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  • #16
    Originally posted by rwrussom View Post
    This year I put together the head unit for 32 channels of audio with used equipment for around $500.

    Got an old athon computer and a rack case from craigs list. My main requirment was that it have 4 - PCI slots.

    The audio output is with four M-Audio 1010lt cards that can be found for 80-120 on ebay. Each card outputs 8 anolog tracks to your basic RCA jack. (they also have 8 inputs if needed)

    Software use to control it is Reaper, an open sorce free or low cost very powerful product.

    Basically nothig else running on it. Never failed all season. Each track easily switched out and controllable.

    Can be set up for on button mute and switch to mike input for PA (or whole haunt music during build season)

    I've been hearing a lot of good things about Reaper lately, I might have to check it out. Kudos on an inventive solution!

    Comment


    • #17
      Originally posted by Allen H View Post
      Randy,
      can the set up you describe below play 32 different mp3 tracks at once?

      audio hardware is NOT my strong point.
      Allen H
      Allen,
      Short answer - Yes., that was what I designed it for.

      The cards can do 8 tracks each and the M-Audio software maxes out at seeing 4 linked but indendent cards, so the best I have been able to figure is 32 tracks is the max from a single box. It is hard enough to find a mother board with 4 PCI slots as it is so more is unlikely.

      Reaper has basically unlimited tracks. You assign a track to an output, or multiple outputs. You can have multiple tracks assigned to a single output and switch on and off as desired with a click of a mouse. It is a full mixing program, way more powerful than anything else in the price range.
      Randy Russom

      www.midstatescare.com
      Mid State Scare - San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria's favorite Haunted House
      2013 - Hmmm, we shall see what gets conjured up

      Comment


      • #18
        Allan,
        We have a similar system to Brett, but maxed out at 16 channels due to I/O slots available.

        I am keeping the system as the M-audio and CuBase also control our outside yard show, via MIDI, but am setting up for 2011 with EFX-TEK's AP16+ boards. Each board gives me 20 RMS amps and two channels. I got 14 boards and this should work well for our room tracks. 50 watts @ 18vdc per board was a bitch, but overall I think I'll be happy with it. For a little over $100 each, I think the boards are a great deal - just add speakers and an SD card.
        Attached Files
        http://www.piratesofemerson.com

        Comment


        • #19
          I just wanted to post some other solutions that are out there as well... I do understand that budget comes into play but sometimes haunts try to go with the cheapest method available but that isn't always the best method in the long run. I do like Brett's system as well as Karl's mainly because they stay away from computers. While you may never experience any issues with crashing or corruption on your audio computers, there is a much higher chance of failure using an old or used computer then with equipment that was designed to be running 24/7 as an audio repeater.

          Alcorn McBride: (expensive but most reliable)
          AM4 - Single Channel Audio Repeater
          8TraXX - 8 Stereo channels or 16 mono channels of audio in one rack space.
          AmpTraXX - 16 channel amplifier to power your speakers.
          ProTraXX - 8 stereo tracks that can be triggered by a dedicated input, allowing for proximity sensor or switches, plus microphone/aux input for Zone paging.
          Binloop - 32 Tracks of 16 or 24-bit audio (one of the most powerful repeaters on the market)

          Gilderfluke:
          SD-10 - One Stereo channel
          SD-25 - One Stereo channel, with Amp.

          While Gilderfluke does not offer any multi channel audio repeaters, the SD-10 is so small it is easy to create as many channels as you need. Just add an audio matrix to route any one SD-10 to any speaker in your attraction.

          Hauntbots:
          Standalone MP3 Player - One Stereo Channel, provides triggerable audio files

          Again can stack these players, so you can have as many channels as you need.

          Dark Tech Effects are dealers of all the above audio equipment and can assist you in creating the right audio system for your needs and budget. If you have any questions regarding any of these products please do not hesitate to get in touch.
          Best,
          Bill Rod
          Bill Rod.
          Dark Tech Effects
          Automated DMX Lighting
          Show Control - Audio / Visual Effects

          Comment


          • #20
            Originally posted by DarkTikiEntertainment View Post
            Out of curiosity, what model number mixer and audio matrix you are using? I can't quite tell from the picture. Again, I think your solution is great!
            It's a 360 Systems Audio Matrix 16. They've been out of production for quite a few years, but still pop up on eBay fairly often. They are dirt simple and do the job so well, can't imagine why they discontinued them.. I have two for the active system and a backup unit in stock and will probably pick up another if the opportunity arises.

            http://www.robertsonics.com/MatrixRV1.htm
            Brett Hays, Director
            Fear Fair
            www.fearfair.com

            Comment


            • #21
              I just want to say that this is a great thread packed with awesome info. I really appreciate everyones input and seeing different styles of slaying the same beast.
              Allen H
              www.Stiltbeaststudios.com
              http://www.youtube.com/user/Stiltbea...s?feature=mhee

              Comment


              • #22
                Originally posted by Allen H View Post
                I just want to say that this is a great thread packed with awesome info. I really appreciate everyones input and seeing different styles of slaying the same beast.
                Allen H
                Ah, you beat me to it, Allen! When I got finished reading the end of Page 2, I had decided that I was going to write "Best Thread Ever", then I got to Page 3, and you had basically already written it, and more eloquently at that. I'm going to write it anyhow:

                BEST THREAD EVER! (at least from the perspective of a sound guy, ha ha!).

