Lantzer
Dec 5 2006, 04:57 PM
For those of you with a love of the old concepts like Rocker-runners...
At one point in an old book an instrument was mentioned as played by someone in a troll thrash band.
A Throbber.
Now I know that the old Shadowbeat doesnt actually say what it is anywhere, so I'm looking for guesses, estimates, and wild speculation.
There's a character in my game who wants to play one.
I was going to send him here to post, but I decided to do it myself.
Ancient History
Dec 5 2006, 05:39 PM
Synthlinked equivalent of an electric bass guitar with variable tempo, built in drum machine and a couple low-pass filters - generally pumps out polyrhythmic noise at 60 Hz and below at 100 dB or higher.
The kind of sound that'll rattle your skull and you feel in your chest as much as hear in your ears.
eidolon
Dec 5 2006, 05:43 PM
Couldn't have said it any better. Keep in mind that a true throbber player doesn't fiddle with buttons, he plays it DNI.
lorechaser
Dec 5 2006, 05:45 PM
I always assumed it was a Throbber to a bass guitar as a bass guitar is to a six-string (standard?).
So it's several octaves lower, and yeah, probably has subsonic notes that just vibrate you to hell and back.
RunnerPaul
Dec 5 2006, 05:52 PM
QUOTE (lorechaser) |
I always assumed it was a Throbber to a bass guitar as a bass guitar is to a six-string (standard?).
So it's several octaves lower, and yeah, probably has subsonic notes that just vibrate you to hell and back. |
Wouldn't you have to worry about hitting the
brown note on an instrument like that?
eidolon
Dec 5 2006, 05:56 PM
If such a thing existed you might.
hyzmarca
Dec 5 2006, 06:28 PM
While there is no brown note, certain frequencies have been known to cause nausea in some individuals and there have been experiments in using such a device for crowd control. While a brown note is pretty much unpossible, a vomit note is quite plausible.
Fortune
Dec 5 2006, 07:27 PM
QUOTE (hyzmarca @ Dec 6 2006, 05:28 AM) |
While a brown note is pretty much unpossible, a vomit note is quite plausible. |
Oh definitely. I've heard far too much music that made me sick.
Pthgar
Dec 5 2006, 08:18 PM
Hahaha!
I have a question and I am too lazy to look it up in ShadowBeat at the moment. Did the throbber come about because Troll's (maybe Ork's too) hearing extends slightly into infra-sound?
[Scottish accent]
If so, doez the sieze of their gigantic heeds have anathin' ta do with it?
[/Scottish accent]
Did someone say "wild speculation?"
Perhaps the term "Throbber" refers to the manner in which the instrument is played. I've heard an instrument that was essentially a sheet of somewhat rigid plastic that was waved back and forth to make a "wubba-wubba" noise. Imagine a base tamborine, is the best description I can think of. Very low-tech.
It could also be a nickname of a troll-configured instrument: Say a guitar with extra wide spacing between the strings and frets for trollish fingers.
Or for that matter, Throbber could be the name of software used for the guy's synthlink, maybe only named that after the technician/DJ who wrote it.
I don't know the context, but maybe "plays the throbber" is a euphemism for some sort of... personal activity that one particular troll rocker is known to frequently indulge in.
Snow_Fox
Dec 7 2006, 04:05 AM
considering his encylopedic knowledge I'd say AH got it right. Though my first thought was something obscene about my husband.
Backgammon
Dec 7 2006, 05:26 AM
Seriously, I can't believe you guys went a dozen posts without saying the obvious
Fortune
Dec 7 2006, 07:28 AM
QUOTE (Backgammon) |
Seriously, I can't believe you guys went a dozen posts without saying the obvious |
We were trying to be good ...
... for a change.
Snow_Fox
Dec 7 2006, 01:32 PM
Mais oui, mais,
plus ca change, plus ca la meme chose, n'est pas?
Ancient History
Dec 8 2006, 06:14 AM
Morticia, that's French!
Lazerface
Dec 8 2006, 06:52 AM
Dammit, I have to go watch Overdrawn at the Memory Bank now that you've reminded me of Raul Julia.
hyzmarca
Dec 8 2006, 10:24 AM
My troll had a throbber once but he was arrested for playing with in it public. His exceptional skill, while mesmerizing, caused more than a little nausea in some onlookers.
Lindt
Dec 8 2006, 02:47 PM
And banter like what just occurred between Snow Fox and AH is exactly why, even with the shitstorm that is sr4, I still love being around DS.
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