SimHub and a single Buttkicker Gamer 2

[Fi22le]

I’m very excited to be receiving my BK Gamer 2 later today. I’ve downloaded SimHub, and I’m all ready to start tinkering. It will be mounted directly to an office chair.

I’m unclear as to what effects I should have the BK respond, and at what frequency.

Can anyone that has this kind of set up offer some insight as to where I should start with the SimHub outputs? I pretty much exclusively play AMS2.

Thanks!

 

[Mr Latte]

I just tried all of the files listed in this thread and none worked for me. Obviously rig setup is very crucial for this. I have the Aurora transducer directly bolted to my bucket seat (south of my bum).
Maybe you have different shakers and different mounting positions, which would largely influence settings. I tailored mine to my setup (and ACC) obviously.

For what it's worth, maybe a different take on this here for you to check out....

Most budget tactile will operate best between 40-80Hz
Some work with even smaller ranges but any effects that have most of their "sensation" falling into this frequency window will work on most rigs. This could also be from feeling the harmonics of lower frequencies. So for example a 15Hz based effect naturally generating harmonics at 30Hz /45Hz / 60Hz etc.

The problem is, a lot of people have the soundcard at 100% and then may have an amp with high volume as well.
What can work better is reducing the soundcard output (Simhub Master Volume) to 50% and then test a 40Hz tone/shift and use your amp volume as a way to balance this to get a suitable output strength.

If you have that as a basic calibration then you can increase the "Soundcard/Simhub Master Volume" to suit different sims or moods but using typically 50-60% volume and then having effects folders at 50% -100% containing individual frequency layers to whatever level suits your preferences.

Lowering the soundcard output is decreasing the input trim level into the amp (pre-amplification), then what you can do is use a folder or individual frequency volumes to bring more variation to their volume. This also means reducing some effects with 40Hz (not always boosting them) and then increasing the volume for higher frequencies 60-80Hz or more.

When you have several effects use the same frequencies it boosts the amplitude of that frequency so often people are overdriving the 40-50Hz range with multiple effects as seen in the screenshots.

 

[DrRob]

Cheers for the insight @Mr Latte . I have Simhub at ~40% and the rest is done via the Nobsound amp.
I agree that frequency range and resonances will be different from setup to setup. Hence I was not too surprised that the other setups didn't work for me. I was a bit surprised however that some of the setups had stereo or quad channels per effect as I thought the call was for a single shaker.

I did not connect the transducer directly to the chassis as I do not want to have my Rig resonate like hell. Hence I restrict the effects from the transducer to the seat. None of the effects are that pronounced that I induce vibrations from the seat to the rig. Most might have a different idea here.

Another aspect is personal preference. I have a clear imagination of how I want certain effects to feel. For example I have the slip effect as an additional indication to my wheel. It sets in softly and gets heavier when more slip occurs. Also the frequency is clearly higher ~70Hz to differentiate from road effects for example. Road effects are very low done on my setup.
Other than that I tried to be moderate with the amout of effects so that you don't get a mishmash at certain frequencies. But this is surely perceived differently by different people.

 

[Fi22le]

OK, so here's my latest config. Based on the feedback from DrRob & Mr Latte (thanks).

I've basically modified DrRob's profile to include rumble (can't live without that!), and a heavier gear change. I'm really happy with this.

 

[Mr Latte]

A very generous member on the forums I have been helping, who has ordered a large BK Concert and NX3000D amp is very kindly going to send me his BK2 amp. I have a BK2 unit here already so with that, I will be able to test/tune effects I am creating to work well on this unit.

I am going through a new range of effects that are based on many months/trials for the different types of effects we use.
Taking in things I liked from different variations made over time.

I will try this DrRob/Fi22le combo above

 

[Mr Latte]

Cheers for the insight @Mr Latte . I have Simhub at ~40% and the rest is done via the Nobsound amp.
I agree that frequency range and resonances will be different from setup to setup. Hence I was not too surprised that the other setups didn't work for me. I was a bit surprised however that some of the setups had stereo or quad channels per effect as I thought the call was for a single shaker.

I did not connect the transducer directly to the chassis as I do not want to have my Rig resonate like hell. Hence I restrict the effects from the transducer to the seat. None of the effects are that pronounced that I induce vibrations from the seat to the rig. Most might have a different idea here.

Another aspect is personal preference. I have a clear imagination of how I want certain effects to feel. For example I have the slip effect as an additional indication to my wheel. It sets in softly and gets heavier when more slip occurs. Also the frequency is clearly higher ~70Hz to differentiate from road effects for example. Road effects are very low done on my setup.
Other than that I tried to be moderate with the amout of effects so that you don't get a mishmash at certain frequencies. But this is surely perceived differently by different people.

To seat and to Pedal region installs are best but yeah having isolation under these to make them what we term "decoupled platforms" will improve the tactile feel by keeping it better contained, this reduces the energy that gets wasted, requires less amp volume, has no delay. Its all benefits compared to a rig with 4 units installed in corners of a main rig frame.

