Last weekend, I had the pleasure of going to see The Fray perform right next door at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.  Man-oh-man….not only was it my first time going to Red Rocks (I know, I know…but I’ve only lived here since October!) but The Fray is one of my personal all-time favorite bands.  So to say I felt jump-up-and-down-like-a-little-kid excited is somewhat of an understatement.  I was STOKED!

Me (left) and Aly (right) before the show

I arrived at the concert with our office manager, Cheryl, Cheryl’s daughter, and our expert transducer builder, Aly.  The four of us arrived early enough to grab some food and see the opening acts, both of which were well worth arriving early to hear.  It was pretty cold and more than a little rainy, but the performances definitely made up for it.  Ponchos on and umbrella in hand (I almost poked out Cheryl’s eye with the umbrella but no worries, she came away unscathed), I barely even noticed the temperature as the Fray launched into one of the most spectacular performances I’ve seen.

About halfway through the set, the guys came up to play a few songs on a small platform right in the middle of the audience – the feel was intimate and peaceful.  And even though the song’s lullaby qualities made me want to curl up in a nice warm bed and fall asleep, my favorite part was when they played “Be Still” and gave a warm Happy Mother’s Day wish to their moms.

Despite the cold and rain, the performance was more than worth it and I can’t wait to see them again.  Thanks so much to The Fray for the tickets and for an awesome show!

- Bethany

So here’s the idea:  Clark Synthesis Tactile Sound Transducers (TST’s) are pieces of equipment that add the element of realism to movies, music, and video games by providing tactile feedback (see Tactile Sound).  Essentially, tactile feedback allows a person to feel like they’re “inside” a movie or, in this case, like they’re really driving a racecar in the game Gran Turismo 5…

To attach the TST329 Gold Transducer to the bottom of the gamechair- a PlaySeat WRC- Bill made a mount to go underneath the seat and then attached the transducer to it.   (Be looking forward to an upcoming video on how to install a transducer to your gamechair).  Once the transducer was hooked up to an amplifier, we were off to the races.

Now let me just say that none of my friends are very big gamers and I don’t think they knew what to expect before getting into the gamechair, but they each took turns getting in the “rig” and playing first without the tactile feedback and then with it.  The difference was….well, tangible!   I got to film all their facial expressions as they turned from enjoyment of a fun video game into shock and surprise as they began to feel the pavement underneath them.  After experiencing the game with and without the tactile feedback, I asked them how it felt.

Here are a few pics from the filming along with their responses:

"It's almost addicting, I'd probably do it all day everyday if I could." - Gretchen

“I’m not into games very much…but it was like I was actually in a NASCAR race. I can’t see any other way of playing without that effect.” - Ashley

“You could feel the bumpiness of the road. It made it a lot more realistic.” - Ryan

“I was a lot more in tune with what was going on in the game and I could feel the moves I was doing. It was a really cool experience.” – Kerry

“That was awesoooooome!” - Jacob

On all accounts, the gamechair experience with the transducer was a success.  I had a ton of fun filming it, so be on the lookout for the promo video coming soon!

First of all, it is important to note that Clark Synthesis products are different than what are commonly called “shakers.”  Shakers quite literally “shake” things and have no ability to accurately reproduce audio.  Our products accurately reproduce the full range of sound into vibrations that are both felt and heard through the body.

With that in mind, I’ll begin by letting you in on a little known fact (at least it was little known to me).  There are actually 4 additional ways a person can experience sound.  These different methods involve feeling or perceiving vibrations in the body through deep tissue, skeletal joints, bone conduction or nerve endings.  And it’s this experience of sound through the other senses that is commonly referred to as tactile (touch) sound.

I know this might seem a little strange, since our five senses don’t usually overlap (have you ever smelled a sound or tasted a feeling?), but there are situations in which sound can be both heard and felt.  For example, when someone is playing the violin, they are feeling the movements of the bow across the strings as well as hearing the sound it makes.  The violinist’s body is in contact with the instrument and can both feel and hear the vibrations being produced.  This is a totally different experience than what the audience can only hear, many feet away, through only their ears.  Another example of tactile sound is something we all experience every day – our own voice.  When we speak, we can feel the vibrations of our voice as well as hear the sound it produces, and this is a different experience than what other people hear when we speak.  (Side note: This is part of the reason why many people think they sound differently on recordings than when they hear themselves speak.  Recordings cannot include the tactile stimulation a person feels while they talk.)

