Pickup features: passive
Impedence or other specs: apparently. high impedance

Model of guitar or bass: Takamine Jasmine TS97C thinline acoustic-electric
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: The Jasmine's under-the-bridge piezo.
Other pickups on guitar: electret-condenser mic suction-cupped to the top by the sound-hole.
Artists using this pickup: I don't know, but they all should consider it.
You musical style(s): finger-pickin' folk, country blues and blues.
Reason for pickup change: The Jasmine's piezo had crapped out (and it sounded lousy while it was working, harsh and quacky).

Perceived output level: You don't need a pre-amp or any kind of "active electronics" with this.
Tone: A well-balanced sound, as long as the thing is placed in the "sweet spot".
Sonic evaluation: I plug my Jasmine right into the Peavey soundboard at the local coffeehouse. My friend Jack, a long-time luthier, is in the process of building me a slimline acoustic with cedar top, Mahogany sides, neck and back, ebony fretboard, rosewood saddle, moosehorn bridge and nut, ebony inlay in the headstock, etc. I plan on using the same piezo element in that guitar. The posted articles I read suggested mounting the piezo just ahead of the bridge saddle plate near the junction of the X-bracing. I tried that but it was too trebly. I found that the "sweet spot" for my guitar was about 1/2" in front of the bridge and about 3/4" to the left of the 6th string. I glued the thing in using contact cement. The endpin jack was already on the guitar so my total cost was $0.50 Can. (not counting the 15 minutes labour that went into the preparation/installation). After hearing the results, I was really glad that I was outbid on e-bay (at $64 US) on that K&K Pure Western pickup system I'd been bidding on just before I came across this article on building your own pickup from RS buzzers on your website.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Acoustic folk, folk blues and blues.

Comments: I started on an acoustic guitar in '64 and then went electric, playing in R&R top 40 bands into the late 60's. Then, after a few years' hiatus, back into country-rock and country bands through the 80's and 90's. Finally retired and went back to my first love, acoustic guitar finger-pickin' the folk and blues tunes. Most times, I played with a house mic up against the top bout of my guitar, at the local coffeehouse because I couldn't stand the sound of the under-the-bridge piezo. This RadioShack piezo element glued undr the top of my guitar makes it sound like a dreadnought with that real "woody" sound. And I hate relying on batteries and/or "power packs". KISS- Keep It Simple, Stupid". With this rig, just plug in and away you go. Why spend lotsa bucks for commercial rigs when this works just as well if not better? And if it fails, no big deal to replace it, just a coupla bucks dropped at RadioShack and a bit of soldering and glueing.