do all the steam engines have the same sounds ?(chug the same) how about diesel engines do they all sound the same?
thanks ray
Ray,
Good question. No, not at all. Every steam engine model was unique and had it’s own pops and whooshes and hisses and whistles. Engines on diesels were unique, too.
On more than one occasion, I’ve noticed on vintage footage that even horns on the exact same diesel model sounded completely different from another like model. You would think they’d be the same, but they weren’t.
Ray, when picking a decoder for a particular locomotive, be sure that it comes with the correct sounds for that locomotive. Some models already come with the decoder equipped. QSI and LokSound are generally pretty good about trying to replicate authentic sounds.
Tom
Fortunately, the sound decoder manufacturers have tried to be faithful to the sounds of individual engines. My BLI Hudson, a “medium steam” 4-6-4 engine, has a much larger sound than the P2K 0-6-0 steam switcher, including the whistle and bell tones. Alco diesels sound very different from EMD diesels, and even the subtle differences between Phase I and Phase II GP-9’s can be selected. Many decoders can be further customized by adjusting the various CV’s to select different horns and bells, and the overall sound can be altered by selectively varying the volume settings for the different running sound components.
The Real life strasburg railroads 475, 31 and 90 engines have different whistle and sounds specific to thier engines. I can always pick up number 31 because it is a very big whistle on a small 0-6-0. I picked these examples because youtube have them all and you could compare.
IF these were model engines on DCC, they probably will sound alike to me unless… I recorded them live and transferred/downloaded the files to the DCC decoder that is capable of accepting re-programs.
In the mean time I use QSI and dont really tell any difference but the different models have different situations for the speakers, sound etc and not all sound is equal.
QSI has a Q1a program that you can download, install and compare the different sound files availible to you. Most useful when you are considering the purchase. It is always better to get the hobby shop to actually run the engine in front of you so you can get the idea for yourself.
thanks guyes that what i was wondering is about the sound decorders
ray