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Park Audio, Lighting and Everything Geeky

Alex2020 said:
I have to say that the Wickerman Pre show audio is incredible! It just shows that when Alton put their minds to it they can do a great job! I noticed the ride itself is littered with Ohm speakers, the bass in the pre show is insane. It’s a shame that whilst people are queuing they are picking off the foam on the speakers :rolleyes: why do people feel the need to vandalise everything!

One thing I noticed the other day is that the large speakers on towers street stick out like a sore thumb on those poles this year! The trees used to help disguise them. Why they went with those over stacks of smaller speakers like the Bose 32se's they replaced I don’t know! The QSC small speakers they’ve installed on all of the buildings along towers street are a questionable choice too. I never understand why theme parks like Alton don’t just stick to one audio manufacturer and be done with it!

Anyway, audio seems better this year around the park so let’s hope it improves further over the coming years.
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You have obviously never been to a drum n bass rave powered by Funktion One or Void sound systems then, that is really where you hear insane bass. Although the Wickerman sound and bass in good.

I have not seen these QSC speakers, they are a very top end brand. QSC amplifiers are used all over the pro audio industry for their reliability, power, audio quality ect ect. They blow anything Bose or Ohm have ever put out by a long long shot, in the professional audio industry that is. I am not sure on the quality of their speakers though, but being a top end brand it is very doubtful they will put their name to anything that is not top quality. Whoever is putting in the audio and making the buying decisions at Merlin, is atleast using the best brands. That is one good thing.
 
DistortAMG said:
You have obviously never been to a drum n bass rave powered by Funktion One or Void sound systems then, that is really where you hear insane bass. Although the Wickerman sound and bass in good.

I have not seen these QSC speakers, they are a very top end brand. QSC amplifiers are used all over the pro audio industry for their reliability, power, audio quality ect ect. They blow anything Bose or Ohm have ever put out by a long long shot, in the professional audio industry that is. I am not sure on the quality of their speakers though, but being a top end brand it is very doubtful they will put their name to anything that is not top quality. Whoever is putting in the audio and making the buying decisions at Merlin, is atleast using the best brands. That is one good thing.
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Been to a nightclub where they've used Funktion One speakers and they are indeed very impressive! Just compliments to the guys that installed the Wickerman audio because it too is impressive.

The QSC speakers have been added to the entrance plaza and along the buildings on towers street, they're white. They've replaced the Bose 32se's that did need replacing to be fair. What you say about QSC amplifiers is very true, they are top rated but I don't really rate their speakers. Alton have used QSC speakers on the pathway to Katanga Canyon and they don't sound very full, very tinny if anything. But that could just be bad choice of specific speaker and budget of course.

It's good to see that they are installing new speakers and improving the dead spots where speakers have broken over the years but I think If I were in charge of doing so I'd stick to one manufacturer so that it's consistent sound across the whole park. Either stick with all Bose, all Ohm or all QSC if they prefer.
 
I experienced the strobe light for the first time last week. I don't ever recall it firing on any of my previous visits. Can't say I'm a fan of it, I'd rather they turned it off and fixed the projectors instead.
 
Ah right, thanks guys! Even though it might not be a new effect, I'd certainly never seen it in action before!
 
DistortAMG said:
You have obviously never been to a drum n bass rave powered by Funktion One or Void sound systems then, that is really where you hear insane bass. Although the Wickerman sound and bass in good.
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All that matters is that the experience is effective, not that it's the most high end audio or the best named brand.

Merlin have a well known history of rarely value-investing in their products and cutting costs, because "nobody will notice". Wicker Man is a notable change from that and it sounds it too. Most Merlin 'preshows' the public come out totally listless, but this one is far better thanks to great sound and lighting to deliver the scene.

These are the things that guests don't notice individually (nor are they supposed to) but which all adds up to create a very memorable change of atmosphere and gives a kick of anticipation before the ride.

Brands are also meaningless if the right care is not taken and the end goal not kept in mind by the technical designer/ team. For example – Tomb Blaster at Chessington was "upgraded" to good QSC amps in 2016 and is still the worst sounding dark ride in the country. It used to sound fantastic years ago before it all broke and wasn't maintained properly.

Making the entire park one audio manufacturer would not achieve anything really. The occasional replacements with Ohm speakers has been a pointless waste in some cases (Hex) and improved in other places, or made no difference in others (perhaps because the old speakers were just worn out, rather than a decision to replace one brand with another). Generally I think Ohm offer a good range of speakers for different jobs and make decent products.

I hope that Wicker Man's sound system is maintained to always be this effective, rather than pointlessly destroyed over time or not maintained properly, like many other British attractions that used to sound great.
 