These are two natural examples of tactile sound we experience every day, but tactile sound can also be reproduced by mechanisms called transducers.  To put it simply, transducers are pieces of equipment that transform (transduce) sound into vibrations that can be both felt and heard through the body.  This is the technology used in simulation and gaming devices that allow you to feel like you’re flying through the air or driving a race car.  Transducers are also used in home theaters to allow movie watchers to feel like they’re “inside” the movie, instead of just watching it.  Another application for transducers is for drummers who wish to feel the music through their seats rather than have the music blasting through their in-ear monitors.  Basically, this technology can be used in any place where the senses of hearing and feeling combine to create a more realistic experience.

For a more in-depth look at tactile sound, please read Tactile Sound 101.

-Bethany

To view this blog in PDF, click here.

My thoughts are that, well… it depends.  If quality and durability are necessary for the product in question, it may be best to take a look at heftier options.  Take outdoor speakers, for example.  Outdoor speakers, especially weatherproof ones that will be exposed to potentially extreme weather conditions, need to be sturdy and durable.  The materials required to make a durable outdoor speaker will need to be heavier in order to withstand strong winds, rain, snow, etc.  In order to produce good sound, a speaker must also contain heavier internal components.  It also needs to be larger if it’s going to get good coverage.  When it comes to speakers, especially an outdoor speaker, “smaller and lighter” might also mean “poor coverage and broken within a few weeks.”

The trend towards smaller and lighter technology is making life more convenient for people, but I think it’s also important to make sure that quality and durability are not being sacrificed in the process.  It is certainly not convenient to be constantly replacing a product that was not made to last.

-Bethany

Working with Karen was an absolute pleasure and we are extremely honored to have the Aguaceiro™ featured in the article.  We are thankful to both Karen Mitchell and Residential Systems for the mention and we hope to work with them both again.

Last night, I had the absolute privilege of taking my daughter to hear a performance by the Colorado Symphony, featuring Denver’s own renowned indie band, DeVotchKa.  DeVotchKa is a self-described “four piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble that fuses Romani, Greek, Slavic, and Bolero music with American punk and folk roots.”  The band’s  drummer, Shawn King, is a user of our Prosound Professional Transducer, and I’m  honored that he is a fan of our product.

Walking in, I had no idea what to expect.   Walking out, I was blown away.   DeVotchKa gave a fabulous performance and with the accompaniment of the Colorado Symphony, this was truly an incredible listening experience.  I also had the honor of sitting next to Shawn’s aunt and uncle,  who were truly delightful.  They graciously sent me these pictures from the concert.

I am proud to have DeVotchKa use our product and if you ever have the chance to see them in concert, I would highly recommend going.  Click here for a link to their tour information.  Check it out to see if they’re playing near you.  You won’t regret it!

To obtain our video footage, we traveled to 7500 feet (2286 meters) altitude up a mountain here on the front range of Colorado, and we buried the speaker in 4 feet (1.2 meters) of snow.  The recorded temperature at the time was around 10 degrees F (-12 degrees C).

The next day, we returned to the site and used a shovel to dig out the speaker. Just before we began filming, a cloud dropped in on our mountaintop location, and the humidity spiked. Suddenly, the frigid cold felt like it was going right through my winter clothing, and we wished we had winter camping gear! The cloud soon lifted, and we began making the video. If you hear my teeth chattering when you watch the video online, you’ll know how incredibly cold it was the day of this shoot.

You will have to see our video on the new Aguaceiro™ MultiClimate Airspeaker to see the results, including the hole I accidentally put in the speaker grille. Our graphic designer at Clark Synthesis is editing it now, and it will be posted on our website very soon.

Here are Clark Synthesis, we are all looking forward to the official March 1^st launch date of the Aguaceiro™!

