How to Prepare a Guitar

Chapter 2 – Prepared Guitar Techniques

2.5 – Self-Clasping Objects

Fish lead, crocodile clips, paperclips, and all kinds of other possible attachable objects also cause sound effects similar to the weaved bridge preparation, but less prominent. Similar also is the effect of the clasping position. Near the bridges the effect is lesser prominent, in the middle of the string it causes a harp like sound. The more the objects weights the lower the pitch of the string becomes and the heavier the sound effect on the timbre.

2.5.1 – Springs

Springs are quiet unique tools for a guitar preparation, because they have a sound of their own. By clasping the spring to a string right above the pickup, the spring alters the sound of the vibration string very much. The sound of springs is a bit similar to the weaved flying bridge, but more unnatural balanced, not following the logical patterns of the scale of harmonics anymore. I prefer the weaved bridge preparation for that reason. The unnatural balance becomes apparent when you play a few notes on the fret board.

The sound adaptation works mainly when it is placed above the pickup. Placed on other places alters the sound, but lesser heavy in effect, comparable in effect with other self-clasping objects. The difference in sound between fish lead and a spring placed elsewhere is not very different from each other. Below there is a chapter about sound differences of used material. The spring, if placed above the pickup, is by far the most apparent and therefore the most interesting to work with. This preparation is very easy to replicate. It always works in the way you managed it before and therefore a very reliable option.

2.5.2 – Slinky Spring

A special type of spring is the slinky spring. (The spring that can walk down stairs). You can stick the first ± 10 rings in between the string field and the body on a pickup (same preparation as with the regular string) and let the spring hang down and wiggle it in the fundamental vibration modus of the slinky spring. When lesser ring are hanging (fixing more rings to the body with for instance iron dread, the fundamental vibration of the slinky becomes faster. The sound is like laser shooting in a Star Wars movie or the sounds you hear on Liars’ Drum’s Not Dead. (Onomatopea: Tsjiiooww!) You can also fix it to a solid object a few meters away from the guitar, in such a situation it hangs in the room. When you hit the slinky at the rear most far away from the guitar pickup with a solid object, for instance with a spoon, you again hear the Star Wars lasers, but this time you can play them in any rhythm you prefer. The sound is a bit close to the sound of a spring reverb, present in a lot of amps, which you can hear when you hit those amps. But at the slinky is longer and lower in tone. What you hear is not really caused by the helix shape of the string, but because of a transversal idiophonic tone of the metal. A copper slinky sounds neglectable different than an iron slinky, because of the very high pitch of it. The tone is the speed of the sound in the material (around 5000 Hz). The tone also occurs at train stations, when a train arrives. You can hear the tones coming from the electricity cables attached to the arriving train.

2.5.3 – Experimental String Instruments with Clasped Objects

A home-made instrument example with sound alterations based on this preparation is The Well-Prepared Guitar.

Go to Chapter 2 – Prepared Guitar Techniques, 2.6 Motors

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