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I noticed one of the projector housing boxes in the Smiler inside Que looking very sorry for itself, and as for the wickerman, once you notice the fire effects ( apart form the top) are pix elated LED screens, you cant un-se that fact.
Also the smoke is clearly water mist, as evidenced by the green moss ( mould?) starting to grow on the wood
 
TakeYourMedicine said:
All that matters is that the experience is effective, not that it's the most high end audio or the best named brand.

Merlin have a well known history of rarely value-investing in their products and cutting costs, because "nobody will notice". Wicker Man is a notable change from that and it sounds it too. Most Merlin 'preshows' the public come out totally listless, but this one is far better thanks to great sound and lighting to deliver the scene.

These are the things that guests don't notice individually (nor are they supposed to) but which all adds up to create a very memorable change of atmosphere and gives a kick of anticipation before the ride.

Brands are also meaningless if the right care is not taken and the end goal not kept in mind by the technical designer/ team. For example – Tomb Blaster at Chessington was "upgraded" to good QSC amps in 2016 and is still the worst sounding dark ride in the country. It used to sound fantastic years ago before it all broke and wasn't maintained properly.

Making the entire park one audio manufacturer would not achieve anything really. The occasional replacements with Ohm speakers has been a pointless waste in some cases (Hex) and improved in other places, or made no difference in others (perhaps because the old speakers were just worn out, rather than a decision to replace one brand with another). Generally I think Ohm offer a good range of speakers for different jobs and make decent products.

I hope that Wicker Man's sound system is maintained to always be this effective, rather than pointlessly destroyed over time or not maintained properly, like many other British attractions that used to sound great.
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I never said it was. But my point still stands, in the audio industry more so than other industry's. You really do get what you pay for, good or big named brands generally do provide better sound. That is the whole reason they are well named in the first place. QSC amps are very good amps, but like anything, if they are not being used right they will not work. That is like me buying a Formula 1 car and concluding it is crap because I have not got the skill or know how to drive the car fully, seeing as I have never driven an extremely high performance car before. Good audio is integral to helping create this immersion and experience, of course it is. Having audio that sounds like it comes out of a phone speaker is not fooling anyone. So therefor, the brand names, especially with audio are important and relevant.
 
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TakeYourMedicine said:
Making the entire park one audio manufacturer would not achieve anything really. The occasional replacements with Ohm speakers has been a pointless waste in some cases (Hex) and improved in other places, or made no difference in others (perhaps because the old speakers were just worn out, rather than a decision to replace one brand with another). Generally I think Ohm offer a good range of speakers for different jobs and make decent products.
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Surely if the park used one speaker manufacturer there would be a consistent sound and it’ll be easier to maintain due to the fact that engineers won’t need to adapt to different multiple systems and therefore it would take less time and save some money too. To me it just shows a complete lack of attention to detail when you see multiple audio systems across an attraction. Drayton Manor is a great example of this and the sound experience at that park is non existent!
 
Wickerman sounds great so far, but how much of it is down to the system and how much is the production end?

Afew years ago Ed Rush and Optical (dnb dj/producers) mentioned how they use certain older speakers to know they're "really working it"
 
Agree WM sounds very good, just need to hope it stays that way.

Who remembers the Bose bass cannons on full blast when Inferno first opened? That was incredible, pretty sure you could feel the rattle in the station.
 
The mention of older speakers.
Over forty years I have always been picky with my stereo and speakers, going round a few top end brands.
Then my wife's mum passed away, and we inherited the "family" speakers...dad made them in the sixties from an electronics magazine of the time...he was an electric engineer, cases about three feet high, absolutely amazing sound...silent, pure tones and bass we can upset the neighbours three houses away with...not that I do that often, usually just November 5th.
Would not trade them for anything.
 
zerogravity said:
Wickerman sounds great so far, but how much of it is down to the system and how much is the production end?

Afew years ago Ed Rush and Optical (dnb dj/producers) mentioned how they use certain older speakers to know they're "really working it"
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RicketyCricket said:
Agree WM sounds very good, just need to hope it stays that way.

Who remembers the Bose bass cannons on full blast when Inferno first opened? That was incredible, pretty sure you could feel the rattle in the station.
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I know of Ed Rush and Optical. Good production values are a must for music to sound good, but so is everything along the whole audio chain. Audio will only sound as good as the weakest link in the chain, so in order to have good quality audio coming out the speakers to the end listener, everything up until that point has to be of pretty good standard to get the sound pretty good. So that is good production values and a good mixdown and mastering on the audio to provide a decent audio file. Then relatively good quality amp, speakers, signal processing ect. The good thing is these days, the technology is so mature you can get pretty good sound for not as much as it was in the past.

I remember them bass cannons in Nemesis Infernos station, used to sound awesome back when it opened. Are the cannons still in situ today?
 
Mikw said:
Same here, i'm afraid. It's my least part of the Smiler experience. Love the coaster, and quite like the outdoor queue with the trains whizzing overhead.

But the strobe is horrid.
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The strobe was definitely turned down yesterday and all four projectors were on aswell.
 
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