Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > sci.electronics.design > #452769

Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps?

Show key headers only | View raw

Dave M <dgminala@mediacombb.net> wrote:
>
>>> ** The long springs transmit torsional waves, twisting back and
>>> forward so must be driven the  same way. Tiny tube magnets are made
>>> to twist by the drive coil assembly while at the far end a near
>>> identical transducer converts the twisting back to an electrical
>>> signal.
>>>
>>> The drive assembly is a kind of motor that makes the magnet rotate on
>>> its axis about +/- 30degrees. A torsional wave travels fairly slowly
>>> down a spring, making for long reverb times.
>>>
>>> A major benefit of this method is that external vibrations do not
>>> induce torsional waves in the springs but only lateral ones and so
>>> are largely rejected by the pick up assembly.
>>>
>>> AFAIK the idea was patented by Hammond in the late 50s - then made
>>> famous by Fender in the 60s guitar amps.
>>>
>>> BYI  I agree, it is not easy to find the above info on the net since
>>> the Accutronics site disappeared.
>>
>> Your followup just now made me aware of that a company named
>> Accutronics used to exist. There's a couple of spring reverbs in my
>> bone pile. The metal tanks are stamped with "ACCUTRONICS GENEVA,
>> ILL." The tanks originally came from PAIA as part of a kit:
>>
>>    http://www.paia.com/proddetail.asp?prod=6740K
>>    http://www.paia.com/ProdArticles/hotspuse.htm
>>
>> This site seems like a good source of information:
>>
>> https://www.amplifiedparts.com/tech-corner/spring-reverb-tanks-explained-and-compared
>>
>> Thank you,
>
> Accutronics is now known as Accu-Bell Sound Inc.
> http://www.accutronicsreverb.com/
> There's a link at the top of the home page "How Reverb Works", which
> describes the operation of a spring reverb and why it sounds like it does.
>
> I still have a few reverb tanks stored from the days of building my own
> guitar amps.  Fun stuff! It's really spooky how the length and number of
> springs affect the sound you get from them.

Accu-Bell "hides" their website behind Adobe flash. Fortunately, "How
Reverb Works" also appears at other more "open" websites:

    http://www.tubeampdoctor.com/en/shop_Reverb_Cans_Effects/

"How Reverb Works" contains a spring reverb history mini-history. Here's
an excerpt:

        The use of coiled springs to delay audio signals was
    originated by early telecommunications engineers to simulate
    the effects of long-distance telephone lines. While the
    prolonged sequence of echoes was undesirable for their purposes,
    it seemed most useful to an inventor named Laurens Hammond,
    who promptly appropriated the concept for use with the keyboard
    instrument which bears his name.

The www.amplifiedparts.com link in my first followup points to "Spring
Reverb Tanks Explained and Compared" by Kurt Prange. Prange's tutorial
references:

    Scott, J. L. - Chief Engineer; Accutronics document 126-00005

That Accutronics document may explain the gadget's wave physics in
greater detail. In light of the telecommunications history mentioned at
your link, Bell Labs documentation also seems like a good prospect to
discover the more mechanical principles of operation.

Thank you,

--
Don Kuenz KB7RPU

Back to sci.electronics.design | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? oldschool@tubes.com - 2017-03-18 19:12 -0500
  Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-03-18 20:47 -0400
    Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com> - 2017-03-18 18:11 -0700
  Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com> - 2017-03-18 18:08 -0700
    Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Don Kuenz <g@crcomp.net> - 2017-03-19 05:08 +0000
      Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com> - 2017-03-18 22:38 -0700
        Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? jurb6006@gmail.com - 2017-03-19 02:46 -0700
          Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com> - 2017-03-19 04:25 -0700
            Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? jurb6006@gmail.com - 2017-03-19 06:01 -0700
            Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? jurb6006@gmail.com - 2017-03-19 07:46 -0700
      Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? "Dave M" <dgminala@mediacombb.net> - 2017-03-19 22:49 -0500
        Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com> - 2017-03-19 22:31 -0700
          Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? "Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> - 2017-03-23 19:01 -0400
            Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com> - 2017-03-23 16:24 -0700
              Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? "dcaster@krl.org" <dcaster@krl.org> - 2017-03-23 16:37 -0700
                Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com> - 2017-03-23 17:46 -0700
                Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? "dcaster@krl.org" <dcaster@krl.org> - 2017-03-23 18:05 -0700
                Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? "Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> - 2017-03-25 03:18 -0400
              Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? "Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> - 2017-03-25 03:16 -0400
          Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Jasen Betts <jasen@xnet.co.nz> - 2017-03-26 19:36 +0000
        Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? oldschool@tubes.com - 2017-03-20 14:04 -0500
          Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Don Kuenz <g@crcomp.net> - 2017-03-21 17:22 +0000
        Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Don Kuenz <g@crcomp.net> - 2017-03-20 19:27 +0000
    Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? George Herold <gherold@teachspin.com> - 2017-03-20 12:24 -0700
      Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net> - 2017-03-21 09:14 +1100
        Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? George Herold <gherold@teachspin.com> - 2017-03-20 17:04 -0700
          Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? "dcaster@krl.org" <dcaster@krl.org> - 2017-03-20 20:06 -0700
            Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? jurb6006@gmail.com - 2017-03-21 00:18 -0700
            Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? George Herold <gherold@teachspin.com> - 2017-03-21 05:55 -0700
              Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? "dcaster@krl.org" <dcaster@krl.org> - 2017-03-21 06:46 -0700
      Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2017-03-21 03:15 -0400
  Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? bitrex <bitrex@de.lete.earthlink.net> - 2017-03-19 22:25 -0400
    Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com> - 2017-03-19 19:52 -0700
      Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? bitrex <bitrex@de.lete.earthlink.net> - 2017-03-19 23:14 -0400
        Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? bitrex <bitrex@de.lete.earthlink.net> - 2017-03-19 23:14 -0400
        Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com> - 2017-03-19 20:32 -0700
          Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? bitrex <bitrex@de.lete.earthlink.net> - 2017-03-20 00:01 -0400
            Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com> - 2017-03-19 22:32 -0700
          Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? jurb6006@gmail.com - 2017-03-20 03:52 -0700
          Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? bitrex <bitrex@de.lete.earthlink.net> - 2017-03-20 15:18 -0400
            Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? Tauno Voipio <tauno.voipio@notused.fi.invalid> - 2017-03-20 21:28 +0200
              Re: How do those Spring Reverbs work in guitar amps? bitrex <bitrex@de.lete.earthlink.net> - 2017-03-20 16:26 -0400

csiph-web