Acoustic to Electrical instrument converter

by Clip-on Electrifier

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Project Overview

This device uses a piezo pick-up to convert vibrations from instruments into an electrical signal. The signal is then run through a pre-amp, an Electra distortion pedal, a Super Hard-On pedal, a bandpass filter, and a buffer in series to achieve an amplified signal with the signature fuzzy effect associated with electric instruments. Finally, the signal is played through a speaker.

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Tools and Materials

• 1N4148 diodes * 4
• capacitors with various capacitance
• resistors with various resistance
• BS170 transistor
• 2N3904 transistor
• LF411 Op-amp * 3
• 5k potentiometer
• Piezo vibration sensor
• speaker

Project Files

• electra_sch.jpg - Yiming Xia.webp
• sho-with_bom (1) - Yiming Xia.png

Step-by-Step Instructions

connect the piezo pickup tightly to the instrument, and check if we get a signal

Send the signal through a pre-amplifier to boost it to approximately 1 volts peak-to-peak

Pass the signal through an Electra distortion pedal, where it is amplified again to approximately 5-6 volts, and the fuzz effect is introduced via a hard diode clipping stage.

Send the signal through a Super Hard-On pedal, which acts as a clean amplifier with variable gain and very high input impedance. The signal we get out of the Super Hard-On is amplified without changing its original shape.

Run the signal through a bandpass filter to reduce noise. Note: the cutoff frequencies are determined by the specific instrument you want to convert.

Use a buffer to isolate the load (speaker) from the main circuit. And play the final signal through the speaker.