Springophone

The Springophone is the first Archil Lab instrument : a device made of springs you can pluck, carress, pull, hit, eat… In its tuned version, it has two octaves of springs set up like the keys of a keyboard, with which you can play notes, melodies and chords. The instrument is handmade in France with love 🖤.

See prices

Tuned Springs

The springophone can be made either tuned or non-tuned :

Tuned :

24 horizontal springs tuned on 2 octaves, set as a keyboard + Two large tension springs + 5 vertical funky springs.

Tuning the springs takes a very long time, and it is never perfect (which is also part of its charm): the fundamental frequency of each note is quite tuned but the harmonics are a bit funky.

It is worth getting the tuned version for those who want to play melodies and chords, but for soundscapes or sound design, the non-tuned Springophones work very well!

Tuning the springs is a very long process that involves making my own spring to get the right notes, which explains the difference in price.

Non-tuned :

Horizontal tension springs of various diameters set in diagonals, plus a few vertical compression springs.

FX Section

NEW! You can now choose between two models : Springophone or Springophone FX. The Springophone FX is slightly larger and includes an FX section with two freeze switches, vibrato, distortion, stereo delay, HP and LP filters and reverb! (See specs below)

SPECS

SPRINGOPHONE

Body :

Aluminium enclosure with solid oak panels // Many horizontal tension springs of various sizes (tuned or not according to the option you pick) + a few funky vertical ones // High quality stainless steel screws and bolts.

Enclosure: 400 x 200 x 76mm

Soul :

The sounds of the springs are picked up by a large piezo microphone. The signal then goes through a custom built piezo preamp circuit (to get nice low-end) with volume control, and out.

Mono output (1/4 inch jack socket) // Power supply (included) : 9V battery for the piezo preamp circuit // ON/OFF switch at the back // Power indicator LED and volume potentiometer on front panel.

SPRINGOPHONE FX

Body :

Full solid oak enclosure for the Springophone FX Tuned, Aluminium enclosure with solid oak panels for the Springophone FX Non-tuned // Many horizontal tension springs of various sizes (tuned or not according to the option you pick) + a few funky vertical ones // High quality stainless steel screws and bolts.

Enclosure: 432 x 254 x 76mm

Soul :

The sounds of the springs are picked up by a large piezo microphone. The signal then goes through a custom built piezo preamp circuit (to get nice low-end), then into an Axoloti core circuit board in which it will benefit from deep sound therapy through various effects :

-Freeze 1 : Very short delay time with very long feedback (on/off switch)
-Freeze 2 : Very short delay time (different than Freeze 1) with very long feedback (on/off switch)
-Vibrato (on/off switch)
-Distortion (pot)
-Stereo Delay (time, ping pong, feedback and mix pots)
-Lowpass filter (cutoff and resonance pots)
-Highpass filter (cutoff and resonance pots)
-Reverb (size and mix pots)

The Springophone FX also features a stereo audio input (two 1/4 inch jack sockets) to plug any external audio source into its FX section. A mono external source and the internal piezo can also be used together.

Springophone

Tuned Springs

The springophone can be made either tuned or non-tuned :

Tuned :

24 horizontal springs tuned on 2 octaves, set as a keyboard + Two large tension springs + 5 vertical funky springs.

Tuning the springs takes a very long time, and it is never perfect (which is also part of its charm): the fundamental frequency of each note is quite tuned but the harmonics are a bit funky.

It is worth getting the tuned version for those who want to play melodies and chords, but for soundscapes or sound design, the non-tuned Springophones work very well!

Tuning the springs is a very long process that involves making my own spring to get the right notes, which explains the difference in price.

Non-tuned :

Horizontal tension springs of various diameters set in diagonals, plus a few vertical compression springs.

FX Section

NEW! You can now choose between two models : Springophone or Springophone FX. The Springophone FX is slightly larger and includes an FX section with two freeze switches, vibrato, distortion, stereo delay, HP and LP filters and reverb! (See specs below)

SPECS

SPRINGOPHONE

Body :

Aluminium enclosure with solid oak panels // Many horizontal tension springs of various sizes (tuned or not according to the option you pick) + a few funky vertical ones // High quality stainless steel screws and bolts.

Enclosure: 400 x 200 x 76mm

Soul :

The sounds of the springs are picked up by a large piezo microphone. The signal then goes through a custom built piezo preamp circuit (to get nice low-end) with volume control, and out.

Mono output (1/4 inch jack socket) // Power supply (included) : 9V battery for the piezo preamp circuit // ON/OFF switch at the back // Power indicator LED and volume potentiometer on front panel.

SPRINGOPHONE FX

Body :

Enclosure: 432 x 254 x 76mm

Soul :

The sounds of the springs are picked up by a large piezo microphone. The signal then goes through a custom built piezo preamp circuit (to get nice low-end), then into an Axoloti core circuit board in which it will benefit from deep sound therapy through various effects :

The Springophone FX also features a stereo audio input (two 1/4 inch jack sockets) to plug any external audio source into its FX section. A mono external source and the internal piezo can also be used together.

Stereo output (two 1/4 inch jack sockets) + headphones out (stereo 1/4 inch jack socket).

Power supply (included) : 9V – 500mA + 9V battery for the piezo preamp circuit.

PRICES

(shipping worldwide, sent from France)

Springophone (non-tuned) 590€

Springophone (tuned) 850€

Springophone FX (non-tuned) 890€

Springophone FX (tuned) 1280€

Want to order or get more info ?