Posted by Mark on December 05, 2002 at 01:18:47:
In Reply to: Re: What Max. Hear Distance? posted by Steve Inman on December 03, 2002 at 20:04:01:
Steve'e general observations about perceived directionality are correct, especially within the bell-size limits of brass instruments. Two points to add:
(1) All brass instruments are actually omni-directional in the range of their fundamentals; it's the overtones that become directional. Conversely, any brass -even Tuba- could actually behave in a uni-directional manner if only the bells were big enough.
(2) Higher frequencies are absorbed by air itself more readily than low frequencies. That is why a thunder-clap at a distance is always heard as rumble & boom, yet at close range is heard as a "clap" like a snare rimshot.
That explains why the quintet at a distance and off-axis was tuba-prominent. On-axis would likely have been tuba-heavy as well, were it a bell-front model (good luck finding that for an F tuba!)
FWIW,
Mark Mazak