Are the Rock Band 2 instruments really quieter? (A semi-scientific study)
by Kyle Orland 
{ Sep 14th 2008 at 12:00AM }
Observation
Harmonix has claimed that Rock Band 2 will have "quieter and more natural feeling drum pads" and guitars with "quieter buttons" than their original Rock Band counterparts.
Hypothesis
Rock Band 2 instruments are quieter than their original Rock Band counterparts.
Continue reading for our experimental method and results!
Harmonix has claimed that Rock Band 2 will have "quieter and more natural feeling drum pads" and guitars with "quieter buttons" than their original Rock Band counterparts.
Hypothesis
Rock Band 2 instruments are quieter than their original Rock Band counterparts.
Continue reading for our experimental method and results!
Experimental Method
Drums
Each drum set tested will be placed on the floor at a set distance from a microphone hooked up to a laptop. The experimenter will record the sound of the drum pad strikes at three different intensity levels:
- Light: Gravity pulls the drum stick down to the pad from a set height, with little to no additional force input from the experimenter.
- Medium: The experimenter hits the pad with average force, as he/she would if playing the game.
- Hard: The experimenter hits the pad as hard as possible.
Guitars
Each guitar will be placed on a level surface, with the frets set next to a microphone hooked up to a laptop at a standard distance. The experimenter will hold down the guitar to prevent any undue vibrations, then press each fret in sequence at three different intensity levels.
- Light: Each fret is pressed as gently as possible and depressed slowly to control the spring back.
- Medium: Each fret is pressed sharply and allowed to spring back freely.
- Hard: Each fret is pressed quickly and distinctly, as during an intense hammer-on section.
Results and Analysis
Drums
Avg. loudness of drum strikes (in dB above baseline)
|
Intensity
|
 |
 |
Change
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Light | 6.00 | 4.33 | 1.67 |
| Medium | 16.42 | 9.58 | 6.84 |
| Hard | 24.17 | 25.08 | -0.91 |
| Overall Avg. | 15.53 | 13.00 | 2.53 |
The difference in loudness at the light intensity, where the drum stick was simply allowed to fall onto the pad, was minimal. Both sets of drums were relatively quiet at this level, though the Rock Band 2 drums saw much more "bounce back" when the stick was allowed to drop.
The largest difference between the two drums was observed at the medium drum strike intensity, which was designed to emulate normal play conditions. While the difference in loudness is definitely noticeable, the Rock Band 2 drums did still have a noticeable "thwacking" sound at this level.
Surprisingly, the Rock Band 2 drums were actually overall a little louder when struck as hard as possible in our tests. Interestingly, the yellow and blue "inner" pads were louder on the Rock Band 2 set, while the red and green "outer" pads were louder on the original Rock Band set (see appendix below). For all practical purposes, these differences were negligible -- both drum sets are, unsurprisingly, incredibly loud when struck incredibly hard.
It should be noted that the natural springiness of the Rock Band 2 drums makes them much easier to play functionally at a lower intensity level. This means that the actual functional loudness of the drums during actual play may be significantly different than what is shown in these tests.
Guitar
|
Intensity
|
|
|
Change
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Light | 10.00 | 3.00 | 7.00 |
| Medium | 12.4 | 7.2 | 7.2 |
| Hard | 16 | 7.4 | 8.6 |
| Overall Avg. | 12.8 | 5.87 | 6.93 |
At all intensity levels tested, the Rock Band 2 guitar frets were noticeably quieter than the original Rock Band guitar. The original guitar frets had a distinct "springy" sound when popping back up, a sound that was almost entirely absent in the Rock Band 2 guitar. It should also be noted that the spring for the strummer seems significantly quieter on the Rock Band 2 guitar, though the extent of the difference was not tested.
Conclusion
Rock Band 2 instruments are indeed quieter than their Rock Band counterparts under normal play conditions. Additionally, the added springiness of the Rock Band 2 drums and the quieter springs in the Rock Band 2 guitar make the new instruments much easier to play lightly and, thus, more quietly.
Appendix
Average loudness of drum strikes, broken down by intensity and pad.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Monkeys Suck @ Sep 14th 2008 12:03AM
Damn it, this should have been a job for Mythbusters.
Gewurztraminer says: Shinkuu Gadouken! @ Sep 14th 2008 1:17AM
Until something blows up, I'm calling this one 'Plausible'.
Ignatius @ Sep 14th 2008 8:42AM
Mythbusters would have probably built a rig that does not allow human interference. They'd check the average amount of force used by humans with the drumset and devise a robot to play at a power very close that is repeatable. The problem with using a person to do this is that they can hit it harder or softer than they realize and that skews the results.
Ghen @ Sep 14th 2008 9:01AM
... and then they would blow it up.
capt_carl @ Sep 14th 2008 11:58AM
Let's not forget Kari would look adorable the whole time doing this.
xTRANCEx @ Sep 14th 2008 12:05AM
THATS GREAT! FIRST!
