Pickup and sustainer for stringed instruments

A transducer for converting mechanical vibration of a string of a stringed instrument to an electrical signal, the transducer comprising a body having a cantilevered structure extending therefrom, the cantilevered structure being configured to receive the string and to mechanically vibrate with a primary mode of vibration of the string, wherein the cantilevered structure comprises a bimorph piezoelectric element that is oriented such that a primary planar orientation of the bimorph piezoelectric element is substantially perpendicular to a plane defined by the primary mode of vibration of the string, and substantially parallel with the string, the bimorph piezoelectric element being configured to generate the electrical signal in response to the vibration of the string and the cantilevered structure.

A sustain component for mounting on a surface of a stringed instrument and securing an end of a string of the stringed instrument, the sustain component comprising a body having a cantilevered structure extending therefrom, the cantilevered structure being configured to receive the string and to mechanically vibrate with a primary mode of vibration of the string in a direction parallel to the surface of the stringed instrument, the sustain component further comprising a permanent magnet in the cantilevered structure, and an electromagnet configured to interact with the permanent magnet to cause corresponding mechanical motion of the cantilevered structure to sustain the primary mode of vibration of the string.