TP-Fan
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Posts posted by TP-Fan
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We just need to hope that Alton Towers don’t start replacing all of their music with tracks from IMAscore. Imagine the outrage in the theme park community if Nemesis or Obilvion received a new soundtrack!
I really miss the years when the bass tubes in the station made you feel the music. Sadly, they were turned right down years ago and now I highly doubt they will ever be fully utilised again ?
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7 hours ago, WWTPRadio said:
TP-Fan, if you think one amplifier powered Tidal Wave, you’re a hoot. Tidal’s audio system is in dire need of refurbishment and as with all of the original installs, it’s an absolute nightmare.
Colossus and NI must also be on the list for refurbishment, although most of Inferno's speakers and amplifiers work (except the speakers in the top section of the queue)
I already knew that Tidal Wave would have more than one amplifier. I thought as the queue line speakers are probably on a 100v line system, one or two amplifers would serve the entire area.
Also, does this mean that the speakers in the transformers around Amity Cove are all from 2000? I'm surprised that they usually work very well, especially for their age.
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2 minutes ago, Mattgwise said:
For quite a few years only one section has worked. I think it's literally about 3 speakers
Sounds to me like the main amplifier is dead as all the speakers are still in place. Hopefully this will get fixed with the park's recent audio improvements
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I've noticed that parts of the Tidal Wave queue seem very quiet with many of the speakers not working. I'm not sure if this is due to dead speakers or a dead amplifier.
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7 minutes ago, Marc said:
Think there’s a speaker behind the shop isn’t there which used to cover the area near the photo unit?
There definitely used to be a speaker there, but I think it was removed sometime in early 2017.
I remember in summer 2016 the area sounded great. This was the last time that all the original 802s in the plaza were used. Since then the 2 speakers on the truck, the speaker next to the photo unit and the speaker near the entrance to the sunken garden are all disused/broken or removed.
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Just now, Benin said:
What might not seem bad on the floor is VERY different when 50/100 feet up...
Especially given that a ride stalling caused a massive accident the company still haven't recovered from...
True. I don't understand why the Dodgems, Teacup, Zodiac and Quantum had to be closed.
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14 minutes ago, Benin said:
Not much the parks can do when it's weather related though?
The weather wasn't that bad, that's the main problem. Later on they closed the dodgems, Saw and Strom on a Teacup.
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I left the park at 3:30 despite entering at 1:00. I only managed 1 ride on NI. We were queuing for Swarm before they announced it closed. I'm really starting to get fed up with operations at Thorpe and CWOA.
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2 hours ago, BaronC. said:
Dumbfounded how Banana Ride and Timber Tug suffer from Weather Delays, yet Saw does not..
But yeah, as said above, it's a hot topic at the moment. But it's always going to cause confusion and issues with guests when they're told a ride is shut for high wind speeds, and it doesn't feel THAT windy.
It got worse.
I'm very surprised that DBGT was open.
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Ride operations today, fantastic. It's slightly windy!
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Why Thorpe???
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1 minute ago, Marc said:
https://www.thorpeparkmania.co.uk/articles/20-07-2017/Show+Services+Q+and+A
if you've not seen it this is a good read - park wide sound is now maintained by the show services department and I'm sure we will continue to see improvements.
TBF I think a lot of the original Bose systems are still going strong - Colossus / Inferno still sound good and they are 14/15 years old now!
Older Bose equipment is fantastic. The newer stuff isn't. That's why Storm Surges original speakers (that were Bose) had to be replaced.
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1 hour ago, Mega-Lite said:
If Thorpe installed the Bose set ups correctly in the first place, didn't attempt to fiddle with them, ran them at a sensible volume and did very basic maintenance then I'm almost certain most of them would still be going strong to this day.
I wonder if the new cheaper looking speakers (which I don't think sound as good as the Bose ones) are used now completely for cost saving or have Bose and Merlin had a bit of a falling out in the past.
From what I understand Tussauds signed a deal with Bose which got them discount on their equipment. It ended at the end of the 2013 season.
The last major ride to use a Bose sound system was The Smiler.
Since, each park has decided to chose their own speakers.
Chrssington mostly uses Yamaha but occasionally uses JBL
Alton Towers uses OHM for larger scale projects (such as the Hex refurbishment and Cebebies Land + Hotel) and QSC for smaller projects (such as the new audio around path's).
LEGOLAND actually still uses Bose as far as I'm aware
Thorpe uses EV speakers for everything 2014+
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5 minutes ago, Martin.C said:
I have to disagree with this. The Bose ones used currently across many rides in the park such as Colossus, Inferno and Stealth sound fine when they are working properly. They offer a 360 degree sound system and are designed to withstand the harshest of climate conditions, which is why many of them still work today. They also have their advantage of not needing to be attached to walls, or in Storm Surge's case to a wooden stick in the ground.
