I wanted to understand more about the methods for amplifying my cigar box guitars with pickups. There is so much information available and some of it is hard to understand. Here is my beginner’s guide.
| piezo pickup | single coil pick up | double coil pickup | |
| How easy is it to install? | easy | more difficult | more difficult |
| What kind of sound is produced? | amplifies drum effects as well as the strings themselves | bright, crisp tone | warmer, deeper and louder tone |
| Relative Cost | cheapest option | more expensive than piezo | most expensive in general |
| How it works | converts the pressure it detects into an electrical signal | converts the change in electromagnetic force it detects into an electrical signal | converts the change in electromagnetic force it detects into an electrical signal |
| Best position for installation | inside the body, under the bridge | on the body, under the strings and near the neck | on the body, under the strings and near the neck |
I’m Only A Beginner, Why Should I Learn About Pickups And Amplification?
The music you make could be something you don’t really want to make louder as a beginner!
The thing is, amplifiers don’t just make the music louder, they alter the sound. In fact, to just make the music louder is actually quite difficult. Recording artists need to use all kinds of microphones to preserve the sound of an acoustic instrument.
But you can use an amp to change the sounds from your guitar because you can add effects, like reverb etc. There are settings on an amp which can make it more heavy metal, more rocky etc.
So when we use an amplifier we can expect the tone to be changed. Remember that you can use headphones with your amp, especially good news when you are just starting out.
There is a post here that answers your questions about amp settings.
Where Are Pickups Installed On A CBG?
Piezo pickups are usually installed inside the box, touching the lid and right under the bridge of a cbg. Single-coils and humbuckers are installed further up the neck.
Some builders like to add both a piezo and a coiled pickup. These can be turned on and off with a three-way switch.
What Is An Amplifier?
You might think that an amplifier is just a speaker, but it’s more than that. An amplifier can only make a sound louder if it gets that sound as an electrical signal.
This is why we need a pickup installed if we are going to use an amp. The electrical signal sent to the amp can be altered to make it change sound e.g. to a warmer or a dirtier sound.
What Are The Main Types Of Guitar Pickup?
There are three main types of pickup used on a guitar:
- piezo
- single coil
- humbucker
A pickup is the part of the guitar that collects the sound to send to the amplifier. Think of it like the microphone on your phone collecting your voice for recording or sending. A microphone converts the sound waves into an electrical signal.
Some pickups work by measuring a squeeze force or pressure e.g. a piezo pickup.
Whereas coiled pickups contain magnets and work by measuring a change in electrical or magnetic force.
What Does A Piezo Pickup Do?
A Piezo Pickup detects vibrations. Just tapping it is enough to send a sound to the amp. It is used in electroacoustic guitars and cigar box guitars. Piezo pickups use the piezoelectric effect to change the pressure or force it detects into an electrical signal.
Remember, if you want to amplify percussive sounds, tapping the box like a drum for instance, you will need a piezo rather than a coiled pickup.
What Are Single Coil Pickups?
A Single Coil Pickup detects a metal string moving near it. It is a type of magnetic transducer used in electric guitars. A transducer is a device that converts a physical measurement into an electrical signal.
Single coil pickups contains magnets with a coil of wire wrapped around them. Usually there is one magnet standing upright under each guitar string. Specialised coil pickups for Cigar Box Guitar will have three ( or four) magnets. Some people use normal six string pickups.
How Do Single Coil Pickups Work?
The movement of the metal string above each magnet causes a change in the magnetic field. The pickup converts this vibration of the strings into an electrical signal which goes to the amplifier. This means, it will not amplify the sound of you tapping the body of the guitar because this does not make an electrical change.
Nearby electrical signals causes electromagnetic interference. This is detected by a coil pickup and causes buzzing sounds. Mains electricity will cause a buzz or hum. Single coil pickups are grounded to earth to minimise this.
It’s a bit like electrical plugs and sockets in your home. They have an earth wire to prevent you from having electricity pass through your body. Attaching a pickup to earth (grounding it) helps to prevent unwanted signals from passing along to the amp.
What Is A Humbucker?
A Humbucker or Dual Coil Pickup works in a similar way to a single coil. The two coils together cancel out annoying electrical hums and “buck” the unwanted hum. Since there are two separate coils each with their own set of magnets, they can produce more volume. It took me a bit of time to understand how humbuckers work as it’s a bit complicated. Feel free to skip the next section if you don’t really care how this works.
How Does a Humbucker Work?
Humbuckers work by having the magnets of the two coils placed in opposite directions. One coil has the North poles of its magnets pointing towards the strings. The other coil is placed right next to it and they are connected with wires. This second coil has the North poles of its magnets pointing down.
Because the magnets are connected and placed with opposite poles facing up, the electrical signals they detect from the mains electricity are out of phase. As one arc of the signal goes up, the other goes down. This results in a flat or flatter signal. This cancels out the interference and prevents the buzz or hum.
However the signals detected by the coils from the strings movement add up. This seemed to me at first to be impossible. How can the mains hum be cancelled but the string sound be doubled?
The string vibrations are detected by one pickup as the string moves left to right. Then the vibrations are detected by the other pickup as the string moves right to left. This is how the signals can get added together. I hope this simplified explanation helps you to understand it.
How Does The Type Of Pickup Effect The Sound?
- Piezo pickups amplify vibrations of the box lid caused either by tapping the box or by the strings vibrating the saddle. This gives a more percussive sound.
- Single–coil pickups tend to have brighter, crisper tone.
- Humbuckers typically give rounder and warmer sound.
How Can I Tell What Kind Of Pickup Is On My Guitar?
Whilst you can see a coiled pickup from the outside, you can’t see a piezo in the same way.
- It’s probably a piezo if there is an output jack to plug into an amp and you can’t see the pickup,
- If you can see a row of small circular magnets or a piece of metal on the lid near to where the neck meets the box, it’s a coiled pickup.
- If it has a coiled pickup, it may well have a piezo too. In this case, there will probably be some kind of toggle switch so that you can choose which pick up(s) to use.
Which Type Of Pickup Should I Choose As A Beginner Builder?
Piezo pickups are the easier cheaper option and I would recommend you start with one of these.
You can easily buy them online in two main shapes and pre-soldered or not. Some have control knobs between the pickup and the output jack.
Shapes Of Piezo Pickup
Round or bar are the two shapes you can choose from. Most people seem to choose the round ones. Some are self adhesive, others need gluing in. The best place to install them is inside the box, under the bridge. They need to touch the box lid to be able to detect the movement.
Wiring Of Piezo Pickups
Your guitar will need an output jack to connect the wire from the amp to your guitar.
Your piezo can connect directly to the output jack without any control knobs. You can buy your piezo pre-soldered to the output jack. This is the very easiest way to amplify your first build.
So, for early builds with control knobs, unless you are already confident at wiring and soldering, I would recommend that you buy your piezo pre-wired to the output jack and any controls. The two knobs likely to be attached are a volume control and a tone control.
Although you will choose your amp settings e.g. volume, gain, overdrive you will also be able to change the sound whilst you are playing using the control knobs on the guitar itself.
Final Thoughts
This is only a beginners guide and we haven’t the space to consider other types of pickup or preamps. There is loads to learn if you want to explore further and are happy to experiment with wiring and soldering.
Please consider your safety and follow instructions carefully when attempting any wiring and soldering.
Further Reading
How Do I Put New Strings On My Cigar Box Guitar?
Choosing and installing a humbucker.
Choosing an amp for your Cigar Box Guitar.