Gear Spotlight - Part 1: The Springboard Dub

I had a request today to post some pics of the inside of the Springboard Dub. This instrument was built for me by Arius Blaze, of Audible-ism.com, which seems to have vanished from the net recently. He built a ton of fascinating instruments.


The Springboard Dub

This instrument is basically two cannibalized delay circuits, with bends added, built in a small piano-shaped cabinet (the unit is about 13" across, 18" high). There are springs in the cabinet where the piano keys would usually be. Apologies for the low-res pictures, I currently only have access to a very cheap camera.



These springs are connected to a metal plate inside, which is wired to the rest of the circuit. There is also a small pickup behind the metal plate, and the resulting audio signal is fed into the first delay unit (on the left side of the unit).



The audio from the pickup is sent into the first delay. I haven't been able to identify where the unit was cannibalized from, but the original (pre-circuit bent) delay control was a slider. This delay has delay length, delay feedback and spring audio input controls, plus a switch that lengthens the maximum delay time, also adding a significant amount of noise (which is quite a plus in this unit).



The signal from this first delay is then combined with the signal from the 1/4" input on the left of the Springboard Dub and fed into the second delay. This delay has length, feedback and effect level controls, plus a switch which lengthens the maximum delay.



This unit also contains a nine-plug patchbay with each patch linked to a bend in the delay. These can be patched together in any combination, plus the springs are wired into bends so you can patch springs to a point in the patch bay and add additional glitches to the delay.



The delay unit on the right is, I believe, an Ibanez DL5 based on the delay chip in it (a Mitsubishi M50195P). There is an interesting article about how this chip works.



I will shortly be acquiring a new and better camera, and will replace these shots with better ones.

As for the sounds on this unit, here are some examples of what it can do:

Sample 1
Springs plucked: Starts with first delay on; springs are plucked while the feedback knob is adjusted; then second delay is added at around the 1 minute mark; then some glitches in the patch bay starting at the 2nd minute.

Sample 2
Theremin: Played through the second delay; at about 45 seconds glitches from the patch bay are added (occasional spring plucks throughout).