Sound

You face a problem with physics. Propagating a level and quality of sound that is remotely realistic will be very hard from the platform of an aeg or rifle.

The quietness of the rifles only game last weekend was discussed last weekend. I would llove it if a rifle shot gave away your position because we are not meant to be silenced snipers. I was shot from behind and my comrades on either side had no idea we were being bumped from behind even though the shooter turned out to be resonably close. That allowed the enemy to pick them off one by one.

You could do like some crappy 'must be in the battle but aint got a real gat' re-enactors do.
They hold a B/F pistol along the side of their de-eact or replica. They pull the trigger on that to get a bang. Looks shit.

I would rather have quiet rifles...

I've always thought of gas to be the way forward in that respect. Unfortunately the reliability and consistency issues make gas a less suitable choice.

Until a tunable, reliable gas pressure system is invented, we will be stuck with the quietness of spring powered rifles I'm afraid.

With my 30 cal i managed to add a sound amplifier I think made by king arms although a few other brands make them.

This video shows the sound diference between one on an AEG and one with out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWj_pzPmkzI

Dont listen to the review just skip to 2:42 with it off and 3:14 with it on.

As for rifles which are GAS or Spring. If you did manage to add one the sound difference would be minimal at a guess because of the quietness of the whole operation.

I've always thought of gas to be the way forward

I find it hard to express in words just how crap I think gas guns, especially gas machine guns are in re-enacting.
The people who own them usually have no concept of how to work a machine gun or the resulting effects pulling the trigger for 10 minutes may have on your weapon.
Cough, cough, spit, fizz.....I have never heard one that sounded remotely like a real weapon being fired, and I've seen many.
That said for airsoft it might be the only answer. You will not be competing against real weapons shooting blank so the pathetic pop wont be as wince inducing.
Will airsofters be willing to lug the bottles around and compromise their load out with pipes and tubes?

You could always shout 'bang!'...

This video shows the sound diference between one on an AEG and one with out.

Wow! It made the AK go from sounding like a tinny AEG, to sounding like überwoodpecker!

I've always thought of gas to be the way forward

I find it hard to express in words just how crap I think gas guns, especially gas machine guns are in re-enacting.
The people who own them usually have no concept of how to work a machine gun or the resulting effects pulling the trigger for 10 minutes may have on your weapon.
Cough, cough, spit, fizz.....I have never heard one that sounded remotely like a real weapon being fired, and I've seen many.
That said for airsoft it might be the only answer. You will not be competing against real weapons shooting blank so the pathetic pop wont be as wince inducing.
Will airsofters be willing to lug the bottles around and compromise their load out with pipes and tubes?

Trigger discipline should be as much a part of the roleplaying/immersion factor as dressing the part, ammo restrictions etc...so during a good game should be encouraged. Granted, the sound is far from perfect, but in absence of powder it's as close as it will get.

In 25C+ temps they sound at least half decent, certainly miles better than anything spring operated.

Like I said though, the right gas system has not been invented yet. The bottles are too cumbersome and ugly and gas loaded magazines are too inconsistent. And neither is consistent enough to have similar power and sound in the wide range of temps we might experience.

i've given this a bit of thought and there is some scope for enhanced sound but nothing that can be done for most ww2 period weapons without cosmetic compromise,the exceptions being the bren,mg34 and mg42 because those three all have cone shaped muzzles where a sound amplifier could be discreetly hidden.sticking something that looks like a silencer on a ww2 rifle would in most cases look terrible.any electrical sound system would need be too bulky to fit to a rifle unless there was a switch on the gun trigger that ran to a sound system in you'r webbing ?
i cant think of a satisfying system for any rifle or smg but i would love to see a good system.maybe a small drum kit style cymbal at the cylinder head and a metal piston head but the shock load on an aeg would be hideous ,on a spring rifle it may work.

been thinking about this for a while now, and the main point of the sound is for identifying where people are, or where contact has been made.
especially as pointed out by others, getting shot or having a bb land next to you and having no idea where it came from is very frustrating. where as if the AEG, springer, gas weapon made a more realistic sound you could at least identify where they were.

i bought and stripped a cheap toy gun the other day to take a look at how the sound was produced. The equipment used was small and easy to replicate, but obviously the sound was wrong. But if you can create a toy gun sound I am presuming you can create a realistic sound with the same electronics.

im just thinking how great it would be to have the realistic sound of an mg35 or 42 firing in bursts in the distance and the crack of rifles all around you, would really help the immersion.
curious why no manufacture has produced anything yet!!!!!!!,especially as they seem fixated on "blow back" and realism in the guns they produce.

