Today, I drove, with my wife and parents-in-law, about 50 km to a park called Coquihalla Canyon that has a section of railway that was abandoned about 45 years ago called the Othello Tunnels. My main purpose was to see how my Overton low D sounded in the tunnels, some of which have remarkable echoes. I had my Sony digital voice recorder along. The sound in the background is the rushing of the rapids which were just below the entrance to the tunnel.
Geeez , David !! Thanks a lot ! Now , in addition to all of the other things that my family and friends consider “unusual” about my whistle playing mania , I’ll have to explain why I’m hanging out in old railroad tunnels. But , if I can play them a clip that sounds as cool as yours , maybe it won’t be so bad !! Good Job !!
I have found a couple of places with good echo and reverb. None of them are as atmospheric as an old tunnel or a canyon. Recording there gives an entirely different feel from recording at home (usually better).
Dave,
That name sounds familiar. When we drove from Vancouver to the Canadien Rockies last year, I seem to remember taking a fairly new road called the Coquihalla Hwy. Seems it was a shortcut from the old road up through Hell’s Gate (or something like that). Are the tunnels near there?
My front yard is a natural stone amphitheater on a lake (brag, brag): the acoustics are great mix of near and far reflections. A neighbour from across the lake - whom I’d never met - walked up to me the other day:
“Yer jigs are ok, bye, but yer reels are somthin sloppy. Yeh keep muddlin’ Boy In The Gap with Battle of Augrim.S’neh a race, bye”
I have a found a few places in the New York City, predominantly in Brooklyn, that provide good echo, though not at the level of depth and majesty that is evident in the clip at the begining of this thread. The garages of many large apartment buildings work, as do the tunnel-like underpasses in Prospect Park and Central Park. However, the tunnels see a lot of foot traffic, which should not be a surprise, since that is what they are there for.
Subway stations are OK, but you can count on a train pulling in every few minutes, plus they are hotter than Hades for about 3 months of the year.
Most evenings, except in the dead of winter and when it is as hot as it has been the past few weeks, I practice in the garage of our apt. building. An added benefit is that, while I can see out, passers-by can see in only with difficulty. It is great to watch folks stop (now and then) and listen, trying to figure out where the sound is coming from.
