UK Catches Up With USA: GREG FAGAN HITS 160dB ZOLID!
Watching the SPL scene is fascinating. These are the nutters who want it loud. There’s an extreme sort who also care about the musicality of loud and another kind of bass head who wants it to go deep as well as loud! So there are three kinds of Sound Pressure Level contests now. One is called Decibel Drag Racing, for those who just want big numbers – by rules. Then it’s the European Mobile Media Association or EMMA, who like it musical and finally the psychopaths of the ‘˜Propper Droppers’ milieu. Nutters all but my kind.
There is only ONE nutter who was at the Modified Nationals show at the weekend who was also at the sound off finals in the Nineties. Those that used to be held on the tarmac apron in front of the OLD Wembley Stadium. That’d be Ian ‘Iceman’ Pinder. He was indoors and blew his woofers. He had sucked too hard on the house electrics as his Arnot Franses power supply (as sponsored to him by Talk Audio) popped the breaker. On battery only, his battery bank swiftly went under voltage and his bass amp went postal, sending square waves to his wobblers, that died of their right angles, vaping, frankly.
I have seen trends come and go. Power capacitors, woofers to 32 inches across, stupid slowdowns killing the true bass artist movement and kickwells being superseded by A-pillar builds with complex DSP. And now, I can see the UK catching up with the USA as we understand more about massive power amps, now that crazier amplifiers exist and even crazier woofers are coming out of places they didn’t before. Like Russia and Brazil, the BR of BRIC, they are doing some crazy stuff.
And we have crazy people importing it and selling it to nutters like Greg Fagan. The lad has had to swim HARD upstream in the face of not only the job of making a world class install with mega power ordnance but also face the indignant wrath of a community who hates an upstart but loves a winner.
I can tell you that Greg nearly didn’t get to the Euro finals recently. I heard he was lacking the cash to fix his processor (that I suspect was never meant for a 160dB continuous environment, somehow.) and despite his turning down my offer to fully fund it, he managed to do it somehow himself. (I think he sold a kidney.)
But that shared accepted knowledge and trend-has seen the very structure of a bass car change. Now, they needs must have a solid pole to support the roof of the car at the centre of the windscreen. This has to be welded onto a strengthened roof line.
Or the windscreen bursts.
Greg’s poor abused VW, which is his daily drive (I LOVE THAT!) now makes a solid 160 decibels. Yes, 150dB is now longer enough. It has to be thirty thousand watts at least for 160 dB!
I need to learn more about these Brazilians and Russians. Amps with enough power to fill Hammersmith and speakers called, appropriately, DEAF BONCE.
Watch this space as I will be getting at Greg’s car might even see if Fast Car fancy it. Poor Nobby wanted a mag feature for his install, which is delicious but it was like that line in Independence Day with Will Smith. ‘They ain’t never going to let you be an astronaut if you marry a stripper!’ And Nobby drives an Astravan rather than a VW. and he’s SQ, so pretty rather than bonkers.
Enjoy the better British Weather, what ever that is bringing us. I hope it is WINDERS DAHHHNN!
Adam Rayner On Line Editor!