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How to Make an Acoustic Sound Pickup

Guitar pickups are an easy way to amplify and alter the sound of your acoustic guitar, but can be costly to purchase. However, you can make your own guitar pickup using only a few materials that can be purchased inexpensively at most music and electronic supply stores.

Things You'll Need

12mm Piezo buzzer with 2 6-15V wires
Nickel pin jack
1/4-inch guitar chord
Several square inches of medium density foam
Soldering iron
Solder
Hot glue gun

Instructions

- 1
  Solder the tips of the electrical wires extending from the Piezo element together with the wires extending from the nickel pin jack. A little soldering experience is necessary, as soldering it incorrectly can result in a mono sound output, not a stereo output.
- 2
  Cut a piece of medium density foam roughly the same size as the Piezo element, about 1/2 inch in thickness, and glue it on the back of the Piezo element, where the wires connect. This piece of foam will improve the quality of the sound, allowing the pickup to capture a wider range of vibrations in the guitar.
- 3
  Use pickup adhesive, a putty-like substance which can be purchased at most music stores, to attached the piezo element inside the body of the guitar. Make sure to attach piezo element foam side down, to ensure maximum quality.
- 4
  Insert one end of a 1/4 inch cable into the female end of the of the nickel pin jack, and the other end into a stereo or amplifier. After the stereo is turned on the guitar can be played, with the pickup amplifying the sound.

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