You know what? In eight years of organising and playing, I've never considered it an issue.

TBH, nowadays most of my enjoyment comes from finding ways to avoid contact altogether!

It is one of those things that I file with 'moving up with artillery exploding around you' and having 'anti tank guns take out supporting armour', i.e. nice idea in principle but in no way practical, and can in fact detract from what the game should be about, and make the experience less then it should be, if fixated on.

I agree with Steve, getting to concentrate on accomplishing something, staying alive and avoiding contact is much more fun.

The new TM recoil rifles make a wicked sound...still not like a real one! but when three or so guys are firing them, they sound great!

Agree with steve on this too. Its just not that much of a biggy for me! We ALL want the perfect system, but its not there yet (alteast not for us civies!) and airsoft ticks so many boxes, that the few issues it has a worth bearing!

TM did do a real shock VSR that had a thwack and thump to it but I dont think they make them any more;(

cheers guys, always good to get other peoples thoughts on things, i was building a tracer unit that attached inside the mag as everyone seemed to like the idea of using tracers, but wont get much of a run out due to very few night games, so on the back burner for now and will play with installing a sound system in an m4a1 which works off the trigger, should be easy, but i have no idea how to get the right sound for the right gun, so will start with getting in to work first then focus on the accuracy.

dont worry ill work on modern weapons first

i know someone who used to fire blanks from the end of the AEG/Spring rifle. It turned out this isnt on the correct side of the law so he stopped doing it.

also it trashed 3 of his guns over time.

i try to use blank fireing weapons at certain points in game to add flavor. Its in no way for people to take "hits" though some have when they were ambushed. it just adds the sound you speak off.

Ive tended to do it more at games ive help with or ran, as im helping direct the game, im not trying to get the kills, just make it flow.

At le chateu there was a fair bit of blank fire. at a non-ww2 fallout game recently , i churned through 500 rounds of blank ammo in 24 hours, but it does add a realistic sound to the game.

ONE IMPORTANT THING, (which we did at anarchy) is to give all players ear plug at the safety brief, so they can "opt out" of the bangs if they wish. (i dont think many people used them) Ear plugs WILL be given out at fuhrers escape, there will be lots of bangy things, POSSIBLY including blank weapons

been thinking about this while waiting for some parts i've ordered to come through, and while reading the "CIA" section on how ww2 came about and how the pioneers of the scene had the issue of "no WW2 games, as no players, but no players because no games" and how you have to break the cycle and just take a leap of faith.

The best thing about the whole WW2 scene is reading the posts on game types and the natural way in which the game has and is evolving and the discussions on what is and isnt acceptable, what would and wouldnt work - its very rare for any passtime, job, activity or even general circumstance of life to so openly be debated with an attitude of progression and advancement, and then watching as the game organisers take on board the comments and review what is practical and what is not. For a fast moving sport which is dominated by the main stream "modern" scene I believe the future of airsoft lays firmly in such groups as this who are willing to try new things through co-ordinated debate between players and organisers, the willingness to invest time and money in making guns which arent available - to create devices which are not off the shelf (thinking molotov here). its all very positive and progressive thinking.

so whats this guy on about, well to start with it was going to be about how nice it is to have little projects to play with during the long dark evenings,regardles of whether they worked or not, were accepted or not, but as i have typed away i've realised its turned into a "well done" and "congratulations" - its very rare for me to get so infused about something, especially as i have yet to attend a single event.

Round of applause for WW2 airsoft and especially the admins and leaders of the sport.

going for a lie down now as i have been overcome by the extreme levels of this sycophantic outburst.

[quote="Joseph Porta"
i try to use blank fireing weapons at certain points in game to add flavor. Its in no way for people to take "hits" though some have when they were ambushed. it just adds the sound you speak off.

I took my "hits" when i jumped on oddballs tank to try and take you out, and was met with a volley of shots as I was about to peer into the turret. That still has to be one of my best WW2 memories so far.