Piezo life?

[spindrummer82]

I built my own set and I finally got it dialed in and it was working really well up until a couple days ago. I have my double pedal on the kick and everytime I hit it with the left side it wouldnt trigger. The main pedal triggered fine though. Today I tried playing again and the main pedal will only trigger when I hit it really hard. Is there any chance that piezos wear out the more they are struck? Ive been trying to play lightly so things dont get to rattled but playing the kick softly is really difficult. Im going to replace the piezo to see if that helps but does anyone have any other suggestions.

Im using the bridge type setup with mesh heads. Would it be less stressful on the piezo to glue it right to the head instead of sandwiched between the bridge and head?

[JLee]

If you are using foam cones over the piezo, there should be virtually no stress on the piezo at all. However, I will say from experience that Piezos in general could use some serious quality control measures. They vary in terms of sensitivity, and I have had a few that barely triggered at all.

also, sometimes the solder points come off the piezo and this could account for the problem. I am not sure what you used to affix them, but if you have access to the side that has the ceramic on it, you might want to check that as well.

Unless they are abused, or struck directly (which i suppose would also be abusive) they really should last for a while.

[jrfrond]

Piezos do have a limited lifespan, though it is spotty. I've seen them last forever, but I've seen tons go by the wayside. In some pad or trigger designs, depending on how well the piezo element can dissipate shock, the ceramic can develop micro-cracks, and after that, it is all downhill. The sign that a piezo has had it is spotty or spiky triggering dynamics. Fortunately, you can buy raw piezo triggers in bulk really cheap from several different parts suppliers. That's what we do here in our shop.