making a thunder board

missa

Member
i read another posting from a while back saying they used a thunder board to create the sound for a storm. we are doing a show that calls for a lot of thunder and lightning, and i would really like to try to use a thunderboard. does anyone know how to make one?
thanks for your help!
 
is steel or aluminium better? also, what kinda frame do you need to hang the sheet metal? in the posting i read they were talking about some sort of padded box.
thanks
 
missa said:
is steel or aluminium better? also, what kinda frame do you need to hang the sheet metal? in the posting i read they were talking about some sort of padded box.
thanks

Hiya,
Well it can be a sheet--or it can be a box..depends on what you wanna build, where its gonna be located (i.e. backstage or offstage) and the sound you are going for--both work well for thunder. Typically for off-stage--its a sheet of duct style sheet metal or aluminum--something thin and flexible..rather large...and as for wood--just bolt a wood sandwich holder at the top, like 1x3, and a same handle at the bottom. The sheet version just hangs and gets flexed and hit with a rubber mallet offstage... The box version gets built for backstage use, can get padded to thicken the sound, and mic'd up to your PA system with a reverb effect--and gets pressed on for sound. If you ever stepped or sat on a padded air conditioner duct in a building and heard it flex in--same effect..only mic'd with some reverb...

-wolf
 

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