Early Hayman 12 string neck

[Scotrock]

I came across this on my Google search, it is a back view of the Vibrosonic Chamber, they obviously hold the pickups and are suspended from the pick guard and float on four adjustable screws.

[RayL]

John,

That's not the Vibrosonic Chamber, that's the back view of a Hayman Superflux pickup unit. Another Jim Burns concept, the Superflux combined three single coil pickups into one unit with extra magnets and a metal back plate to link them. Here's a pic of a Superflux unit from the top.

Hayman Superflux pickup.jpg (74.94 KiB) Viewed 13259 times

When I interviewed Norman Houlder, he confirmed that the Chamber was a wooden box
Ray

[Scotrock]

Hayman pickups and bridge.jpg

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hayman body.JPG

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Hi Ray

I have done some further digging and I cannot find any hidden box in any of my searches. The unit I posted above has another view to it which is similar to your photo


The only body I can find has what I would call a swimming pool route and looks like this photo.

If this is typical then the only place there can be any springs is in the aluminium box at the back of the pick guard plate, there is no place for a hidden wooden box below the bridge as you can see. I have another photo of a Hayman bridge for sale and there is no box attached.

John

[RayL]

John,

Here is a 'sideways' view of a Superflux unit out of my spares box

Hayman Superflux pickup on edge.jpg (65.14 KiB) Viewed 13219 times

Sandwiched between the horizontal aluminium plates are the extra 'linking' magnets. They make the unit very heavy. There are no springs.

The reason that your Hayman body pic and your pickup/bridge pic show no evidence of a Vibrosonic Chamber is because they are parts for a Hayman 4040 bass guitar which did not have the chamber.

Here's a pic of my 2020. You can see that the body shape (particularly the upper bout) is different to the shape of the body in your picture. Another clue is that the bridge and the pickups in your pic are made for 4 strings.

hayman2020horiz.jpg

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Ray

[Scotrock]

Hi Ray

The plot thickens!

Here is a photo of a Hayman bridge sold on Ebay, no mention of it being incomplete although the seller mentioned one screw missing.

This would lead you to believe there is no chamber or box below the bridge although the additional plate may add to the mystery, it would seem there are six holes equally space but at a different spacing from the actual bridge plate holes. This also look like it is surface mounted using wood screws!

Do you know where the additional plate in the photo goes in the guitar?

John

[Scotrock]

Hi Ray

I have just come across this photo of a Hayman 1010 it shows quite clearly the same swimming pool routing through the smokey pick guard as the bass I posted earlier.

[dusty fretz]

John, as you still seem somewhat doubtful regarding Ray's very informative replies, I'll elaborate a little further. The Vibrasonic chamber boasted about in Hayman literature was indeed located within the body of the original six-string models. Sited in the area aft of the bridge, it comprised a spring-equipped box, snugly mounted in a suitably sized cavity formed by a slot routed in each half of the two-piece, centre-join body. Once the latter was constructed, this unique, fully-enclosed feature was obviously impossible to see, although a forceful knock on wood should elicit some sympathetic ringing of the springs within, confirming the presence of the box and its contents. However, any actual aural advantages are quite hard to quantify, although presumably Jim Burns thought the idea was well worth all the extra faff and effort involved, and it certainly provided another handy hook on which to hang some more of Hayman's advertising hyperbole!

As Ray states, the body you picture is indeed that of a Hayman bass, this being confirmed by the shape, pickup cavity placement etc., and this brand's four-stringers weren't blessed with the 'benefits' offered by the Vibrasonic chamber. Regarding the photo of the Hayman guitar bridge, speaking from memory (as it's a while since I dismantled any Hayman), I believe that the extra plate shown fits beneath the actual saddle carrying section, as the diagonally arranged holes do correspond to those going through the latter, just behind the individual saddles.

[Scotrock]

Paul

First of all thank you and thanks to Ray.

All I was trying to do was ascertain if the chamber actually existed or was it some urban myth put about by Jim Burns. I now understand what the actual construction was and why it was so elusive, your explanation is excellent and my apologies to Ray if he thinks I was giving him a hard time.

From the description of what the box is and the fact that it is completely surrounded by the timber (in a timber box) buried in the body I see no real advantage and I would not think that it would have any discernible effect on the tone. From what I have read, it was Jim Burn's idea of what a Stratocaster tremolo added to the tone of the Strat like the Shadows used, it appears to be different though in a Stratocaster in that the springs are tensioned between a metal claw and a block of metal, the quality of which varied.

The Shadows had their tremolos floating so there must have been some vibration transferred to the strings through the block onto the bridge, thus adding to the sound.

Once again thanks, I have about 30 plus guitars mainly Japanese made, including a number of Fender Strats and a couple I have made of my own design, I also have a red Custom Shop NOS 56 which is supposed to be a replica of the original guitars used by the Shadows, it is a lovely instrument and a joy to play especially through a valve amp. I will be on the look out for a Hayman to add to my collection, so if you hear of any please let me know.

In the meantime thanks to Ray, you and your fellow members for putting up with my probing questions.

Great forum by the way.

John