AMPLIFIED sound

[kprimm]

hello all,
I have a question that is driving me crazy.Does anyone know a way to get louder sound for thier props? I currently use cowlacious sound cards with amplified computer speakers.This method works fairly well and is cost effective, however i have a couple props that really need some louder sound and am trying to do it in a way that i dont need amplifiers and new speakers for every prop i build.Just looking for ideas from others out there that are more experienced than me. Any help would be much appreciated.

every day to me is HALLOWEEN!

[The Watcher]

If you can find a boom box that has a aux. You can run your board through that. It should give you a better sound also. Just listen to it before you buy it. That way you will know if it is what you want.

[Revenant]

If the prop is large enough, you could use large tubing like PVC pipe to build an acoustic waveguide. It technically doesn't make the sound louder in terms of actual dB's, but the added resonance adds a lot of projection and makes the sound "bigger". If I can manage to get my zombie crawler outfitted for sound this year I'm going to do that with him.

[beelce]

That sound cool Rev...do you have a diagram for the waveguide design?

[hlmn]

I second that idea Rev

[slightlymad]

Gonna have to try that

[kprimm]

Thank you for the suggestions. I also came up with an idea that i am going to try. I play guitar and have a small practice amp that kicks. I am thinking of going to radio shack and get and adaptor to hhok my sound card to the amp and run it through that.I have a witch scene with the macbeths witch chant on it and with all the other sounds going on it is hard to hear it sometimes.

[poison]

There is also 2.1 POWERED SPEAKERS that CRANK for about $119 bucks.
Here is a link to 200watt 2.1 POWERED SPEAKERS.

Amazon.com: Logitech Z-2300 THX-Certified 200-Watt 2.1 Speaker System (Silver): Electronics@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41QPWH9EWWL.@@AMEPARAM@@41QPWH9EWWL

[Mr_Chicken]

Is there any reason you can't just record the audio louder, or, at least, take the sound file into Audacity and raise it up a few dBs?

[SkeletalRemains]

Kprimm, all commercial haunt props use small guitar/PA amps when you buy them from the big prop houses such as scare factory. They have a lot of power for not a lot of $$$$.

If you want to know my dirty little secret for haunt prop sound, here it is:

Use small guitar amps, they are cheap (~$35) at pawn shops (always ask for a lower price too). If you want to go a little cheaper, simply use karaoke machines, they are loud and have a PA functionality built in. If you live in a fairly big metro area, put an ad on craigslist (like I do) every once in awhile and say you are looking for karaoke machines and small guitar amps, and you'll pay $10 and $25 respectively. You will not believe how many people will come out of the woodwork and call you wanting to sell (especially in this recession). If people contact you and want more money (like the maraoke machine has a TV or something), just tell them that is your current offering, most of the time they sell for $10 anyway. You'll have to drive around and pick them all up, but for the good deals, it is worth it.

This isn't always the best setup for ambient sound though, unless your haunt is pretty small. Let me know if you want info on ambient sound.

[Uruk-Hai]

Kprimm, all commercial haunt props use small guitar/PA amps when you buy them from the big prop houses such as scare factory. They have a lot of power for not a lot of $$$$.

If you want to know my dirty little secret for haunt prop sound, here it is:

Use small guitar amps, they are cheap (~$35) at pawn shops (always ask for a lower price too). If you want to go a little cheaper, simply use karaoke machines, they are loud and have a PA functionality built in. If you live in a fairly big metro area, put an ad on craigslist (like I do) every once in awhile and say you are looking for karaoke machines and small guitar amps, and you'll pay $10 and $25 respectively. You will not believe how many people will come out of the woodwork and call you wanting to sell (especially in this recession). If people contact you and want more money (like the maraoke machine has a TV or something), just tell them that is your current offering, most of the time they sell for $10 anyway. You'll have to drive around and pick them all up, but for the good deals, it is worth it.

This isn't always the best setup for ambient sound though, unless your haunt is pretty small. Let me know if you want info on ambient sound.

I'm unfamiliar with guitar amps - would you be able to hook a sound source such as a MP3 player to it? If so it sounds like a great way to go. What is your solution for ambient sounds?

[kprimm]

Yes with a cheap adaptor you can hook the sound card right to the amp, I have done so recently and it works very well. Skeletalremains thank you for your tips and knowledge. I dont know why i didnt think of the pawn shop forst thing....Duhhhh! I have a bunch only about 2-3 miles from my house.The amplified computer speakers do work well for isolated prop sounds but when you need something big and in your face, they just dont cut it. Also i have a prop that i keep close to the ambient sound set up i have and it just cant be heard loud enough.The guitar amp deal is gonna be the way to go for me.For the price of one decent pair of speakers i can get 4-5 guitar amps at the pawn shop.

[Bone To Pick]

You may have already ruled this out, however if you have sound editing tools you may be able to quickly normalize the audio if it's currently compressed. This helps "expand" the audio and give it more oomph without overdriving it and causing distortion. 95% normalization is usually a safe value. I do this regularly with music that I've digitized into the computer. Also sometimes a mono bit of audio being played out in stereo can be weak, so again if you have the tools available try converting the mono sound to dual channel (essentially copying the sound into both left and right channels. Beyond that I defer to the audio experts on the forum. Good luck!

[kprimm]

Thank you bone to pick, I will have to check into this and try it out, thank you for your response.

[Bone To Pick]

NP, I think the computer speakers definitely work better in a confined or contained space. For an open yard and/or ambient sounds (like thunder) that you want to be heard over a wider area you'll likely need to take the above advice and look for cheap guitar amps or PA systems. My editing tricks would only get you part way there. Good luck! Go Lions!

[SpectreTTM]

A lot of the cheap Gutair amps I see are 10 -15 Watts Would this be enough?

[Moon Dog]

I've used a cheap mixing board and power amps to give the extra needed boost to haunted sounds.

I like the idea of the karoke systems as I see these quite often in thrift stores and Goodwills.

[5artist5]

I am going to try a new setup this time.
I am using these 2X30 Watt amp kits (http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=K4003).

I really don't need anything in stereo so each amp is really 2 amps at 30 watts each.
I am pairing them with some cheap speaker boxes from ebay.

The sound is WAY better than computer speakers.

Another thought on guitar amps is that they are geared more for high frequencies. Bass Guitar amps would be much better suited for general use because they will have more of a "big" sound.

[Uruk-Hai]

I had been going around to some of the Buy & Sell or pawn shops in my area but wasn't finding and affordable amps. Certainly not in the $10-25 range - more like $75-150 but then again I didn't really know what I was looking for. I did a search on the local craigslist today and came up with exactly what we've been talking about. It's a CRATE bass practice amp, 15w with a 8" speaker, equalizer and built-in audio inputs for a CD or MP3 player! I probably paid a bit to much but at $40 I'm really happy - it's just what I was looking for and seems practically brand new (still has the tags on it) and seems to retail for $70-160 US. I'll be running the thunder track from my MP3 player through this and have it synced to the Lightning FX box controlling the lights. The thunder is going to rock this year!!!

http://www.zikinf.com/_gfx/matos/dyn/large/crate-bt15.jpg

[kprimm]

Yes sound problem has been solved! I just got a nice little gorilla amp off of craigslist and only 5 mins from my house. This little amp is 50 watts and this thing kicks. I will have no problem with anything being heard with this.I will be using guitar amps for all my props from now on. I have been keeping my eyes peeled and will buy them when available. I only paid $30 for the gorilla amp and it is worth every penny.