                I hope more people add pictures and descriptions of their audio set-ups!

                Comment


                • #23
                  I’m a long time lurker but first time poster. I figured I would throw in my two cents as well. As usual I am a few days behind the rest of the world in posting.

                  We have several attractions and have tried a variety of systems throughout the years. We currently have 2 primary set-ups that we use.
                  - For our smaller attractions we use Gilderfluke SD-10’s for playback. We split the L/R channels into separate feeds so that we can feed two zones from one player. We have been using these for a couple of years with no problems at all.
                  - For our larger attractions we use an Alesis HD24 for playback. While it is a more expensive option, it gives us 24 audio zones in a single player. One nice feature is that several units can be synchronized to create a larger system.
                  With both configurations we loop the audio on the players so that they only repeat once every hour or two.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    More great input!
                    www.Stiltbeaststudios.com
                    http://www.youtube.com/user/Stiltbea...s?feature=mhee

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Thanks VAhaunt!! I think my delima is solved!! You CAN NOT beat 24 tracks for that price!!! (I ebay'd a few units...great price for used or new!!!)
                      O'Shawn McClendon
                      Creative Chair -- Operator: Cayce-West Columbia Hall of Horrors

                      One mans junk is another mans kick-ass new prop...

                      http://www.hallofhorrors.com

                      http://twitter.com/hallofhorrors

                      http://cwchallofhorrors.blogspot.com

                      http://www.youtube.com/hallofhorrors

                      http://www.myspace.com/cwcjc_hallofhorrors

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Those are some very inventive systems everyone!

                        It looks like the approach to sound design here is starting long repeating loops, and letting them cycle all night. Is that the total approach, or are these systems playing the long loops in addition to more event-driven sound effects/music (such as an alligator sound triggering when an alligator prop pops out of a swamp scene)??

                        If you're using more event-driven sound design, what kinds of triggers/players are you using for those sounds?

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by DarkTikiEntertainment View Post
                          Those are some very inventive systems everyone!

                          It looks like the approach to sound design here is starting long repeating loops, and letting them cycle all night. Is that the total approach, or are these systems playing the long loops in addition to more event-driven sound effects/music (such as an alligator sound triggering when an alligator prop pops out of a swamp scene)??

                          If you're using more event-driven sound design, what kinds of triggers/players are you using for those sounds?
                          For event driven sound, such as a triggered sound effect, I use Ap-16's from EFX-TEK, http://www.efx-tek.com/topics/ap-16.html or Hauntbot's http://www.hauntbots.com/index.php?m...edb6rja2i3ssi2
                          Brian Warner
                          Owner of Evilusions www.EVILUSIONS.com
                          Technical Director of Forsaken Haunted House www.Forsakenhaunt.com
                          Mechanical Designer (animatronics) at Gore Galore www.Gore-Galore.com

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            If you go the multi unit route, or even to maximize existing channels, as long as your soundtrack or ambient noise isnt too complex, what I did for an attraction to use multiple soundtracks with the same units was redesigned the sound to have a different unique track in the left and right channels.

                            For example there was one attraction inside a pavilion that needed one track, and then a woods walkthrough that needed another, so I ran only left speakers to the indoor, and only right speakers to the outdoor. A cheap way to extend the capabilities some, as long as you dont need panning effects.


                            Mike "Pogo" Hach
                            -Mike "Pogo" Hach

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Don't know about the others. but I have found that MAudio and CuBase and don't lend themselves very well to individual triggered events. I run basically an hour long loop, all of the audio tracks each loop multiple times within that hour. Our front of the house stuff (impaler, flame cannons, DC pirate, etc) are all Midi controlled from the same system and are incorporated within that same hour long loop. If you knew exactly when the loop was ending, and were listening very intently for it, you can hear the 1/2 second or so pause on the hour, but most can't hear it.

                              We use EFX AP16+ for the triggered prop sounds, and plan on using many more of them this season, replacing most of the MAudio system. The control over the AP16+ is fantastic and they lend themselves extremely well to prop related sounds.

                              Most of our self container props are triggered with IR beams with a few pressure mats. Some props we simply have on their own little loop so they trigger over and over, whether there is a customer near or not. Actors love it - not! A few props are actually manually activated.


                              Originally posted by DarkTikiEntertainment View Post
                              It looks like the approach to sound design here is starting long repeating loops, and letting them cycle all night. Is that the total approach, or are these systems playing the long loops in addition to more event-driven sound effects/music (such as an alligator sound triggering when an alligator prop pops out of a swamp scene)??
                              Last edited by Karl Fields; 02-04-2011, 12:17 PM.
                              http://www.piratesofemerson.com

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Use 8 channel Surround sound PC cards for audio?

                                Instead of buying the Delta M-Audio 1010lt pci card with 8 in/outs, getting 4 for 32 channels, why not just buy the 8 channel surround cards as they alot cheaper and use something like reaper software to control? The surround cards come in any motherboard configurations (pci, pci-express..etc) the Big question is, can you control each channel via the reaper/audacity software say if you have 3-4 sound cards for 24/32 channels in the same PC unit, anybody try this? Additionally, you'd still need an ampliflier as the audio output as I don't think these pc cards have much power to drive bigger speakers...other than pc speakers.

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