Vuvuzela

[Joram]

We tried to cut the annoying sound of the vuvuzela on the general noise channels we receive from South-Africa. Build like soprano sax, the vuvuzeka has some strong first harmonics, but we have some success with cutting 235, 470 and 920 Hz.

[Whitecat]

LOL. I want to put an EQ between my TV and my speakers then...

[apple-q]

yeah, I hope cedar releases an anti-vuvuzela plug-in for free as a promo within the next days? during the usa-uk match the commentator said they are cutting the stadium mics due to to numerous viewer´s complaints about the buzz during the past games. It was only the commentator´s mic open but still the buzz was like a tinitus. I can imagine people must have hearing problems after being in the stadium. I read one vuvuzela can have 123dB SPL. But in the stadiums are tenthousands!
What bothers me is that it doesn´t have any form of articulation. No ups and downs, no cheering, no fans singing just a constant pitch and volume hornet buzz. The only relief is when they play the anthums. Never had such a pleasure listening to national anthums before.

;-)

[georgia]

OUCH 135db? Yowzer....

Port Elizabeth, South Africa - You may love them, you may hate them, but you can never escape them.

The vuvuzelas are everywhere you turn at this World Cup in South Africa - every hour of the day - and already seem to be having a decisive impact on the games.

One researcher estimated that at a decibel level of 135, the

vuvuzela cacophony inside Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium during Friday's opening game between South Africa and Mexico was louder than the sound of a jet engine.

So it was no surprise that it caused some confusion on the pitch. At one point, a Mexican player with a clear scoring chance called for the ball but was not heard by his team-mate, who instead stretched for a header and diverted the ball harmlessly wide.

That's not the only damage caused by the ubiquitous and colourful metre-long horns. Prolonged use of the musical instrument - for want of a better name - can not only damage your eardrums. Doctors are also reporting patient complaints of bruised and swollen lips. And they warn that the terrible trumpets can also spread cold and flu germs as people pass them around and blow tiny droplets of spit out into the air.

The health risks are unlikely to stop the vuvuzela craze, however, just like international protests at last year's Confederation Cup failed to have any effect.

Back then, competitors, broadcasters and visitors called for a ban on the hateful horns because they prevented coaches from communicating with their teams on the field and also overpowered traditional chanting and sing songs on the terraces.

'That trumpet? It's not nice,' moaned Spanish midfielder Xavi Alonso. 'I think FIFA should ban it. It's not really distracting, but it's not a nice sound to hear.'

Many South Africans also called for a limit on the vuvuzela madness.

'We South Africans, a mighty musical nation if ever there was one, will have replaced hearty renditions with the noise of something called the vuvuzela,' noted Times columnist Mondli Makhanya, who compared the sound 'to that of a goat on the way to slaughter'.

Others have compared the sound to that of a herd of blaring elephants or a massive swarm of bees. But the animalistic associations are no comfort to the Society for the Protection of Animals, which warned South African pet owners that the horns are likely to frighten animals into running away from home.

'The animals have got much more sensitive hearing than human beings, so loud noises can sometimes cause them to jump through windows. They will injure themselves and try to escape the loud noises,' said the organization.

The vuvuzela, which is a deviant plastic take on the traditional South African kudu horn, is not confined to the football stadia. Fans roam the country's streets blasting away at all times of day and night. Many even adorn their horns with individual paint jobs or - like one extremist at the Port Elizabeth fan fest - cut them in half and add an extra piece of pipe to make the trumpet even longer and louder.

There are even vuvuzela orchestras which manage to coax something remarkably musical and rhythmic from the simple instruments. Samora Ntsebeza, a member of the orchestra, predicts that the horns have become so popular that they will be exported to Brazil for the next World Cup.

That would be a disaster according to many of the foreign fans already suffering from what can be called vuvuzela ear. 'I hate it,' said German fan Michael. 'It is hell.'

[Joram]

The Dutch commentators use the Coles 4014 ribbon mic. It helps a lot to keep the noise from the audience fairly low, at least when used correctly.
In the Netherlands many people complained about buzz of the vuvuzela. But I think we now found a good mix between the eq-ed stadium sound and commentators voice.

[apple-q]

What bothers me isn´t the vuvuzela per se. It´s the fact that it covers EVERY other atmospheric element of a match ALL THE TIME. The individual chants of the fans, cheering, clapping, the exitement etc. everything that makes the viewing experience fun (in addition to the game). Lowering the buzz still only leaves a voice plus a bit of buzz.
Ah well. I guess we´ll have to get used to it.
(Maybe they can plant some lav-mics on the fans that don´t have vuvuzelas )

[pan]

Originally Posted by georgia

Doctors are also reporting patient complaints of bruised and swollen lips.

So we might see a quieter end-round when

Fans roam the country's streets blasting away at all times of day and night.

and are tired and sore after the first two weeks?

[preben]

I'm with apple-q.

Being used to the Premier League I REALLY miss the chants.

[apple-q]

Prosoniq has a filter out. (sort of...)