Autopsy15 @ Sep 14th 2008 4:10AM
Probably didn't read the article, yet still failed.
Amazing.
Savage @ Sep 14th 2008 12:07AM
I see your charts and there is only one thing that comes to mind.
Go Broncos!
Fuji2001 @ Sep 14th 2008 2:46AM
Homer: [reading] "Project Arcturus couldn't have succeeded without you.
This will get you a little closer to that dream of yours. It's
not the Dallas Cowboys, but it's a start. Drop me a line if
you're on the East Coast, Hank Scorpio."
[a whole football team is on his lawn]
[disappointed] Aw, the Denver Broncos!
Marge: I think owning the Denver Broncos is pretty good.
[a player tries to catch the ball, but falls]
Homer: Yeah, yeah.
Marge: Well, explain to me why it isn't.
[another player tries to catch, but hits the ball with his head]
Homer: [sighs] You just don't understand football, Marge.
ice~ @ Sep 14th 2008 12:07AM
Annd rock band 2 officially released 7 minutes ago.... WOOT!!!! I think I'm having a heart attack
Tiptup300 @ Sep 14th 2008 2:48AM
I have a small wishlist for the game:
1) Managed Calibration Profiles (I play rock band at a lot of different places, each with it's own lag settings, why can't I save multiple setups and name them?)
2) Disabled Songs (Allow me to make my own list of songs i don't want showing up in random playlists, make em DLC and Rock Band 1, 3+ only though) (My first 3 random setlist were all Rock Band 1 songs)
3) Let me fail, after a song ends, me and my friends usually try to be the first to reach red after a song finishes, or one of us just fails, Rock Band 2 doesn't let your bar go any lower after a song ends, this is a major bummer. :(
4) Bring back Solo mode, Seriously, I loved it, world tour is awesome, but I liked having both.
ice~ @ Sep 14th 2008 10:38AM
I tottaly have to agree with you on the solo tour....but on that pick and choose your own song thing, that'd never happen...they want u to play through all the songs, that's why they won't add that option :/
Tiptup300 @ Sep 14th 2008 12:28PM
Well, I mean only beable to disable certain DLC songs, I hate being with a bunch of new people, then on a 5x random setlist, the last one is thrasher, so we're screwed.
Dr. @ Sep 14th 2008 1:39PM
You know you can play band world tour solo now, right? Or do you just prefer the tiered mode? (Which the challenge mode does kinda replace, I'd say...)
Vegnagun bwf @ Sep 14th 2008 12:20AM
Rock Band 2 is out tomorrow. I'm so excited!
Haggard (Free Mr.ESC!) @ Sep 14th 2008 6:25AM
Enjoy it. It'll be quite some time until it sees the light of day in Europe -_-
dmg @ Sep 14th 2008 12:26AM
Is the strum bar any better for RB 2?
Kyle Orland @ Sep 14th 2008 9:47AM
Yes, the strum bar feels much sturdier and less "spongy" when flicked.
FSK405K @ Sep 14th 2008 2:41AM
Thanks for the drum analysis. Please, though, as above, the most important comparison would be the strum bar comparison: GH3 Les Paul v RB2 guitar v GH4 guitar. Will you guys do that please?
Jakka(Free Mr.ESC!) @ Sep 14th 2008 6:07AM
I'd also like to know how RB Drums compare against GH Drums.
Charlie_Six @ Sep 14th 2008 12:29AM
I hate the loudness of the RB1 drums, but I'm gonna wait for Guitar Hero World Tour's drum set.
JimJimBinks @ Sep 14th 2008 12:35AM
I'm interested to know if the tilt sensor is really better with the Rock Band 2 guitar. I play lefty and I've never been able to get the tilt sensor to work when playing that way. I have to hit the back button to activate overdrive (Or star power, or whatever)
TheOverlord#2 (Playing: SMRPG, SMG, & Okami) @ Sep 14th 2008 12:43AM
Next Week's News Headline:
Teachers baffled by how many Rock Band 2 Science Projects have been submitted
Young_Nastyman @ Sep 14th 2008 12:47AM
Good to hear that they are quieter under normal playing conditions
...or not?
Geist @ Sep 14th 2008 12:55AM
Good god. I'm not saying this isn't somewhat relevant, but wow. Someone has a lot of free time on their hands, don't they? Eh, to each their own time spent.
cranium @ Sep 14th 2008 11:50AM
yet you spend your time reading, and insulting, the work they did. who's wasting time??
Geist @ Sep 14th 2008 9:55PM
Um, well, no, I'm not insulting their work. It's thorough and remarkably well done. It's just that this takes a lot of time to do. I'm just amazed at what some people spend large amounts of time on.
