Anyone ever put a pick-up onto a handsaw?

[tubeswell]

One of my friends plays a saw in a skiffle band and I asked him if he wanted to do a couple of surf covers with us. Only his usual method of using a mic thru the PA isn't adequate enough for surf music. I was thinking if I could put a pickup of some sort on his saw and stick it through a guitar amp, that would be better.

I suppose its got to be a piezo of some kind, but I haven't thought about it much more than that at this stage. I'm just wondering who else has done this sort of thing, and whether they would care to share their experience?

TIA

Pete

[rjb]

One of my friends plays a saw in a skiffle band and I asked him if he wanted to do a couple of surf covers with us....
I was thinking if I could put a pickup of some sort on his saw...
I suppose its got to be a piezo of some kind,...
I'm just wondering who else has done this sort of thing, and whether they would care to share their experience?

Surf-Musical Saw seems a pretty small niche market- I imagine you're going to be the pioneer on this.
I know of someone who's used some piezo part from Radio Shack stuck to a plywood board to amplify step dancing- but don't know the details.
You may need to use a buffer between the piezo and the amp- that's all I kinda know.

[copperheadroads]

Surf-Musical Saw seems a pretty small niche market- I imagine you're going to be the pioneer on this.
I know of someone who's used some piezo part from Radio Shack stuck to a plywood board to amplify step dancing- but don't know the details.
You may need to use a buffer between the piezo and the amp- that's all I kinda know.

Anyone ever put a pick-up onto a handsaw?

[big_teee]

Anyone ever put a pick-up onto a handsaw?

I guess Job one, would be to figure how a saw makes music?
I am guessing that the edge of the blade is vibrating back and forth like a guitar String?
Britain's Got Talent - Playing the Saw - Austin - YouTube
T

[rjb]

Anyone ever put a pick-up onto a handsaw?

Hey, I've got an idea.
Stick a small neo magnet onto the blade- probably if near the handle won't affect the tone too much.
Make a pair of big air-core mag wire coils- maybe use hula hoops for forms.
Arrange the coils on either side of the saw- hang them vertically, in parallel planes with each other- in "sidebucker" formation....
Yea, that's the ticket.

[big_teee]

Hey, I've got an idea.
Stick a small neo magnet onto the blade- probably if near the handle won't affect the tone too much.
Make a pair of big air-core mag wire coils- maybe use hula hoops for forms.
Arrange the coils on either side of the saw- hang them vertically, in parallel planes with each other- in "sidebucker" formation....
Yea, that's the ticket.

Never Mind!
T

[rjb]

I am guessing that the edge of the blade is vibrating back and forth like a guitar String?

More like a violin string- it's played with a bow.
But yea, it vibrates more or less like a string.

[rjb]

Trying to get serious (or as serious as we can get, given the subject):

Hey tubeswell,
What exactly is "inadequate" about your friends method of using a mic thru the PA?
Do you want to send the output through some stomp boxes or something?
Or do you maybe just need an appropriate mic and good mic placement?

[SonnyW]

Trying to get serious (or as serious as we can get, given the subject):

Hey tubeswell,
What exactly is "inadequate" about your friends method of using a mic thru the PA?
Do you want to send the output through some stomp boxes or something?
Or do you maybe just need an appropriate mic and good mic placement?

My grandad was a saw player. I know the handle part is held between the knees, but maybe a good close mic like this some how affixed to the handle could work.

DPA Microphones :: Close-miking a cello with condenser microphones

[tubeswell]

Yep sometimes the saw is hit on the side with a drumstick and other times the 'blunt' side of the saw is stroked with a bow - to produce a kind of 'boingy' effect with a tone not dissimilar to a theramin. The 'pitch' comes from varying the tension applied to the saw blade - bending the blade by 'contracting' the ends of the blade through force applied at each end of the blade. So some kind of piezo bonded to the blade would be my guess.

[tubeswell]

Trying to get serious (or as serious as we can get, given the subject):

Hey tubeswell,
What exactly is "inadequate" about your friends method of using a mic thru the PA?
Do you want to send the output through some stomp boxes or something?
Or do you maybe just need an appropriate mic and good mic placement?

It just isn't sensitive enough without getting all feedbacky

[David Schwab]

You can use a magnetic pickup, since the blade is steel. But you would need to figure how to mount it. It would have to be near the handle end because the blades moves around too much.

Otherwise a piezo mounted near the handle would work.

[rjb]

Just brainstorming here:

I have heard amplified musical saw in band situations (at folk festivals) and have never seen anyone use anything other than a good general-purpose condenser microphone on a stand. So you may not want to abandon the idea of using a mic so quickly. But you may need a different kind of mic, or be more careful about placement. A good mic will give you the most natural sound (assuming that's what you want). You might be able to mount a lav or clipon mic close enough to the blade so that the sensitivity can be set low to prevent feedback.

You can use a magnetic pickup, since the blade is steel. But you would need to figure how to mount it. It would have to be near the handle end because the blades moves around too much.

Just be aware that it will sound "different" - I imagine the difference would be akin to the difference between a mic'd fiddle and an electric violin. But you may want that kind of sound to blend with electric guitars.

I'm thinking that if you want to try a DIY pickup, you could stick a small magnet on the blade and mount a pair of coils to the handle, on either side of the blade.

Otherwise a piezo mounted near the handle would work.

A piezo might be prone to handling noise- like if the handle bumps against the chair. I don't know if this would be a problem or not.

Maybe check out music transducer companies like Barcus Berry - they might have just what you need (eq'd/optimized for your application). I know, for instance, there are transducers designed specifically to be mounted to the aluminum "speakers" in resonator guitars.

And/or check out the "cigar box guitar" sites- you might pick up some "out of the box" ideas there.

Have fun,
-rb

[David Schwab]

Just be aware that it will sound "different" - I imagine the difference would be akin to the difference between a mic'd fiddle and an electric violin. You may want that kind of sound to blend with electric guitars.

Since it's not an acoustic instrument, insofar that it has no acoustic resonating body, I think a low wind magnetic pickup would sound just fine.

[rjb]

Since it's not an acoustic instrument, insofar that it has no acoustic resonating body, I think a low wind magnetic pickup would sound just fine.

If it were me, I think I'd try a DIY magnetic pickup. That route seems to have the highest "fun potential".