Stuffing guitar with foam

[RyanM]

If I were to “stuff a guitar with foam” for feedback reduction, how do I do it? What kind of foam and how much to use? Should it fill the guitar? It is difficult to remove if I wanted to?

[Jimmy blue note]

Not really effective. It'd depend on the playing conditions, what you're hoping for.
What are you playing? What have you tried? Considered a guitar that's designed from the ground up to be more resistant? How loud are you playing? How's your amp placement? Certain frequencies? Tried EQ?

The more you stuff it, the less it'll feel like like the guitar you know and love.

More details will help you get a better working solution.
For starters anyway
Good luck

[Mark M.]

I tried this once with a Heritage 575 and I hated it. It turned out that the problem with the guitar was that the wiring was not shielded and/or the original Schaller p/u was causing the feedback. When I swapped in a Gibson Classic HB and some shielded wiring I never had another problem with feedback. I’d recommend stuffing it only as a last resort after you have tried adjusting amp placement (keep it on the neck side of your guitar), optimum volume controls of the guitar relative to the amp, and any electronic issues that could make the signal chain more microphonic than it should be.

[Cunamara]

If I were to “stuff a guitar with foam” for feedback reduction, how do I do it? What kind of foam and how much to use? Should it fill the guitar? It is difficult to remove if I wanted to?

Pat Martino famously did this with a Gibson Johnny Smith, if I remember correctly. He used upholstery stuffing, possibly kapok, and about 6 or 7 pounds of it to completely fill the cavity of the guitar. This might've been in his early days playing with organ trios- quite loud. Most of his career, however, he played with solidbody or semihollow body instruments to reduce the feedback problem. Les Pauls, Gibson LS6, Abe Rivera, Gibson Pat Martino signature, Benedetto signature, etc. Forum member Jack Zucker studied for a time with Pat, did the same thing with one of his guitars under Pat's direction and hated it.

David's (jimmy blue note) comment is spot on. Stuffing a nice archtop guitar with all that damping material is going to fundamentally alter how the guitar feels and sounds. Not to mention make it weigh a lot more. George Benson's solution, among others, was clear packing tape across the F holes.

[AllanAllen]

Stuffing an archtop with foam was just something somebody tried. It’s not a commonly used feedback solution.

[ThatRhythmMan]

I got a Johnny Smith once that had been stuffed like that with upholstery foam rubber. It was a huge PITA to get it out. It was worthwhile in the end though.


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[pingu]

I did it with my Ibz af120 to solve
feedback issues (also it was a bit bright
sounding for my taste)

I used upholstery type foam in
about tennis bass sized bits and just
pushed it in through the f holes
then finished off with some black
pvc for the look

It worked well for both issues ….
after a few weeks I felt that I’d overdone it , so I removed the foam in
the lower bouts (fairly easy)
and left the foam in the upper bouts

this was years ago and it’s still working
well for me
Its made the guitar only a couple of ounces heavier

others here have other views/experiences from me
but I thought I’d share mine

ps
if you try it , start with just the
upper bouts and be gentle not to disturb any wiring you encounter

good luck whichever way you choose to go

[John A.]

Jack's account of stuffing a guitar a la Martino is here:

Stories from my studies with Pat Martino - Cotton Stuffing

[John A.]

I tried this once with a Heritage 575 and I hated it. It turned out that the problem with the guitar was that the wiring was not shielded and/or the original Schaller p/u was causing the feedback. When I swapped in a Gibson Classic HB and some shielded wiring I never had another problem with feedback. I’d recommend stuffing it only as a last resort after you have tried adjusting amp placement (keep it on the neck side of your guitar), optimum volume controls of the guitar relative to the amp, and any electronic issues that could make the signal chain more microphonic than it should be.

Shielding has no relationship to feedback, but the pickup could have made a difference (e.g., if the original pickup was un-potted it could have been more feedback-prone.

[deacon Mark]

It is a complete waste of time. Find a guitar that works and use that for the stuff that requires that amount of volume. Johnny Smith never stuffed his guitar with foam, and I would not stuff a hollow body period. Check out the Les Paul thread.

[Jimmy Mack]

I did. A Gibson ES 150, the fat 335. Back in '72 - '73 I played with a 9 pc. group, thru a Twin Reverb with JBL's.
Without the foam stuffing, that guitar would not have worked for the gigs. We played pop music, not jazz. It still sounded like a big bodied guitar and I got complements on the tone. It was probably upholstery foam.

[olejason]

If I was at the point on considering stuffing an archtop full of foam I'd just play a Tele.

[rpjazzguitar]

I have a Godin Multiac Nylon. Very live guitar and would feedback at a volume you could converse over.

Blocking the sound holes did nothing.

Shortly before I would have smashed it to bits, I bought foam at an upholstery shop and stuffed the body, really packed it in. Unpleasant increase in the weight of the guitar.

The top was no longer live. The acoustic sound was muffled and unusable. But, amplified it was fine. It's still like that. I don't look forward to removing the foam, which is friable, I think, and could be several pounds of powder.

If I had to do it over again, I'd try that trick of blowing up ordinary party balloons inside the guitar.