[Whitecat]

AFP: World Cup organiser mulls vuvuzela ban

[loglady]

I really hope they ban it. After 20 minutes of vuvuzela i cant concentrate on the football and i just want it all to go away. Its surreal when there's a goal and you cant hear cheering. If they dont ban it, this will be remembered as the world cup that was ruined by a plastic horn. I understand its part of south africas culture but for the greater good stop that noise!

[doorknocker]

What's your favorite preamp for the Vuvuzela?

[fossaree]

Best thread ever !
good to see , there's space for the world cup on this forum !

[DaveC]

What's your favorite preamp for the Vuvuzela?

1073

[doorknocker]

Originally Posted by DaveC

1073

I guess the instrument itself is providing enough of the 'tube' character so that we can safely go all solid-state here.

[fossaree]

I don't know about pres , but when bands and groups come to my studio to record their vuvuzelas , they like when I mic it with a sennheiser md-421 .

btw , it's quite common to record a vuvuzela !!!

let's watch the next game and get pissed of with this $%ˆ&ˆ$ˆ$



Germany first game next

[georgia]

just watched the first half Germans vs Aussies.... I can't watch anymore with the sound up... It's just a constant noise. they should just stop using the sound from the matches and just lav the players and use that quietly behind the commentators.


cheers
geo

[Joram]

Vuvuzela preamp? Most important is the room. For vuvuzela my first choice would be a vacuum room. Vuvuzela chain: 441 without diafragm, api 512 without lunchbox, extremely vintage fairchild 670.

[fossaree]

Originally Posted by Joram

Vuvuzela preamp? Most important is the room. For vuvuzela my first choice would be a vacuum room. Vuvuzela chain: 441 without diafragm, api 512 without lunchbox, extremely vintage fairchild 670.

perfect !

[esaias]

Vuvuzela-Filter

:D


-tomi

[fossaree]

superb ! a shame there's no such EQ on my tv though ....
works perfectly thumbsup

[Joram]

Originally Posted by georgia

they should just stop using the sound from the matches and just lav the players and use that quietly behind the commentators.

I believe that is what the sound engineers already do but I am afraid the vuvuzela's are just too loud. Keep in mind that is also depends on (the acoustics of) the stadium. The location makes quite a difference.

[DrDeltaM]

Originally Posted by apple-q

yeah, I hope cedar releases an anti-vuvuzela plug-in for free as a promo within the next days? during the usa-uk match the commentator said they are cutting the stadium mics due to to numerous viewer´s complaints about the buzz during the past games. It was only the commentator´s mic open but still the buzz was like a tinitus

Cedar's existing DNS probably can be quite a big help with this already thumbsup

[inlinenl]

no try with phase-cancellation ... It's totally unbelievable that sound ..

[Matias228]

Wouldn't it be fun if someone creates a website, were fans can log onto and creat a audio stream from their computer recording/ streaming them watching the match, and just mix all of those (that then would be plenty of people) into a background sound for your watching experience, where they can happily cut the vuvuzela.

Or why aren't the tv stations micing some of the biggest public viewing spots around the world, and use that sound as a background or at least blend it in.

[Joram]

The main problem is not that we can't cut the vuvuzela from the stadium sound. Cutting 235 + 470 + 940 Hz is a convincing improvement. But doing the same with commentator's mic, affects the sound of the commentator's voice too much making it harder to follow his words.
What happens during the game is that the vuvuzela-players play only now and then and in groups on different locations in the stadium. Sometimes it's pretty quiet on the commentator's mic a few minutes later it's very noisy.

The coles mic is good for these circumstances but don't underestimate the extreme sound levels of a vuvuzela, let alone a group of vuvuzela's.

[Joram]

Originally Posted by Matias228

Or why aren't the tv stations micing some of the biggest public viewing spots around the world, and use that sound as a background or at least blend it in.

I have the impression that some tv-stations do that already. But since a football game is pretty unpredictable at times you need a very attentive M&E engineer and a lot of samples.

[DrDeltaM]

Originally Posted by Joram

The main problem is not that we can't cut the vuvuzela from the stadium sound. Cutting 235 + 470 + 940 Hz is a convincing improvement. But doing the same with commentator's mic, affects the sound of the commentator's voice too much making it harder to follow his words.
What happens during the game is that the vuvuzela-players play only now and then and in groups on different locations in the stadium. Sometimes it's pretty quiet on the commentator's mic a few minutes later it's very noisy.

The coles mic is good for these circumstances but don't underestimate the extreme sound levels of a vuvuzela, let alone a group of vuvuzela's.

As long as the commentator's own voice still is louder then the vuvuzela's in his own mic, then the Cedar DNS can help you a lot.

[Matias228]

Originally Posted by Joram

I have the impression that some tv-stations do that already. But since a football game is pretty unpredictable at times you need a very attentive M&E engineer and a lot of samples.

I actually didn't mean samples, but mic one of the many public viewing places that watch the same game, and feed that live into it. I can see that one might run into delay probs here thou, since they are watching the game on telly....

[saturbation zone]

is it possible to find an ambient sample maybe even 5.1 of this vuvuzela nightmare