Contact Preamp & Mic

💥 From Weak to WOW!

In this video, I show you how to take a basic contact mic and supercharge it using a simple DIY preamp—perfect for picking up subtle mechanical vibrations and textures.

Disclaimer: the links are not shown properly yet, but you can find it under my website https://bastikuhz.com/projekt-workshop-23

🎧 What's Inside:

• • Introduction
• • Why a preamp makes a big difference
• • Step-by-step DIY build instructions
• • Sound test on a 3D printer – hear the vibrations clearly with and without the preamp
• • Tips for improving clarity, gain, and signal quality of a contact mic

🧠 Why the 3D printer?

I use a 3D printer as the test subject because it's full of mechanical motion and subtle vibration—an ideal playground for testing a contact mic upgrade.

📃 Parts list & schematic:

• Original: Wayback Machine Archive
• Updated version with mistake correction: bastikuhz.com/projekt-workshop-23

🎓 Sources & Inspiration:

• • Build guide: wiki.slq.qld.gov.au
• Inspired by:
• • @metalmarshmallowllc
• • @MAKE
• • @psycheopera

🎤 Take your contact mic recordings from weak to WOW—with just a few components and a bit of soldering.

#ContactMic #DIYPreamplifier #3DPrinterSound #LoFiAudio #FromWeakToWOW #DIYAudio #FieldRecording #SoundDesign #electronicsdiy

In the last 1.5 years, I have been using contact microphones and was already happy with the opportunity to listen to the world around me by simply placing a piezo element on a surface. Then, I did some research on how to improve the sound quality and quickly I found the YouTube videos of Metal Marshmallow who explained very in detail why to use a pre amp. On his channel, he shows DIY methods on making a contact microphone pre amplifier, however it is not completely DIY, because it includes buying his own ready made pre amplifier. So I thought, is there also a way to make one myself at home?

So, I looked further through the internet and found some instructions from Colins Lab - Maker Magazine and home-made circuits. Then I made this pre-amp and noticed an improvement. However, then I saw this video from Metal Marshmallow, in which he compares his pre amp with another pre-amp, which made me doubt the quality of the pre-amp I made from Colins Lab. Thus, I thought, I give it a try and do some research again on the internet and I found another design on the website of the State Library of Queensland, Australia. This website grabbed my attention because the article talked about the problem of noise and also giving a possible solution to it. Additionally, I had a beautiful Protoboard Layout picture which made it very easy for me as a beginner to wire and solder it together.

The only thing I noticed was a little mistake in the protoboard drawing and I had to use a different kind of Transistor, due to the availability of transistors in my local electronics shop (thank you SP electroniikka).

After soldering it, I immediately tested it and the result was stunning! I was so super impressed by the sounds I could get out of my 3D printer (on which I placed the contact microphones).

• sonigon.com - DIY Triangular Balanced Piezo Microphone
• instructables.com - Balanced piezo contact microphones

Note: I found the wiring diagram on Instructables a bit confusing, so go with the Sonigon guide for clarity.

• Artist: Basti Kuhz
• Year: 2025
• Type: Workshop
• Full documentation available upon request. For collaboration or licensing inquiries: bk@bastikuhz.com