A submarine as a recording studio


Strange recording venue no. 1

USS Cavalla
USS Cavalla

Whenever I think of submarine sounds, I immediately remember the ping of the sonar that mixers love to add to film soundtracks. But what about the pure acoustics of the submarine? Can you use a submarine as a recording studio?
The band Royal Forest have tried it, and below is a video of them performing “Everyone Who Knows You” on the USS Cavalla submarine in Galveston, TX.
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The acoustic is clearest very early on in the video when a drum is played which gives a bit of a bass rumble. Once the song has started, there is too much electronic post-production on the soundtrack to clearly hear the room acoustic of the submarine, except maybe in the drums.
An untreated room normally sounds boomy and horrible, but from what I can hear the submarines isn’t too bad. Modern recording studio design is about using absorbers to deaden the sound  and diffusers to scatter the sound.  The USS Cavalla certainly has a lots of scattering from the pipes, controls and other equipment. Absoprtion for the vocal track is provided by the bedding in the cabin.
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For Royal Forest, working in unusual places is a recurring theme, says band member Cody Ground. “It kind of shows what we’re willing to use to capture the music. I see the format changing depending on the environment.” [1] Do you know of stranger recording venues? Please comment below.
Notes
[1] http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2013/06/royal_forest_galveston_sub.php

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