So, stuffing the guitar with foam did accomplish the goal of reducing feedback. At a cost, though.

[equenda]

Hi!
I've read this thread and also the J.Zucker thread and since I can't understand WELL some English term, I need to know exactly the term "upholstery foam rubber".
Is it something like this ?: Amazon.com

In Italy we call it "gomma-piuma" (...rubber-feather... )

Thank-You.

ettore

[SOLR]

Hi!
I've read this thread and also the J.Zucker thread and since I can't understand WELL some English term, I need to know exactly the term "upholstery foam rubber".
Is it something like this ?: Amazon.com

In Italy we call it "gomma-piuma" (...rubber-feather... )

Thank-You.

ettore

I think this is what they mean not "rubber" Amazon.ca

actually it's not even foam it's the fluffy stuff between the foam of a pillow, mattress etc and the outside material...you can buy it by the yard (meter) it's rather light compared to rubber.

As a test try old cotton T shirts. easy to insert (I pushed it in with a chop stick though the F holes ) and remove. Be cautious with the wiring inside the guitar so as not to rip it out.

Black T shirts worked for me.

S

[D.G.]

If your guitar is uncontrollably feeding back at the volumes you need to play at, you’re using the wrong tool.

[equenda]

I think this is what they mean not "rubber" Amazon.ca

actually it's not even foam it's the fluffy stuff between the foam of a pillow, mattress etc and the outside material...you can buy it by the yard (meter) it's rather light compared to rubber.

As a test try old cotton T shirts. easy to insert (I pushed it in with a chop stick though the F holes ) and remove. Be cautious with the wiring inside the guitar so as not to rip it out.

Black T shirts worked for me.

S

Thanks for the info.
However I think the PROBLEM is REMOVING the material from the guitar. Putting it inside the (hollow) body is not difficult. If I were to do it I would use a low priced guitar. Thanks again.

Ettore

[SOLR]

Thanks for the info.
However I think the PROBLEM is REMOVING the material from the guitar. Putting it inside the (hollow) body is not difficult. If I were to do it I would use a low priced guitar. Thanks again.

Ettore

Actually, putting it in is harder if you're using sheets of the stuffing...

S

[jazzshrink]

Thanks for the info.
However I think the PROBLEM is REMOVING the material from the guitar. Putting it inside the (hollow) body is not difficult. If I were to do it I would use a low priced guitar. Thanks again.
Ettore

I wonder if some poor soul tried to use a product like this:

[bluenote61]

Before stuffing out an archtop with any sort of foam I would try f-hole dampers. They are easy to put in and to take off when there is no need for dampening, e.g, playing at home or in a quiet setup. I use them for my archtop with carved top for playing in louder environment. It helps to shift the point of feedback to a higher level and prevents of sudden "whoop" attacks.
For my laminated archtop I don't need dampening.

FWIW, the Ibanez Lee Ritenour signature was stuffed out with foam. I think it was the most short-running signature model from Ibanez...

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I think the PROBLEM is REMOVING the material from the guitar.

It's no problem at all with the right tool...

[rpjazzguitar]

Hi!
I've read this thread and also the J.Zucker thread and since I can't understand WELL some English term, I need to know exactly the term "upholstery foam rubber".
Is it something like this ?: Amazon.com

In Italy we call it "gomma-piuma" (...rubber-feather... )

Thank-You.

ettore

I went to a shop that specialized in renewing sofas. I asked for foam and they sold me a sheet of it, maybe 1 or 2 inches thick, two feet wide and I don't remember how long. I cut it into strips to make it easier to stuff into the body through the access panel in the back of the guitar.

To me it was "foam". I didn't delve any deeper into subtypes.

I'm confident that there are better ways to do this, but it did stop the feedback.

[pingu]

I used this kind of foam , into just
the upper bout of the guitar, I didn’t compress it much at all , and it worked great for me ….

[Mick-7]

Hi!
I've read this thread and also the J.Zucker thread and since I can't understand WELL some English term, I need to know exactly the term "upholstery foam rubber".
Is it something like this ?: Amazon.com

In Italy we call it "gomma-piuma" (...rubber-feather... )

Thank-You.

ettore

That's a high price for the stuff(ing), you could probably get it for free from the dumpster behind an upholstery shop.
GoTo-Foam-Height-Upholstery-Cushion - Amazon.com

Go to Foam, is that like Go to Hades?

Seems the black foam costs more: Polyurethane Foam Sheet - Amazon.com

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I cut dense PU foam into plugs and gently stuff them into the f holes. They eliminate all feedback from my laminated archtop played on stage through a BF Princeton with volume on 5, even when sitting directly in front of my amp. They're equally as effective on my carved archtops until the volume gets almost as high. I don't play jazz gigs where I need more volume than that from an archtop, so I don't know the upper limit. I've always had to keep my right palm ready to mute archtops until I came up with this solution.

They're oversized enough to grip the openings well, and they stay in place with the tops just above the surface. I bought a sheet of 1.5mm clear plastic, intending to cut out nicely shaped covers and use double sided tape to secure the foam under them. But I haven't gotten around to it yet.