-
Greetings, this is my first post in this forum although I've been snooping around for a while, tons of great info and people here. Anyway, i've been battling feedback so much these days as I've been enjoying my archtop much more than my semihollow these days. However the feedback is really too much for most situations so i've decided to make at least one plug. Does anyone have any *suggestions as to what type of foam to use/ where to get some?
-
02-07-2013 06:01 PM
-
EVA foam and balsa wood painted in ebony both work well.
-
I'm an old school person...
stuffed it with "packing peanuts"...1977 Ibanez 2355 (ES-175)...
then a thin (1/8").....bubble wrap (without the bubbles) sheet....3" x 12" rectangular piece that took me some time to stuff in the f holes and position it in the right location...
it worked for me...
time on the instrument.....
-
-
Or an old sweatshirt (preferably clean).
Originally Posted by pierre richard
-
Back in the old days we'd just tape up the f-holes to keep the air out. I seen other use some heavy black card board and glue a block of foam on the back and then insert inside the guitar so the cardboard covers the f-hole and foam pushes it up and hold it in place and easy to remove later.
-
I'm similar .... but Ibanez AF120 Originally Posted by pierre richard
stuffed soft spongey type foam inside
then cut two rectangles of black vinyl seat covering
yeah takes a while to get the holes 'sealed' properly but it works great (for me)
When I had to replace the selector switch I had the Neck PU out and
I took the opportunity to leave out the foam in the upper bouts
I think I'd overdone the foam a bit originally
You do keep the bass thump with this method and but reduce the acoustic
properties to about half (which was exactly what I wanted)
Completely feedback free now
-
Jim Mullen uses Dougs Plugs I believe
they change the look of the guitar a tiny bit of course
Although I'm over the moon with my foam thing last post ......
If I get another electric jazz box (which howls)
I might try PTChris' idea which might retain a bit more acoustic properties
i think of it as .....
'the complient bridge post' tm
place a block of hardish grey packing foam
inside the body under the floating bridge area
squeeze it first the put it in and let it naturally expand into place
sounds good to me (not experienced it tho I believe PTC has)
-
Thanks for all the replies, i'll have to experiment with some of these ideas depending on what type of foam i'm able to find...
-
In my view there are three things you can do:
- Stop or limit air movement in and out of the body. Taping the holes does this, so do lightweight plugs.
- Limit the movement of air inside the body and movement of the top. The stuffed towel, sweatshirt, or foam does this.
- Limit the transfer of vibration from the guitar body to the strings, and vice versa. An added soundpost or bracing does this.
And of course there are solutions that combine these features.
In an earlier discussion the question came up about maintaining the acoustic character of the guitar to some extent.
I have had some good results by making a big fat soundpost out of very stiff foam. The idea is to have a significantly large footprint (so maybe 2 or more square inches, but less can work in mild cases) and to dampen the top vibration under the bridge without stopping the air movement in and out of the body, or within the body.
In principle (anyway) this can keep some of the vibration modes in the top intact.
The best working stuff seems to be 1.6 to 1.9 pound (per square foot, I think) EPP foam. EVA foam is OK, but does deform slightly over time, so a bit tighter initial fit is a good idea with EVA.
More blather:
A soundpost in a violin works completely differently for two main reasons - so maybe best to not confuse the two (violin vs. guitar) in my view.
Chris
-
>>> i'll have to experiment with some of these ideas depending on what type of foam i'm able to find...
A fast, fun, and deeply personally rewarding set of plugs (the envy of your neighborhood) can be made from EVA foam available in most US craft stores. You get one piece of 6mm and one piece of 2mm. Purple and barf green are available, but goth black has its charm.
The 6mm is cut to be very slightly larger than your f-holes. This is not as hard as it may seem. Press the 6mm against the f-hole and you may be happy with the impression it leaves. (Press lightly if it is a carved spruce top!!!) Trace this impression quickly with a pencil, and hack away.
Or just use trial and error, the foam is cheap.
Now cut the 2mm foam to be about 2.5 to 3mm larger than the f-holes.
