Hi all,

I've wanted a Danelectro Spring King reverb for a while now (mostly to record Ennio Morricone spaghetti western style 'splashes') and today I bought a broken one in the hope of fixing it.

On getting it home and testing it out it does work to an extent... it does seem to add some effect to the signal, but it's more like a short delay. I know the Spring King had a short delay as well as the spring reverb so it seems that part is working, just the reverb isn't.

I opened it up and the clips either side of the spring reverb were disconnected, so I re-connected them but it's still the same... short delay but no reverb.

That leads me to believe the issue must be with the spring reverb part of the effect. The guy I bought it from said he'd had 2 or 3 others with the same problem so it must be a common issue, there must be someone out there (especially in the surf guitar community!) that has had the same problem and fixed it?

I already e-mailed Danelectro asking if I could buy a replacement spring unit for it but they said they don't sell parts direct and their parts distributor only does guitar parts, not effects. Not only that but the fact that I bought it 2nd hand and it isn't under warranty means they can't do anything to help me... so it looks like I've got to take this on by myself.

Any help or insight into how I might fix this would be much appreciated.

Last edited: Sep 24, 2013 17:50:27

Yeah I was going to suggest DeadRanchHands. He doesn't log in much anymore but he has experience modding these things. Good luck.

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Thanks for all the responses guys.

I read through that recommended thread and it has lead to a little bit of progress.

Previously as I said I was getting no reverb at all, only what sounded like a fast delay... but after reading on that thread (about hooking up an external tank) that if you hooked up the reverb connections the wrong way around you'd get no reverb, I decided to open it up again and swap the connectors around. After doing this I now get a 'splash' if I knock or touch the springs but still no reverb on the actual guitar signal.

It feels like I'm getting closer to solving this, but it still leaves me with the question that if the spring reverb 'tank' was broken and needed replacing would it still give me a splash if I knock the springs?

I am also wondering if it's currently wired correctly... currently the 'volume' control has no effect, the 'tone' control doesn't appear to alter the tone THAT much (it is working like a tone control but barely noticeable), and the 'reverb' control is basically the wet/dry mix of effect I am currently getting (which as I say is less a reverb and more a fast delay).

I'm sure eventually I'll get to the bottom of this and manage to fix it but as it is I'm left with a lot of questions and not really sure what to do in order to progress further. If I knew it was definitely the tank that needed replacing I'd try and get a replacement small enough to fit inside the enclosure (I was looking at this one which I think would fit if removed from its own enclosure). It's just a question of diagnosing if that's what needs replacing or if it might be something else at fault here.

Last edited: Sep 24, 2013 20:15:46

It's easy to do an electrical test on the pan itself. Set your DVM for ohm scale and measure the input and output jacks. The pan you sent a link to has the ohm readings printed in the specs. You just measure from the inner part of the RCA jack to the outer part and see what you get. You're not looking for a finite number...you just want to be in the range.

You already know the reverb tank is working, sort of. You get a 'splash' when you shake it, so you know the output transducer and reverb recovery circuit is working. But the guitar isn't driving the tank, so either there is a problem with the input transducer, or the drive circuit has a problem.

Measuring resistance will tell you if the input transducer has continuity but I've seen a tank that had continuity but it still didn't work. A technician would substitute a known good tank and if it works, then the old tank was bad. But if there is still no reverb with a good tank, then there is something wrong with the circuit.

If you are lucky, there won't be continuity on the input transducer and you will know that you have to replace it. I say 'lucky' because if the transducer measures good but still doesn't work, then you really don't know conclusively what the problem is. Good luck!

If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.

Yes
You are just checking the electrical continuity of the spring assembly itself (the springs, transducers, connectors, etc.)...not the whole Spring King. This test can help you determine if the problem is within the spring assembly...or not.

An update...

Whilst poking around inside the SK today I noticed there are two areas on the circuit board that look like traces have been cut. It's in two places, both on the same track.

Does anyone know any reason why you might cut these traces, or shall I bridge them and see if it makes a difference?

It also looks like a resistor has been added as I can't spot it anybody else's gut shots. If anyone has a high quality shot of the circuit board of their stock Spring King I'd really appreciate it if you could post it/send it to me

image

Last edited: Sep 26, 2013 10:04:32

Las_Barracudas wrote:

I'm thinking this unit may be toast.

Never! I will not be defeated!

It looks like someone's definitely been modding it though. It's just difficult to know if the changes they've made are responsible for it not working properly or not. The fact that it's still working to some extent means I'm not willing to write it off just yet!

I've now had a friend measure the resistance of both the transducers too, one measured 0.8 ohms and the other didn't read at all... dead

Hopefully that means replacing the reverb tank might solve this problem. Anyone know if either of these tanks would be compatible?

http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=413

http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=3275

Last edited: Oct 01, 2013 06:30:45

mistgreen63 wrote:

My springking controls havent been the same after change to external tank.
Reverb is better and larger but now I cant turn all the knobs to max because of volume drop, buzz and distortion Im getting. Ive just left reverb to max and volume and tone are somewhere near 3 a clock. I hope someone could help me with this.

Do you know which tank your replaced yours with?

After researching what all of the digits in the model codes mean I've ordered this as it's a fairly close match to the stock one in specs.

Original EVETS tank code: (00)8AB2E1A(-EVA)

8 = Short tank (9.25") with 3 springs
A = Input impedance 10 ohms
B = Output impedance 2,575 ohms
2 = Medium decay time
E = Connector type (no outer channel)... not 100% on what this means precisely but I'm sure it'll be okay
1 = No lock (assuming it means the chassis/enclosure?)
A = Mounting type open side up

Replacement Accutronics tank I've ordered: 8AB2A1B
http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=413
As you can see the only difference in codes are the connector type (which I'm sure I can overcome with a soldering iron) and the mounting type, which after removed from the outer chassis and fitted into the Spring King will be the same anyway.

Here's a guide to understanding all the codes if you're interested: http://www.amplifiedparts.com/tech_corner/spring_reverb_tanks_explained_and_compared

Be interesting to know what the mods are, and whether they are factory mods or a previous owner

http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/