Ignatius @ Sep 15th 2008 3:28PM
Some people care about the improvements that were actually mentioned by Harmonix, they're just proving that it's true.
Or, by your logic, should we just accept that everything a corporate head says is complete and total truth without bothering to question or examine it?
Luis @ Sep 14th 2008 12:56AM
Wow, nice work with this
Monkeydog @ Sep 14th 2008 12:59AM
You didn't test the mic?
I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MIC!
Ross Miller @ Sep 14th 2008 1:02AM
The mic is a cylindrical device with a metal grated sphere on one end that serves as a receiver for sound waves, transfers the audio into binary digits, and sends it spiraling through long black wire into your Xbox 360 so that everyone around you can hear an amplified version of your voice screaming "Juke . Box . Hero . " in the wrong key :)
Wiinterfang @ Sep 14th 2008 1:00AM
Bravo Joystiq, this site finally free me of my unhealthy relationship with ign.
Amoveo @ Sep 14th 2008 1:07AM
Awesome. Combined with reports of faulty drums this makes me really glad I'm getting the guitar and the disc.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Sep 14th 2008 1:20AM
How did you measure the sound power? Did you just use peak on a PCM sample of it? Or was it an A-weighted measure?
mr mobius @ Sep 14th 2008 4:23AM
Nice scientific study which seemed to have plausible method (nice to see repetition).
I expect a massive post doing this with GH3 and GH4 guitars included in the guitar portion and the GH4 drums added into the drum portion. You can choose to add Rock Revolution controllers if you want but no one cares.
On a different note: You are getting Rock Band 2 already? I still see notices announcing the release of Rock Band in the UK. I'm not sure if just the Wii version but still!
JoeTheBlow @ Sep 14th 2008 6:13AM
The UK is only just getting the PS3 version of RB1 now, and we're the lucky ones!
Harmonix/MTV stiffed the rest of the world with RB, which is a tremendous shame.
GH:WT is thankfully coming out pretty much *everywhere* in November, which means that EA will completely own the band game genre outside the US.
No-one to blame but themselves, i would have bought RB day one had it been out last year.
Olivier @ Sep 14th 2008 5:42AM
Great job !
Post linked on http://eng.fidgee.com - Feeds from the Geek Side
JoeTheBlow @ Sep 14th 2008 6:06AM
Today.....is a great day..for SCIENCE!
/Dexter
Tez (PSN: Tezasaurus) @ Sep 14th 2008 6:12AM
Shouldn't they be compared to World Tour's drumset?
Ignatius @ Sep 14th 2008 8:40AM
Did anyone forget that the instruments aren't going to be out at all?
Only the game is hitting store shelves today.
Kizzle @ Sep 14th 2008 8:52AM
...so what? The standalone drums and guitar are out in two days. Not like they are jumping the gun too much here. The full bundle is the only thing that is still a month away.
Ignatius @ Sep 14th 2008 8:56AM
Sadly, buying them all separately is a complete rip...
$60 for RB2
$90 for drums
$80 for guitar
= $230...
The Special Edition is only $190...
Kizzle @ Sep 14th 2008 8:52AM
Dammit, tell us about the strum bar
Ubiqutous Oxymoron @ Sep 14th 2008 9:24AM
Hio people,
now i know this may get flamed for trolling, but this test didn't take into account the ambient noise given off by the 360 turbine.
*gets asbestos sheeting out
Kyle Orland @ Sep 14th 2008 10:17AM
The 360 was off during these tests
Ian @ Sep 14th 2008 9:29AM
Remember that decibels are logarithmic, so 10 dB represents double the noise. The RB2 drums at medium intensity create half the perceptible sound as the RB1 set (according to the data presented).
Hidyman @ Sep 18th 2008 2:38PM
Good try. Actually, 3dB doubles the sound, not 10dB.
Ian @ Sep 18th 2008 3:29PM
Hidyman:
3db requires double the power, but does not double loudness. The "10 db doubles loudness" is a rule of thumb not conveniently found on wikipedia, but is still true. If 3 db doubles the sound, the RB2 drums at medium would be one eight (3 db = half, 6 db = quarter, 9 db = eight) as loud as the perceived loudness of the RB1 drums. This doesn't match the article's description of the sound difference:
"While the difference in loudness is definitely noticeable, the Rock Band 2 drums did still have a noticeable "thwacking" sound at this level."
If you don't believe me, cut and paste this into google:
"twice as loud" decibels
Steven @ Sep 14th 2008 9:31AM
I'm at least a little amused how youre using the microphones from Singstar to do these tests.
Sure, you got clear results but those microphones aren't exactly the best choice! What program did you use to measure the sounds, also?
Kyle Orland @ Sep 14th 2008 10:17AM
I'm glad someone noticed!
The Singstar mics are perfectly fine mics for regular use. The best ones I have, for sure.