Film piezoelectric pickup for stringed musical instruments

Abstract

An electro-mechanical pickup for a stringed musical instrument, such as a guitar, fits in the bottom of the saddle slot of the instrument and provides an electrical output signal representing the vibrations of the strings of the instrument. The electrical output of the transducer is generated by a piezoelectric transducer element having an long, narrow piece of piezoelectric film with an electrode on each face. One electrode of the piezoelectric transducer element is attached to the conductive face of an elongated core. One conductor of a two-conductor electrical output lead is also attached to the conductive face of the core. The core provides electrical contact and a strong mechanical attachment for the output lead. A conductive contact strip is attached to the second electrode of the piezoelectric transducer element, and the second conductor of the output lead is attached to the contact strip. In a variation of the pickup, the second electrode covers substantially all of one face of the transducer element, and the piezoelectric transducer element is wrapped completely around the core with its first electrode attached to the conductive face of the core. Wrapping the transducer element around the core enables the insulating piezoelectric film to provide insulation for the pickup, and enables the second electrode to provide electrical shielding for the pickup, which saves using additional components to provide insulation and shielding. Further variations provide additional electrical output signals, and include an additional piezoelectric transducer element connected to reduce top noise.