Surfing Waves

Hi there,

I'm new here and this is more of a technical question.

So, what does it sound like inside a barrel?
I know it will depend on the size of the barrel according to the laws of physics.
I remember getting in the tube for the first time and the sound was just so surprising, but even more awesome was the visuals.
Unfortnately I cant just go surfing at the moment, so I can't just record it.
And I really didn't find any videos with decent in-tube sound (can you belive this?).

The reason, why I wanna know this:
We are doing a surfing game at the moment and we are developing a dynamic sound system, so the player gets an even realer feeling of beeing in the tube.
For more about the project have a look at this video:

or on fb with: @waveor.surfing with some more pics also.

And I really would most apprecieate a technical description.
Something about the reinforced frequencies or so, because we are currently trying reproduce the sound with maths, but we don't even know, what it sounds like, and we wanted to try around, till I remember the sound, but that didn't happen yet.

Even better probably would be a good recording.
If someone knows a video, please let me know.

Cheers,
Waveor

Depending on the size there are incredible loud scary sounds produced by the lip hitting the water. However while in the tube for an extended time my experience was one of blocking out all that noise and a peaceful calm and quiet experience a visual experience mostly void of sound. I can recall hearing chandeliers or bits of water falling from the top of the tube and hitting the water but the majority of the noise I blocked out. Most of the surf videos I see have music like yours instead of the natural sounds. I have never talked to anyone about that aspect of being in the tube. No clue what it's like for others. So my guess is that if you replicate the actual sound you won't replicate the actual experience.

oldmansurfer wrote: So my guess is that if you replicate the actual sound you won't replicate the actual experience.

Fair enough, but I think that counts for the visuals too.
And replicate the actual experience is imho an impossible task, because everyone experiences differently.
We just want to do I as realistic as possible, because anyway everyone will have its own experience with the game too, knowing theres much more than the view and the sound to the actual experience.

I totally agree though, that I seems to be a rather quiet experience, peacefull somehow, I haven't been into really big barrels thogh...
Damn, I need some records!

I found this clip

huh - old man posting from the same place...

waveor,
Excellent question! It depends on the wave. The sounds you hear are:
1. violins
2. angels in chorus
3. thunder
4. jet engines
5. Kool & the Gang's "Jungle Boogie"
6. the Who's "I'm Free"
7. silently lurking sharks

billie_morini wrote:7. silently lurking sharks

That puts me off surfing....

billie_morini wrote:waveor,
Excellent question! It depends on the wave. The sounds you hear are:
1. violins
2. angels in chorus
3. thunder
4. jet engines
5. Kool & the Gang's "Jungle Boogie"
6. the Who's "I'm Free"
7. silently lurking sharks

So its similar to drinking a decent whiskey or wine, all those flavours.
No, but honestly, aigain we can see here, that the actual experience depends "highly" on the person.

Thanks a lot for the videos btw.
I think inside the barrel it is actually pretty loud, and the sound is very bright.
Also I think I could encounter a reverberation.
I will study them further.

billie_morini wrote:5. Kool & the Gang's "Jungle Boogie"

Waveor wrote:The reason, why I wanna know this:
We are doing a surfing game at the moment and we are developing a dynamic sound system, so the player gets an even realer feeling of beeing in the tube.

For almost all my barrel riding experience to date, it isn't the sound that needs to be recreated for a realistic experience per my experiences....rather if you could get someone to drop a mattress on my head 1-2 seconds after going under the lip or just club me in the side of the head knocking me off my feet just when I thought I had it gauged......that would be about right....

Cue the song "Roll out the Barrel"

Friends in the video and game production industry recommend seeing the barrel through fisheye lenses.
FIXED

Here is how you could approximate the sound.

1. Stand next to the edge of a pool.
2. Hang a rectangular 5000 gallon water tank just above your head.
3. Tip the water out of the tank and into the pool. Your ankle/microphone should be about 12 inches away from where the tank water meets the pool water.

On second thought, this probably wouldn't sound like a barrel in the ocean--more like a tube in a lab--because the sound wouldn't be bouncing off the walls of the tube cylinder. As far as I recall, you can get a bit of an echo effect in a tube ride. I'm also pretty sure that there's a difference in sound when it comes to a 4 foot barrel and 15 foot Pipeline barrel. Anyway, it sounds like a cool game.

I think the sound of the wave when you are tubed is like white noise. It is constantly there in the background but you don't pay attention to it. Maybe on other occasions as well , when the surf is up but you aren't tubed, heck pretty much all the time I surf I don't listen to the sound of the waves breaking while I am surfing but may when I am not surfing and just sitting there (I listen to the surf.)

Yeah, now that I think about it I hardly ever pay attention to the noise of the waves

I rode some waves once that when the lip hit the water it sounded like a tree trunk getting snapped in two......just a scary extremely loud and horrific noise but once in the tube it was like no sound just an intense desire to not die and an overwhelming urge to come back out of the tube

There is another sound I hear at times. It's the SSSS sound that your surfboard makes as you plane across water.

billie_morini wrote:Whisper-quiet, peeling waves in turquoise bays in Mendocino County.

I just got back from Mendo and you are right about the turquoise water. When I was done at Big River, I paddled around the point and loved looking into the archways, caves and coves!

I will probably never get tubed but if I ever do, the only thing I will hear is "Sh#% I made it!"