Ghost Train I believe uses these new EV Evid speakers all over the queue and frankly, they sound nowhere near as sharp and as powerful as the Bose ones used say in Lost City for example. You only have to listen to the soundtrack through decent headphones to know how lackluster they are.
To me, fitting new speakers across the park should only be a last resort if the existing ones are genuinely broken. In most cases, this is more likely not the case, just like Saw yesterday revealed.
I agree that Bose can sound better when configured properly and when Bose amplifiers are used.
The problem is that EV Evids sound better at lower volume (I think the new ones in Bush BBQ sound fantastic) Bose sound better at high volume (that's why SAW and Inferno sound so good).
Another thing I've found to be better with EV's is how long they last outdoors.
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7 minutes ago, Marc said:
TBF I've not been into the Tidal Wave queue for some time so no idea how that is - the "area" around Tidal's speakers on the telegraph poles seem to work still.
The speakers on the poles mostly work. The problem is that when they are being used at a decent volume (which they were for most of last season) they sound terrible and distorted, this could be why it's so quite this season.
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That area needs a new sound system the most, is the parth between SAW/Colossus. Last time I walk through the area only three speakers were working. They were very distorted which made my favourite sound track on the park, sound terrible
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2 minutes ago, Marc said:
I expect they can - just cant all happen overnight
Also Storm Surge before its new speakers were installed was barley audiable which I would guess makes it a higher priority- I wouldn't say Stealth and Tidal are too bad apart from an odd quiet spot.
Yeah, its fine for now but I like to see replaced for the 2018 season! I miss WWTP blasting around Tidal it created a fantastic atmosphere, especially on a hot day.
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1 hour ago, A-Kid said:
I'm glad people are liking the new (ish) WWTP around Stealth and I'd like to thank tech for getting it up. Stealth is a bit of a personal project of mine, having painted the poles on the station last year, US flag replacement, White-wall tyres, cleaning the buildings/stairs, helped with the new banners, offload announcement and the soundtrack. Hopefully more to come. Having listened to it through while operating the ride, I have noticed a few volume issues that can be corrected in the editing. It was made it 2015 when I had less experience. I've actually re-edited it already to the point the audio wave form is perfectly balanced (thanks Audacity!). I have had a play at doing the Tidal one as well, as currently how its been edited sounds terrible.
I've been all around the 50 speakers that are on Stealth and plan to put together a plan of what is wrong over there. In a nutshell, 4 802's (PLAZA area) are dead/missing as well as 6 queue speakers so it will be a bit quiet compared to before. I'll try and get them submitted when I'm back in.
For now, sit by teacups enjoy some of the commercials and segments that haven't been heard for years. Go Go Go with... constipo!I would like to see both Stealths and Tidal/Amity Beach speakers get replaced with the EV Evid speakers the park has been using lately. They sound much better than the Bose Freespace 51's currently used in the queue and they can output a level similar to what the 802's are capable of.
If Storm Surge can get a new sound system (we all know it's one of the worst rides in the park) why can't the parks most iconic areas get them?
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2 minutes ago, Mattgwise said:
Sounded correct speed to me yesterday. Very impressed with the changes this year so far.
Would be nice if both sides of WWTP was played a little louder though, really sets the atmosphere when its pumping out. Tidal/beach area has been exceptionally quiet all my visits this season.
WWTP around Tidal/Amity is barely audible over the crowd this season. I think it's because most of the speakers are dead. However it's finally playing in the megastore!
Over at Stealth I've found it to be normal in the queue, but quite around the Speedway but this is probably because the Bose 801 on the truck trailer has been removed.
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3 minutes ago, Marc said:
Stealth has a new WWTP loop - much longer and great to hear the return of some classic WWTP songs!
I visited a few days ago and noticed a new playlist. However instead of it being played too fast (as it has been for years around Stealth) it's actually playing slightly to slow!
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Today, they are back to saying it's in redevelopment.
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2 hours ago, Wumbamillio said:
Merlin have zero interest in restoring classic attractions they didn't make
That's not 100% true, they have refurbished Nemesis and Hex at AT. They are just very lazy and like to run old attractions to the point where TLC has to be done. For example, look at Bubbleworks, or Rumba they both needed it to keep guests coming on the attractions.
Park Music
in General Discussion
Posted
Stealth's audio was like this for ages as well. It only got fixed sometime last year.