Then glue the layers together. CA works OK of you are careful. Rubber cement works great, but WILL attack lacquer, so let them dry for days.
Then you press them into place.
Note that the 2mm layer should be cut pretty cleanly since it shows. But this is easy to do with scissors.
If this makes no sense, I'll make a set later this week and post pics. If someone can send extremely accurate tracings of their f-holes they can have the demo set since I have no specific feedback issues at present. But I can always make a set for a guitar I have here for laughs. Fast, cheap, easy.
ChrisLast edited by PTChristopher; 02-10-2013 at 08:49 PM. Reason: added comment on dimension of 2mm layer
-
Great tips, Chris.
-
As an alternative to Doug's plugs, try googling f-its feedback blockers. They work well and look great.
-
Dude, who cut f holes into my flip flops?
-
Brilliant!!! I have a pair of ugly unused foamy flipflops my girlfriend gave me and I was like "huh? I'm not wearing stupid flipflops". I can just carefully cut them for that.
-
Black party balloons work great. Insert and inflate.
-
les pauls (early) recipe-
... his first electric guitar. ... didn’t sound like Les wanted. He wanted to hear just the strings vibrate and not the guitar, so he filled it with rags and socks along with a tablecloth but that didn’t work. Next he tried filling it with Plaster of Paris, a clay-like substance that pretty much “ended that guitar.”
from-The Electric Guitar - Les Paul
cheers
-
About time *someone* offered PROFESSIONAL advice. Furthermore, didn't BB King use socks also? Originally Posted by neatomic
-
The bubble wrap and cardboard solution is guaranteed to work. Carefully wrap the guitar in bubble wrap, then carefully pack it in a cardboard box and send it to: Rolijen. This will eliminate your feedback issues.
RoliLast edited by rolijen; 01-23-2018 at 08:25 AM.
-
Would anyone be interested in sets of f hole anti-feedback baffles? Similar to Doug's Plugs who no longer makes them. A friend recently came to me and asked me to make him some anti-feedback f hole plugs for his Gretsch semi hollow because he plays heavy distorted punk rock and he was getting feedback through his JCM800. I have a CNC machine and normaly build guitars but, thought I would try to make him a set and they turned out perfect. So, I made a set for my Epiphone 339 and they fit perfect. I'm working on sourcing some sheets of closed cell neoprene foam material to make them out of and how to market them.
Thank you, Joe
-
That'd be like lining the inside with a thin layer of rubber-like material, correct? Some damping of the acoustic sound by not that much? Originally Posted by Burrellesque
The other day I was wondering if how many internal helium baloons would be required to make a guitar levitate and remove most of the need for a strap
-
About 6 cubic metres. Good luck Originally Posted by RJVB
That'd be like lining the inside with a thin layer of rubber-like material, correct? Some damping of the acoustic sound by not that much?
The other day I was wondering if how many internal helium baloons would be required to make a guitar levitate and remove most of the need for a strap
Skickat från min iPad med Tapatalk
-
Damn, there goes a good idea, up into thin air
-
I sometimes also struggle with being on the edge of feedback with my L5 in a loud bigband, depending on the space on stage The first possible remedy is placing my amp on my LH side (I am right handed) and preferably a tiny bit in front of me. In that way the amp speakers project as little as possible directly towards the back of the guitar, Another thing is taking out the lower frequencies of amp and guitar. A bass sound is more prone to feedback in comparison to a trebly sound. Keeping distance from the bassplayer amp also helps. If all of that does not help sufficiently, then the f hole plugs come in handy. So far, I have managed to avoid them. but have considered buying them many times. High end archtops are prone for picking up other than the pleyers generated sounds. When the horns are tuning their intruments to Bb or A, my tuner on the guitar headstock indicates perfectly if they are sharp or flat and I can feel the back of my guitar vibrating their frequencies in my belly.
-
Mine sometimes talks back at my teacher Originally Posted by hotpepper01
(My other acoustics just talk back at me, I think ^^)
Reply With Quote
Grant Green, What is This Thing
Yesterday, 01:59 PM in Ear Training, Transcribing & Reading