Not that this interests me cause i already have a K3HA but it’s just to talk…
I noticed that each HB4H (or Shockers) has a lower pitch than K3 so i decided to investigate.
This is what i’ve found:
HB4H Bell Frequency: 415hz, 349hz, 311hz, 246hz
K3 Bell Frequency: 494hz, 370hz, 311hz
Assuming that shockers are tuned by bell lenght i’d say that shortening a bell should rise up it’s pitch.
This way i’d eliminate the 246hz horn (longest), then i’d keep the 311hz bell as it is, and then i’d shorten the 349hz and 415hz… this way i should get a sound very close to a K3.
Has anyone here ever tried his Shockers just removing the longest horn?
Courious to hear what it sounds like…
I have. I also made custom horns by cutting them and retuning them. You are correct to say that the the horns would have to be shortened or lengthened, to achieve the frequency you desire. Which is the the chord you want. You would have to get a un assembled horn and cut it at 1/8" intervals to get the chord you want, keep on until you get to those frequencies/chords.
Hey John,
in the video you posted it seems to me it still have a very low pitch (which i assume it is given by the longest horn.
You say that i (i’m not interested but let’s suppose i am) have to get an unassembled horn… that means i cannot disassemble a shocker horn, correct? That sucks
I liked the idea tho… Shockers are pretty loud and it’s sad to hear that low pitch…
I tuned mine as an old ***** B-5 5 chime that i had years ago and sold it. my horn is in the same tune as the original ***** 5 chime that competed with the Nathan/Airchime M-5. Same chords. Where the original is more of a brassy sound. and the HB’s have a lower tone. Here’s an old ***** B-5 vs a M-5. The first one is the M-5 the second is the B-5. If you listen closely you can hear the frequencies of your HB’s just at a different octave. If you want just disconnect the largest horn and see what that would do. By dropping that out you will be close to the frequecies to a K3. I’ll try to take a video.
all the better. same comments from friends. must been the reason why cars always stop when I want to pass and honk my horn. people start wondering where that ship is in the middle of the city. :rolleyes:
The Shockers sound a lot like a P3, which has a much deeper tone than the K3. The Shockers are still a little lower in tone, but only by about 30hz through the chord.
P3 frequency: #1 277hz (C#, middle C# out of interest…) #2 329hz (E) #4 440hz (A)
P5 extra bells: #3 392hz (G) #5 554hz (C#)
Note that if you do attempt to modify a set of Shockers that you also have to tune them. They have tuning screws in the rear of the horn that you’ll have to adjust to get it to the right note. Good luck to whoever tries!
We got my wife another smart car, and I’m giving some serious consideration to doing exactly that…but I want to add another set of the smaller Hadleys for the higher notes just like I have on my car (play my video in my sig to get an idea of what it sounds like…in person it’s pretty cool with the whole chord!). When I get the $$ together I want to check in with HB and see whether or not I can get a 240 kit minus the largest bell (and hopefully save a few bucks by leaving it out…no sense in having a stray single air horn lying around…), and with the 4-way splitter I can just run the 4th air line from it directly to the Hadleys for the high notes and not have to mess with the complication of multiple solenoids and the switching like I did for my car.
I see a lot of used shockers for sale on this board… you could buy an used one and try to resell the big horn on ebay or craiglist… or maybe on this board as well…
must been the reason why cars always stop when I want to pass and honk my horn. people start wondering where that ship is in the middle of the city. :rolleyes: