The Reverb Jam
EXTEMPORISING in extreme reverb
In December 2006, Spacedog assembled a group of musicians in the reverb chamber of the UK National Physical Laboratory. This room has one of the longest reverberation times in Europe.
Hear soundsReverb is what you hear when sound bounces off the walls, floor and other surfaces of a room, creating a mush of echoes that slowly die away. If you're sitting in a small, carpeted room right now, it's likely that your reverb time will only be around 0.5 secs. That's scarcely enough for you to notice the sound that continues after you stop speaking. A hall that has been tailor-made for orchestral concerts might have a reverb time of around 2 to 3 seconds. A large, tiled bathroom might have a reverb of 5 secs or so. St Paul's Cathedral has a reverb time of up to 13 seconds for bass notes.
Recording a take in the reverb chamberThe lowest notes of Stephen's 'cello reverberate for over 30 seconds when he plays in the empty NPL reverberation chamber.
The reverberation chamber of the UK National Physical Laboratory (NPL) outstrips all of these. Low bass notes (around 100Hz - roughly the pitch you get on the bass string of a 'cello) reverberate for over 30 seconds. The room is an empty chamber with concrete floors, ceiling and walls to keep the sound bouncing around. Extra plastic panels are hung from the ceiling to add more reflective surfaces. And the walls are non-parallel so echoes bounce in all directions (this prevents the build-up of standing waves).
On a visit to NPL in early 2006, I met acoustic scientist Dr Richard Lord who showed me the company's new reverb chamber. He popped a balloon in there to show off its amazing reverb. As soon as I heard this, I knew I wanted to take some of musical instruments in there. I play various musical oddities, including a waterphone and musical saw, and I thought my sounds might find a home in this strange acoustic. NPL agreed I could come along, with some other musicians, on a day when the chamber was empty.
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