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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on August 17, 2022 at 3:09am

Del talks about using a piezo with internal springs in this video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zPgzU9RJ6X0&list=PLILeQN-JJ4qaGRw...  you can hear it better with earphones?

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Permalink Reply by Howard Craypool on August 22, 2022 at 11:24pm

Thank you, I just watched the vid, very interesting, I like the spring ideas….

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on August 17, 2022 at 3:45pm

I put a couple screen door springs inside of a acoustic build and it definitely added a reverb effect to the sound much like the tremolo springs on a Stratocaster does.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on August 17, 2022 at 3:47pm

I made mine after watching a Shane Speal video on how he made his.

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Permalink Reply by Howard Craypool on August 18, 2022 at 10:15pm

Paul, hi, is your box electric also, i mean, do you hear a reverberation when the box is not plugged in because I don’t hear it that much with spring in the neck on my acoustic box, I have to take my strings off to get back inside mine so mean I just play it and work on my new version, dog bowl, electric , thanks , stay cool..

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on August 19, 2022 at 4:27pm

I can hear the spring reverb effect acoustically or with Piezo and with the Flatpup I have installed.

The 3 important things is, 1: the size of the springs, 2: the amount of stress on the springs and 3: where the springs are attached.

For max amount of spring sound, running the springs from neck area to bridge area is best. I think the smaller springs work better than the large springs and the stress/taughtness of spring just has to be tried for best results.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on August 17, 2022 at 7:24pm

Hi, interesting stuff. My experience with installing springs has always been disappointing. Maybe it's my ears but I could not hear any spring "reverb" effect from an acoustic box. Maybe I was expecting too much. Tried different springs, different numbers of springs, and different locations in the box for the springs, but no joy.

I even put a damper system in the box to enable me to stop and start the vibration of the spring to enable before and after comparisons, but still no audible difference. Hmmm.

If it works for others, why not me??

One thought was that after seeing Paul's photo of a CBG with springs, I noticed that a heavy box was used, this may aid in the easier excitement of the springs, due to the box lacking an abundance natural resonance. Any ideas?

I build my boxes very light so as to be more responsive to the vibrations of the strings, maybe there's a natural reverb in the box that overrides that of the springs. What do you all think?

In the video, I could not hear any reverb effect either, although the person demonstrating it said they could.

I was looking for an acoustic reverb that could be heard across the room by the listener, but I failed. If I use a pickup I might as well use the amp reverb, If I need headphones, it is probably my ears.
Cheers Taff

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on August 19, 2022 at 4:33pm

Shane Speal used a regular cigar box and it worked great. My box was made by me out of cedar fence plank with red oak bracing. Wood can play a role, but like Brian said, I think the size of spring used and taughtness matters more along with where the springs are attached.

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on August 18, 2022 at 11:34pm

If the springs are thick & taut, then you won’t get much reverberation? If you’ve ever seen the inside of a reverb tank, the spring wire is super thin, soft & has a small amount of slack, so the spring jiggles without much help? So if your springs are too rigid, the vibration will die out before it can bounce back across the spring, subduing the effect? 

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Permalink Reply by Howard Craypool on August 21, 2022 at 12:04pm

Thank you for that bit of information, I shall try that, meaning maybe a lighter gauge spring should work better in the box..thank you

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