How Bags of Fiberglass Help Billie Eilish Sound Better

[mahatmakanejeeves]

“I was just really shocked at the low end.” Engineers are finding ways to make bands sound better in giant arenas, with fine-tuned mics, drapes and bags of fiberglass.

wsj.com
How Bags of Fiberglass Help Billie Eilish Sound Better
Bands have long complained of poor audio quality in giant arenas. Engineers are responding with fine-tuned mics, drapes and pockmarked panels; ‘that clean,

Yes, I could see how being surrounded by multiple layers of bags of fiberglass could make listening to Billie Eilish a far better experience

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[Hugh_Lebowski]

1. Dumb comment by stevemur

Billie is hella cool, and a damn good artist.

The point of the fiberglass on the walls is to reduce unwanted sound reflections off the walls. It reduces 'echo' in other words. The cavernous, echo-y sound of large arenas is mostly the problem here, as echoes are degraded in sound quality by nature, and their 'timing' is off relative to the original source you're trying to listen to.

The same principle is also a big reason why good movie theaters have thick curtains (or some kind of echo-reducing panels) along all their walls (though it's also reduce bleed-thru to adjacent theaters).

[highplainsdem]

3. +1,000,000

[rsdsharp]

2. In 1978 I saw the Beach Boys. The REAL Beach Boys.

All three Wilson brothers — including Brian — Al Jardine, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston. It was in the UNI Dome on the UNI campus in Cedar Falls. In those days, it had an inflatable roof.

There was “festival seating,” meaning there were no seats on the Dome floor (football field). When the band came out on stage, the crowd surged forward, and I found myself standing, for 2 1/2 hours, about 20 feet from the stage. Close enough to see the expressions on their faces. The acoustics in the Dome weren’t the best, and every few minutes Brian, who was wearing a brown jogging suit, would look up toward the Dome roof, wince, and just shake his head.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

4. I saw 'em on that tour as well, as a 12 year old, went w/my dad and stepmom.

Legendary concert series called "Day on the Green" at the Oakland Coliseum, presented by Bill Graham (also a legend).

They let people down onto the grass, as one would imagine by the title lol. It was all general admission.

Beach Boys were the headliners. The opening acts? Elvin Bishop, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt.

It was my second-ever concert (first was Kiss/Cheap Trick in 1977).

And it was friggin great.