dmp said:
I messed around with re-amping through rooms & stairways a lot and the sound was always pretty thin (just treble) - not a full range reverb. Now I have a large warehouse space with a curved ceiling (60' by 60' room) and the reverb is lush and full - and even warbles like a plate. So I don't know what the chambers in the classic old studios sounded like, but from my experience re-amped chambers can sound really different and the larger the room the fuller the reverb.
Yes, the dimensions and shape of the acoustic space define the time interval of the repeats and character of the sound envelope. More delay between repeats, but not enough to be heard as echoes is generally preferable. Strong parallel wall repeats can cause flutter-echos. Many early chambers were accidental spaces that were repurposed because they sounded good. Of course what sound energy you drive into the room, and where makes a difference, as well as well as where you sniff for output. Eq on both ends could be useful.
I wouldn't say a plate is bright but it has shiny-ness that is distinct from other reverbs.
I try not to argue with people about what they hear. I probably shouldn't fixate too much on such generalizations. The speed of sound in metal is very fast, and losses if the plate if undamped will be modest. Some plates have a variable (felt?) damper.
Like I said, I don't hear a difference with how the plate is driven. The only difference was in the very low frequencies and that was probably just because the monitor speaker wasn't putting them out.
Acoustically coupling to a plate "should" be different from mechanically coupling to a plate. As well as where the mechanical transducer is positioned will interact with standing vibration nodes and/or antinodes (kind of like a big rectangular drumhead, where you hit it matters). For my drum tuner I basically point a speaker at the drumhead to vibrate it, but apples and oranges, or worse so I shouldn't try to extrapolate too much.
I've seen DIY plates made from cheap galvanized sheet metal so I expect there is a range of different outcomes from a number of variables. Sorry I don't mean to sound like I am lecturing you about your plate.
I repeat if it sounds good it is good.
JR
PS: I need to dig through my father's old notebooks, I seem to recall some architectural drawings of an old purpose-built from scratch studio for sound recording (probably in the 30's maybe for film). I don't recall there being a chamber, but I just glanced at it years ago. I remember more about the wall and floor details (for sound isolation).
