Tactile Transducer (Bass Shaker) Install
#1
Just drivin' Marleiya
Thread Starter
Tactile Transducer (Bass Shaker) Install
Ok, so for those of you that might have noticed, there is very little room in a truck to install subs to give you that rumble inside the cab. A really neat product I have found is the tactile transducer. For those of you who have no idea what a tactile transducer is, I'll give you a quick explanation. A speaker takes analog signal from your head unit and/or amplifier and transmit the sound through the air. In contrast, a tactile transducer takes the same types of signals and transmits them through a solid object in the form of vibration. In essence this gives you the rumble of having a sub without the high amount of noise inside and outside the cab. The model I purchased is the Aura Pro Bass Shaker. I got them from www.partsexpress.com for $45 a piece. I really like doing business with parts express not only for their prices, but they also have extremely excelent customer service. I already had an amp, so I didn't ned to worry about geting that. The only other items I needed to install the Bass Shakers were two cooling fans which I got for $8 each from RadioShack (or The Shack as they want to be called now), and some expanded metal mesh which I already had but can be purchased for probably around $15 at The Home Depot.
The install went fairly smooth once I nailed down a concrete plan. At first I wanted to take the seats completely out and weld in brackets that tied into the frame on the top in two places and each side in two places. I then got to thinking about the fact that my seatbelt is installed on my seat and that I didn't want the welds to affect the structural integrity of the seat frame for this reason. I then decided to make mounts on the wire mesh and then sandwich that between the foam inside the seat and the lumbar support.
The first step in this process was to install four 1/4 x 2" bolts on the bass shaker, then position the bass shaker on the mesh (1ft x 1ft) and weld it in place. This is what I had at this point.
Then it's time to pull the seat covering off, pull the foam away a little bit and slide the newly made (and cooled after being welded) mesh bracket. BTW, my hands are really large, it's not an optical illusion I promise.
Then I bolted down the bass shaker, and then used wire to hold the mesh in a more rigid position. I just used one piece at each corner.
Then I slide the cooling fan in on top of the bass shaker and wired it to the mesh to keep it from rattling around.
Then I used my available materials to make a makeshift fan shroud to keep the air directed towards the bass shaker and not through the seat covering. (not shown).
After that I just ran my wires for my bass shaker and cooling fan to my amp. Then I pulled the seat covering back down and clipped and tucked it back into place. If you look closely youcan tell ther's a slight bulge in the back of the seat, but other than that you'd never be able to tell there's anything in there.
A quick pic of my amp.
And now I can get a back massage on the way to and from work. I'm pushing these things at 50w RMS, 100 Peak (Their max rating) and they really deliver a great deal of force. I can barely notice when I have the sub unhooked. I think if I get some better door speakers, then I won't have a need to have subs at all and get the same effect. Just thought I'd share this with everyone.
BTW, I highly suggest getting the coling fans because these bass shakers do get pretty warm after running for awhile. I don't think they's catch on fire, but you could probably burn them up if you were't careful. Hope everyone gets some god out of this.
The install went fairly smooth once I nailed down a concrete plan. At first I wanted to take the seats completely out and weld in brackets that tied into the frame on the top in two places and each side in two places. I then got to thinking about the fact that my seatbelt is installed on my seat and that I didn't want the welds to affect the structural integrity of the seat frame for this reason. I then decided to make mounts on the wire mesh and then sandwich that between the foam inside the seat and the lumbar support.
The first step in this process was to install four 1/4 x 2" bolts on the bass shaker, then position the bass shaker on the mesh (1ft x 1ft) and weld it in place. This is what I had at this point.
Then it's time to pull the seat covering off, pull the foam away a little bit and slide the newly made (and cooled after being welded) mesh bracket. BTW, my hands are really large, it's not an optical illusion I promise.
Then I bolted down the bass shaker, and then used wire to hold the mesh in a more rigid position. I just used one piece at each corner.
Then I slide the cooling fan in on top of the bass shaker and wired it to the mesh to keep it from rattling around.
Then I used my available materials to make a makeshift fan shroud to keep the air directed towards the bass shaker and not through the seat covering. (not shown).
After that I just ran my wires for my bass shaker and cooling fan to my amp. Then I pulled the seat covering back down and clipped and tucked it back into place. If you look closely youcan tell ther's a slight bulge in the back of the seat, but other than that you'd never be able to tell there's anything in there.
A quick pic of my amp.
And now I can get a back massage on the way to and from work. I'm pushing these things at 50w RMS, 100 Peak (Their max rating) and they really deliver a great deal of force. I can barely notice when I have the sub unhooked. I think if I get some better door speakers, then I won't have a need to have subs at all and get the same effect. Just thought I'd share this with everyone.
BTW, I highly suggest getting the coling fans because these bass shakers do get pretty warm after running for awhile. I don't think they's catch on fire, but you could probably burn them up if you were't careful. Hope everyone gets some god out of this.
#5
Just drivin' Marleiya
Thread Starter
Yes. It is a rumble pack for your seat. It is realy usefull if you like to feel the bass, but either don't want to take up a tone of room (and money) in subs to feel the bass. When I had the 10 inch sub installed, it made it "feel" like I realy had a couple 12 inchers in there. I later took the sub out completely. Either way, if I cranked the music up without a sub, the bass shakers made it seem like I did have a sub in there.
#7
Mark
iTrader: (1)
looks like installing subs would be easier...
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#9
For these to work properly you want to attach them to a fixed surface, in other words bolt them to the seat frames. This way no fan is needed and maximum transfer occurs from the transducer to the seat. Mount them in foam only reduces their function by 70%. The idea behind these is to fool us that more bass is being made and they do a great job at it. Bass freaks like myself can not use the 4-12" subs anymore due to kids, so we go this route to cure our need for bass. Add in a good sub and the result is amazing!
#10
Awesome photos
Hey Gritz, digging your photos. I am a bass shaker geek and have made me own fan site for the aura so people realise how cool they are. I mostly concentrate on how you can put them under your couch or chair, but am going to write a thaaaaang on my blog about how you can put them in your car. Can I use some of your photos, giving you full and most sincere credit of course? My website is www.aurabassshaker.com. No worries if not.