Yes I'm interested! - I have the Spring King, the Accutronics tank and related ingredients ready to fire the soldering iron!

http://www.myspace.com/losderrumbes

Something like the dwell control in Fender tanks? - That would be great!

http://www.myspace.com/losderrumbes

Okay, some clips of the latest mod, with a few different settings. The way it is now, it's possible to overload the springs and get feedback, which you kind of hear at the end (and the Volume isn't even maxed there), but I can tweak it internally so it can't feed back but still get the drippy drip. I'm not sure I'll bother with my unit, since I can just dial in the right level via the volume control anyway.

I'm using the big external tank here.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6960866

Compare that to without the drippy mod, still using the same external tank, with all controls maxed:

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6892083

I will reattach the internal tank hopefully this weekend and see what that sounds like.

I still want to do more here - like more amplification AFTER the springs, so it can get uber wet without having to drive the springs so hard. I might just have to build something from scratch.

http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEW74mHjQk

Well, I finally wired up the switch to go between stock tank and big tank. The big one definitely sounds better, with a more authoritative drip and a richer sound. But they both sound good. The little tank requires much less signal to get the most out of it, not surprisingly. I have to back the volume knob down to 9:00 with the current mods in place, whereas the big tank sounds good with the Volume at 12:00. Clips comparing the two will come hopefully within the week.

I noticed the small tank is noisier, probably because it's so close to the electronics. I wonder if all the new wires in there for the switch have exacerbated that, though. Hard to say without an untouched unit to compare it to.

Also, I'm getting a faint whooshing sound from time to time - I have no idea where it's coming from. It could be a result of all my tinkering, or just some weird influence from the ancient wiring in my apartment. Who knows. It's not loud, it only comes in occasionally, and it actually sounds kind of cool, so I'm not going to stress about it.

But, I think I will want to apply all the things I've learned from modding the Spring King into building a solid state reverb unit from scratch.

http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEW74mHjQk

I have listened to your past clips and read these posts. I am thinking about buying this pedal and modifying it. Twelve years ago I built a distortion pedal and lost interest in that type of thing, but this has inspired me.

I am at work now with no speakers but am looking forward to going home tonight and listening to the new clips. Good work on your mods and ingenuity in modifying this unit.

Staredge
Assuming one is restricted to the Spring King itself, and not an extra tank, what mods would you do to get the maximum amount of drip?? I'm just learning guitar in general, much less surf, but I'd like to have a pedal to play with. (hey, if I have to practice scales, might as well make them wet!!!! )

And the second question: if I buy one, would you mod it for me????? (I don't know anything about electronics....or at least enough to do something like this)

Will

Hi there,

Well, the same mod will squeeze out the maximum amount of drip with the internal tank just as it will with the external tank. It needs to be tamed with the internal tank, though, because you can't turn up the volume very far before it starts to overload. Shouldn't be too trick - just a matter of installing an internal trim pot.

Having said that, the internal tank is fairly drippy without the latest drip mod, anyway. It's the external tank that benefits most from this. So, it may make more sense just do the delay mod, and forget the rest. Here's a clip of a Spring King with the delay mod but with no drip mod - it's pretty drippy already (played by the owner of the pedal - I did the mod):

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=6870977&q=hi

I'm just listening to this again, and I'd say probably this is drippy enough for most people.

Unfortunately, I don't have an unsullied Spring King to compare with mine while I'm making changes, so I forget what it sounded like before. So, maybe this drip mod is best left for those who want a bigger tank.

Yes, I'd be willing to mod it for you. I'll PM you some options.

http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEW74mHjQk

Okay, for those with the mod instructions, just a time saver - a 1k resistor is perfect for the volume reduction mod. That way at full Volume (ie Dwell) w/ the big tank, it's very wet but not too feedbacky, and it sounds great at about noon with the small tank. It adds a wider range of usable Volume (Dwell) settings.

Edit: 1k is ideal actually for the "heavy drip setting." Maybe more like 600 ohms if you want to take advantage of the less drip settings. I find myself just sticking with the heavy drip setting and leaving it there.

image

http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEW74mHjQk

Six springs?? I bet the last chord you played yesterday is still sounding...

http://www.myspace.com/losderrumbes

UmaFloresta - you are like a mad scientist with these mods. Very cool, still have not gotten mine yet, can't wait to start fooling with some modifications.

Nice.