Belgium - Plopsaland is the first of three 'Plopsa' amusement and attraction theme parks in Belgium equipped exclusively with Martin Audio speakers (involving more than 300 pieces of C115 and EM series). For the 2006 summer season a new attraction named 'Supersplash' was commissioned and installed. The ride involves 16 people being picked up in a boat, before travelling 16m by lift in 28 seconds; the boat then leaves the lift through a hatch and drops at high speed into the water, passing more bumps and bridges before arriving back at its start point.

The attraction only lacked some spectacular audio FX during those 28 seconds, and with that in mind Wouter Verhulst, technical director for the Plopsaland theme parks, contacted Ampco Belgium's sales manager Steven Kemland. Together with sound designer/producer and engineer Geert De Wit, they designed a surround set-up using 16 Martin Audio AQ5s fixed in four rings around the lift shaft. The eight-channel discrete 'soundscape', including thunderstorms and cracking wood, was programmed on the spot via a MOTU HD recording setup and Timax Imagemaker.

Because the sound had to be retained inside the tunnel Steven Kemland opted for the compact dimensions of the AQ5's. Another physical challenge was presented by being unable to use subs in the lift shaft. For solving this problem Kemland and De Wit created a virtual sub bass by using the XLNT Bass Creator, which produces harmonic equivalents of bass frequencies but without the air movement normally involved with this frequency range. "The AQ5s sounded like AQ12s with a sub," notes the Ampco man, "very impressive indeed."

After programming the soundscape everything was transfered to four synchronised Roland AR200 playback units which can easily be triggered through contact-closure pulses. Inside the lift shaft the impression now is of sitting in a boat that's sinking in a heavy storm at sea. Kemland explains: "To get the timing right for the sound effects it was crucial that we checked it on the spot, in the boat; on top of that we had only one night to programme the whole ride, and we had to take the boat ride 50 or 60 times. Everyone was soaking wet, but it was more than worth it."

(Lee Baldock)


Latest Issue. . .

Save
Cookies user preferences
We use cookies to ensure you to get the best experience on our website. If you decline the use of cookies, this website may not function as expected.
Accept all
Decline all
Analytics
Tools used to analyze the data to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how it works.
Google Analytics
Accept
Decline
Advertisement
If you accept, the ads on the page will be adapted to your preferences.
Google Ad
Accept
Decline