Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Car Audio

Bass @ Ultra Low Frequencies Means Propper Droppers

The terms ‘Ground Pounder’ and ‘Pavement Shaker’ led to my getting earthquake meters involved in car audio. We ended up getting a Guinness World Record set in the process. That was courtesy of Fast Car magazine as well as us organising it here on Talk Audio. Or rather Geoff Kerss organised it for me, even parking the vehicles at lovely hosts’ location, Santa Pod, with a touch of his massive brain’s reasoning. For a good manager is what is needed for anything to get done. Someone ready to put some effort in, for whatever their motivation. With Geoff, he was as into the whole thing as anyone and wanted a wicked result.
And my three faves of this breed are the guys who run the UK’s sound off formats. The UK has NEVER supported three formats before and each has its own fans and adherents to what are very different ethos. Andrew Ackerley is don of EMMA UK, and Darren Millard runs dB Drag and Bass Race formats. But this story is about Marcos Barnes, who runs the bass format that if I am honest, is closest to my heart. It’s called ‘Propper Droppers’ and is meant like bloody Qashqai, to be spelt that way! It is all about the same blast overpressure sensor rather than a microphone, that everyone uses, hooked up to TermPro SPL software on a laptop. They just all use it differently and the PD format is bonkers, for your result is an average of your scores at five different frequencies, all below where ‘music’ finishes! They are 20Hz, 25Hz, 33Hz, (CRF) 40Hz and your car’s peak frequency – findable with the TermPro running while you sweep tones during prelim testing.

There has always been a boom contest at the Arena Essex events and now it is as well attended as any, despite the grotesque horribleness of everyone and everything being sprayed with gritty dust from the excited drift crews hooning on the cinders on the other side of the pit area. It blows everywhere and I know cars that just won’t go because of it, which is a shame. I know that Steve ‘Baggsy’ Biagioni who now runs the Pure Carma scene and the King of the Ring drift contest was talking about finding a better corner for it on the site.

But it is a cool place to go and review preview copies of the new albums I get sent from America. I went to see José ‘Quakeshaker’ Correia and give him the tee shirt I had been sent from Florida and to take him through Bassotronics’ new album, called ‘Bass Buttons Activated’. It’s in the reviews section under ‘music’.
A whole lot of cars and some real mad bastard systems dare to show up as the format reckons if you burst into flames, well, it’s your lookout. The requirements are simply to show up and boom. Very laid back, hence the real street basser’s love of the format and why he draws the crowds of regular bass heads as well as the nutters we all adore so much.
We know this guy – he drove from Sheffield to be there!

It was a cool evening and a great atmosphere and long may it continue. I love it! If you want to know more about these nutters and how to go play, then hit up this website here:
link
And here is a whizzy gallery of shots from the evening:
gallery