Pups and oil cans

[Larry McInnes]

Hey folks.  I'm building a guitar using an old metal oil can.  I've used piezo pick-ups on wooden boxes with good results.  What are people's opinions on using a piezo pickup with a metal can, versus any other kind of pickup?  Thanks!

[Ron "Oily" Sprague]

Either piezos or mag pups can work with a can build. You might wanna make sure to encase the piezo in a wood sandwich, or glob it in some silicone...you can play around with placement using some double stick tape. With a mag pup you gotta be careful with proper grounding, since you're using a big metal can that could turn into a larger pickup, yet can also act like a Faraday cage to reduce noise. Check with the biscuit tin builders around here.

[The Phrygian Kid]

It'll ground itself and yes be a faraday cage with zero effort on your part, just as long as you drill the jack thru the tin. Piezos sound even more like shit with tin, if such a thing is possible. To maximise your odds of a dark dobro growl rather than a banjo plinky plink I recommend a bridge of metal like a spoon or fork. Tin gitts are easy.

Ps don't do pizzo.. Do this.

[Wade]

Do you have any sound bites or vids of this Kid? I would love to hear it. I have a few old license plate guitars I want to build - the plates are too nice and old to hack into. This could be the perfect solution.

[Uncle John]

Larry, listen to the experts.  And I will give you my non-expert experience.   Piezos work well  and I have done both the silicone thing and mounted (glued/silicone/hot melt glued) the piezo to a thin wood strip.   All those worked well. 

 

I put a base mag pup on can and it has a buzz.  I THINK the pup is not touching metal (sitting on a piece of vinyl siding) and I think it is grounded and I know the metal tail piece is not touching the can.  Sounds good when played, but buzzes annoyingly in between.

 

Good wishes.  And by the way, I would never cage a Faraday.  Let them fly like eagles, sing like birds, run like deer and shit like geese.  Let them be free.  Free the Faradays.

Well, on second thought, Phrygian's photo looks worth a try and I will try it some time.  But I will disagree with his piezos sound bad dogma.   They sure sound good to me. 

[Kevin (Voodoo Rat) Hoelting]

 gotta cast my vote for the poor little piezo too. They do exactly what we ask them to do. Read all the tips for mounting them, then make up some ideas of your own and share them with the class.

I like biguns and littleuns, round ones and skinnyuns.

If I could order the things in pink and blue..

I believe I'd probably like them too...

[Larry McInnes]

Thanks, folks.  I'd be leaning toward the piezo solution just cuz I know my way around them but The Kid's mag pup approach looks do-able too.  And Kid, the metal bridge idea sounds good too.