An acoustic guitar, unlike an electric guitar, uses both steel and nylon strings. This makes it impossible to install traditional pickups on them. There are special designs of pickups for electric guitars that are compatible with all strings.
Instructions
Step 1
Remember that gluing something to the body of the guitar will damage the varnish, which negatively affects the acoustic qualities of the instrument. Therefore, only install a homemade pickup on a guitar that you don't mind ruining.
Step 2
Take any type of piezoelectric sounder. If it has a plastic resonator, remove it. If there are two piezoelectric elements in the transmitter, including those of different sizes, connect them in parallel. Use the membrane to glue the sound generator to the guitar body as close to the resonator opening as possible, but so as not to hit it when playing. A sound emitter with a hole in the metal wall, when gluing, turn this hole outward.
Step 3
Take a thin shielded cable with insulation. Connect its braid to the emitter terminal connected to its body, and the central core to the remaining terminal. Secure the cable so that it does not interfere with your playing.
Step 4
Close the emitter with a plastic cover, which is also glued. It should have a small thickness so as not to interfere with playing the guitar.
Step 5
Take the headphone plug. Connect the cable sheathing at the opposite end to the common and middle pins of the plug, and the center conductor to the remaining pin.
Step 6
Insert the plug into the microphone jack on your computer sound card. Start your software mixer, turn on the mic input and adjust its sensitivity.
Step 7
To record your guitar playing, use any suitable software such as Audacity. Please note that the pickup of the described design, in contrast to the classical one, is sensitive to noise (it can even cause acoustic feedback, similar to a microphone), and especially - even to very weak hits on the guitar body. Avoid them while playing.
Step 8
Make sure that there is minimal hiss and hum when you test recording.
