wierd/cheap plate reverb?

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bradb
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wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by bradb » Mon Feb 14, 2005 11:32 am

What do you guys think of this?

Instead of building or buying an EMT style reverb, purchase a thin piece of metal sheeting (dimensions, thickness??) and suspend it in your live room and close mic it from the side the instruments are not on. This mic would pick up the reverb of the plate and you wouldn't have to bother with affixing transducers. I imagine it would have to be much thinner that the recommended DIY EMT plate kit thickness so it would be more sympathetic to sound pressure in the room.

critiques?

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by I'm Painting Again » Mon Feb 14, 2005 11:56 am

sounds cool try it out and report back with a sample..I'm always interested in stuff like this..it certainly wont sound like an EMT but it may be cool..

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by eeldip » Mon Feb 14, 2005 12:54 pm

bradb wrote:What do you guys think of this?

Instead of building or buying an EMT style reverb, purchase a thin piece of metal sheeting (dimensions, thickness??) and suspend it in your live room and close mic it from the side the instruments are not on. This mic would pick up the reverb of the plate and you wouldn't have to bother with affixing transducers. I imagine it would have to be much thinner that the recommended DIY EMT plate kit thickness so it would be more sympathetic to sound pressure in the room.

critiques?
i've tried a vague approximation of this, and it didnt work. i noticed that my gas heater, with all its thin duct work and radiator structure made a cool reverby noise. miced it while people were playing in the room. the instruments were too loud to be usable.

i would try a contact mic. $1 at radio shack.

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by bradb » Mon Feb 14, 2005 1:42 pm

youre suggesting something like this:

http://home.earthlink.net/~erinys/contactmic.html

glued to the plate?

this could be good....

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by earl parameter » Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:12 am

ive used the contact mics (cheap acoustic pickups $12) on sheet metal before and it came out very dull but for what i was using it for it worked. the metal was a bit soft and not very large. i would imagine if the metal were dense enough and large enough it could be brighter and i might suggest not hanging up and down but maybe at more of an angle. try different ways of course and try to suspend it on soft springs to allow it to move freely. just a thought. let me know if it get anything to work.

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by Mark Alan Miller » Tue Feb 15, 2005 6:35 am

For contact mics on sheet metal: Tension helps high end, and will allow the tuning of the resonant modes.
he took a duck in the face at two and hundred fifty knots.

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by Scodiddly » Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:10 pm

Wow! I was just thinking about this today, while waiting for my cable modem to be hooked up. My idea was to use a plate-reverb type of plate, really just sheet metal, with the usual contact transducer.

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by earl parameter » Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:34 pm

if tension helps the high end then what would be a very cheap way to mount it (maybe springs out of those old style bunck beds in a wooden frame. ive been wondering how to make the springs adjustable too. any ideas?). and would it still work on smaller sheets. maybe 2 by 4. i don't have much space. and did i read somewhere that someone was using speakers with the cone and frame taken off to drive it with contact mics on the other end. if this works you could put on of these together for like $20 if you scavenge some parts. then just stuff it in a closet.

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by j89 » Tue Feb 15, 2005 4:05 pm

I've also read something simular to this, for vocals, were you get a large metal salad bowl in front of the singer and point the mic away from the singer and towards the inside of bowl, I heard it works but never tried it myself.

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by earl parameter » Tue Feb 15, 2005 4:12 pm

ive heard of using a cymbal for the same thing. it brightens up the sound. you just place it between the mic and singer having enough room for a little reflection.

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by eeldip » Tue Feb 15, 2005 4:49 pm

crashsick wrote:if tension helps the high end then what would be a very cheap way to mount it (maybe springs out of those old style bunck beds in a wooden frame. ive been wondering how to make the springs adjustable too. any ideas?). and would it still work on smaller sheets. maybe 2 by 4. i don't have much space. and did i read somewhere that someone was using speakers with the cone and frame taken off to drive it with contact mics on the other end. if this works you could put on of these together for like $20 if you scavenge some parts. then just stuff it in a closet.
yea the transducer from the speaker thing works.

for a frame, you just need something strong... then clamp onto the sheet, probably with nuts and shit.. then tighten the thing with that uhh.. whats that part that you use to tighten up wire.. that thing...

oh man i am no help today.

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by Everybody's X » Tue Feb 15, 2005 4:55 pm

Ive thought about doing the plate deal but using like a 2'x4' piece of steel,or smaller. does it HAVE to be 6 feet long or what?
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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by Mark Alan Miller » Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:14 pm

A small plate could sound good - if it's a little thicker it might help (i.e. make up the mass that you would have with a bigger plate a little.)
Using springs attached to the frame with turnbuckles willl give you a pretty easy way to adjust tension, or forego the springs altogether and just use turnbuckles as the connecting hardware.

I'm gonna build a plate someday. (I made one in high school with little speakers for the transducers hot-glued to a sheet of steel mesh (the kind used for protecting the fronts of PA speakers.) Hung it from a wood frame and fed drum machine snares through it - with a stereo return - very cool dark "ponk" sound.
he took a duck in the face at two and hundred fifty knots.

http://www.radio-valkyrie.com/ao/aoindex.htm - download the new record (free is an option!) or get it on CD.

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by earl parameter » Tue Feb 15, 2005 10:41 pm

what do you mean by turnbuckles?

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Re: wierd/cheap plate reverb?

Post by Mark Alan Miller » Wed Feb 16, 2005 6:31 am

Image
:) (Band name?!?: "Turnbuckle I & I" ha-ha.)
Last edited by Mark Alan Miller on Wed Feb 16, 2005 6:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
he took a duck in the face at two and hundred fifty knots.

http://www.radio-valkyrie.com/ao/aoindex.htm - download the new record (free is an option!) or get it on CD.

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