Bill

Watch the video here!

Bill standing next to buried Aguaceiro

]]> http://clarksynthesis.com/filming-at-7500-feet-in-the-rockies/feed/ 0 http://clarksynthesis.com/notes-from-the-integrated-systems-europe-ise-exhibition/ http://clarksynthesis.com/notes-from-the-integrated-systems-europe-ise-exhibition/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:28:07 +0000 Bethany http://clarksynthesis.com/?p=991 Continue reading →]]>

Greetings to all from Amsterdam, the site of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) exhibition.  I am here visiting with Clark dealer partners who annually attend this growing A/V show.

On Wednesday, I met with Ed Quintens from HiFiFan in Belgium who told me about the project he completed last year using Clark TSTs in the platform under 23 massage chairs on a Spa/Wellness Sea Craft called SeaSens. www.seasens.be  The chairs are located in a room which features a laserlight and sound show designed to sooth and relax visitors while delivering “Full Contact Audio” to everyone with Clark transducers!

Frank Hanish from MediaCraft Germany, our distributor in Frankfurt, showed me photos of the amazing new outdoor audio showroom he is creating outside Frankfurt. Frank is renovating a farmhouse and turning it into a wonderful demo location where events will be held to demonstrate all the great outdoor audio technologies which MediaCraft distributes, including the Aquasonic Outdoor Living products.

I also checked in with Clark partners from France (Pani Norindr from Digital Resources), Norway (Maik Maagero from NCM),  Switzerland (Alexander Daum, Tech Supply), Poland (Rafal Kolankiewicz, Qualitec) and Turkey (Remzi Devecioglu, Forum Electronik), giving them updates on the upcoming Aguaceiro MultiClimate outdoor speaker.

My thanks to Bob Snyder from Channel Media, creator of the Rave Europe website and newsletter http://www.proavbiz-europe.com/ for providing meeting space at ISE.

Paul Sabbah

Stamford International

Amsterdam Windmill

Prinsengracht, Amsterdam

What I experienced at the NAMM show in Anaheim was beyond amazing.  I spent some time with one of our customers, Porter and Davies (P&D), who are introducing their line of Silent Drum Monitors to the US market.

 I’ve had the privilege of working with Dil and Tim at P&D almost from the start of their project.  Their Drum Monitor has a Clark Synthesis professional transducer in the drum throne, and Tim built a custom amplifier to drive it. At NAMM, Dil & Tim set up three drum kits, and people started trying them out.  The demo was a powerful experience for every drummer who tried it. A customer would start drumming, usually at a pretty slow tempo with the amplifier’s volume turned all the way off.  The volume would be slowly increased until the customer started smiling.  Then the customer would start drumming faster and faster, and the smile on their face would turn to a look of astonishment.

 After about five minutes of hard drumming, the customer would lay down the sticks and start talking.  Drummer after drummer talked about the troubles they have with stage monitoring, and they were thrilled to discover how this product would solve those problems.  Many drummers were ready to purchase the P&D Silent Drum Monitor right there on the spot.  Drummers expressed surprise that the Monitor not only gave them feedback from the kick, but that they could hear the toms, snares, and even the cymbals through the monitor just by sitting on it.

 I remember one customer named George who told me that he was walking down the aisle when he heard someone playing drums say, “I shouldn’t be having this much fun.”  George told me that he didn’t understand what the drummer was talking about, especially since the drummer was playing only a kick, snare, and a cymbal.  So, he waited in line for his turn, and was completely blown away by the experience.  He hung around playing and praising for 20 minutes before leaving the booth.  George returned about 30 minutes later with a friend, and personally took his friend through the demo.  His friend also was completely taken by the feedback from the Monitor. They left, and then returned 45 minutes later with another friend, and made sure that friend got the complete demo.   The fascinating thing is, that this is not an isolated story.  This happened again and again at the P&D booth.

 With three different amplifier configurations to choose from, all using the Clark Synthesis Full Contact Audio line of professional transducers, Porter and Davies has a Drum Monitor for every drummer, from local club bands to international touring acts.

Bill