One method is clearly better than the other.

About effects yes, indeed people's interpretation is an interesting element and sometimes its nice to find an approach or feel someone went for to represent a specific effect. I see people fall into two camps, those that are more interested in higher quality engine/rpm and shift feel and those that are more into basic rpm/shifts but want more for a feel of the cars handling with wheelslip/brake lock etc.

I will look over what you guys have so far.

 

[Fi22le]

A very generous member on the forums I have been helping, who has ordered a large BK Concert and NX3000D amp is very kindly going to send me his BK2 amp. I have a BK2 unit here already so with that, I will be able to test/tune effects I am creating to work well on this unit.

I am going through a new range of effects that are based on many months/trials for the different types of effects we use.
Taking in things I liked from different variations made over time.

I will try this DrRob/Fi22le combo above

I’d love to see (feel!) what you come up with. Thanks.

 

[Mr Latte]

I’d love to see (feel!) what you come up with. Thanks.

I can do a quick arrangement based on a large BK Concert
I'm going through the effects on the above profile now.

 

[Fi22le]

Much appreciated

 

[Mr Latte]

I will make up a selection from some older sets I have.
These effects you guys have here, are quite aggressive and with little range or variation.

 

[Mr Latte]

So today I spent some time on these effects.
I will create a new thread for people to discuss these and it focused with the BK Gamer units in mind but these should work well on most units.

The reason for a new thread is that it can take into account people also using more than one unit as we can quickly begin to get limited with what a single unit can achieve and I think we have several forum members that have more than one BK Gamer 2 installed.

 

[DrRob]

I will make up a selection from some older sets I have.
These effects you guys have here, are quite aggressive and with little range or variation.

I have to admit that I didn't invest tons of time in the setup. The priority was to
a.) support the immersion of the SimuCube and the Logi DTS Headset
b.) give some slip indication

For now I was too lazy tbh and trained my driving skill in the sparse time I have for the hobby.
My idea of slip was quickly slashed together in a 5min effort. Unfortunately I do not have 4 corners as it would really make sense. From time to time I fiddle a bit with the sliders but a lot of trial and error as I only ahve a basic understanding of the topic.
I appreciate any input from your side @Mr Latte !

 

[Mr Latte]

I was going to place the effects here but know that some people have more than one BK unit and I am 100% certain that owners of all types of transducers will try these shared profiles. So what I want to do is as its been needed for a long time is a thread that is specifically only for owners/users of the BK Gamer 2 and make it clear that discussion is to be kept to that unit and Simhub.

Some people may own multiple units and then things get a bit more complexed as to what effects or how they can be output to different channels or can come into the users configuration.

 

[Fi22le]

I was going to place the effects here but know that some people have more than one BK unit and I am 100% certain that owners of all types of transducers will try these shared profiles. So what I want to do is as its been needed for a long time is a thread that is specifically only for owners/users of the BK Gamer 2 and make it clear that discussion is to be kept to that unit and Simhub.

Some people may own multiple units and then things get a bit more complexed as to what effects or how they can be output to different channels or can come into the users configuration.

Really, this is great, thanks.

 

[Mr Latte]

I just hope it helps to get people sharing files.
Thread is now up.

 

[Robert Bachmayer]

This is just the bump in thread I was hoping for, good stuff.

 

[ISantus]

I just hope it helps to get people sharing files.
Thread is now up.

Is there a link to the new thread? I am really struggling getting my Buttkicker Gamer2 properly setup without the rattles...

 

[2020 Supraman]

HOLY Shamolee - The Long Requested / Buttkicker Gamer 2 / Simhub Tactile Effects Thread

I've been asked for a long time to do a thread on one of the most popular ever tactile transducers. To this day the Buttkicker Gamer 2 is one of the most considered entry-level packages. The CURSE OF TACTILE: As tactile becomes a REAL headache of a topic. First off, I'm going to simply...

www.racedepartment.com

 

[ISantus]

HOLY Shamolee - The Long Requested / Buttkicker Gamer 2 / Simhub Tactile Effects Thread

I've been asked for a long time to do a thread on one of the most popular ever tactile transducers. To this day the Buttkicker Gamer 2 is one of the most considered entry-level packages. The CURSE OF TACTILE: As tactile becomes a REAL headache of a topic. First off, I'm going to simply...

www.racedepartment.com

Thank you. I found it just after posting this... My bad. I think that I have something set up wrong between the PC soundcard settings, Simhub settings, and the amp for BKGR2. Something is causing clipping at a massive level before it even gets to the amp. Thanks for your reply

 

[Glaniu]

Hi
how to upload profiles? Simhub cannot see txt files

Sorry

I would like to get the effect of just shifting gears, but even if I have other effects turned off, besides shifting gears, other appear

 

[Robert Bachmayer]

Hmm seems strange, you have it hooked up to use raw game data not audio only via audio cabling?