source file: mills2.txt Date: Mon, 5 Feb 1996 21:46:13 -0800 Subject: Re: TUNING digest 623, McLaren From: puzan@pe.net (Matthew Puzan) In tuning digest 623 Brian McLaren writes: "Making a megalyra is literally no more complex than drilling 11 pairs of holes, sinking 11 pairs of piano pins, and winding tight 11 pairs of piano strings across a piezoelectric pickup. That's essentially all there is. (Hint: get used rusted piano pins from a piano repair shop. You can emory-cloth the rust off the pins, and they work just fine. The only real expense is the piezo pickup, the 11 piano strings, and the piano tuning hammer." As for the piezoelectric pick-up, I stumbled across this idea a few years ago and its cheap and works great! Radio Shack sells replacement buzzers for electronic alarm clocks. You simply remove the plastic casing to reveal a small, round transducer. Then, connect the wire leads to some shielded cable and a jack. Tape the face of the transducer to the soundboard of the instrument that you wish to amplify and there you have it--a full-range electric pick-up for about six bucks! Try it, it works. Oh, and I completely agree with everything else you said, too ;) --Matt Puzan Received: from eartha.mills.edu [144.91.3.20] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Wed, 7 Feb 1996 07:20 +0100 Received: from by eartha.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) for id WAA14303; Tue, 6 Feb 1996 22:19:57 -0800 Date: Tue, 6 Feb 1996 22:19:57 -0800 Message-Id: <960207061216_71670.2576_HHB48-7@CompuServe.COM> Errors-To: madole@ella.mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu