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[Tim Perry]

The iPhone App "EstiGig" is made for just such calculations.    When I put your data in, it gives me the following results:

327.4  People if they are aged 24 or  younger.
275.8  People if they are over age 24.

This assumes speakers are placed 2' above the listener's heads.

I'd hate to be the 2/10 of a person that puts it over the limit.

[chuck clark]

+1 - that's a strange metric.  The acoustic noise off a kick drum is frequently the quietest part of the drum kit. 

an old school "seat of the pants" field expedient metric -yes, but based in undeniable physics and measurable. The only reason the kick doesn't sound as loud as the rest of the kit is because the human ear is much less sensitive to lower frequencies. 

Admittedly there are some newer high excursion/high power handling single 18's that will "get r done". Double the excursion or double the cone area=same result.

[Jeff Bankston]

alright i just went and checked my low tuned 22" bass drums. i have wood beaters and stomped on the pedel real hard. then i pushed down on the pedal really hard and held it to the head. the head moved about 1/4". they dont move much and the higher they are tuned and the lighter they are played the less they move. i am Jeff the drummer.

[Dave Dermont]

I know its a vague question without acoustic environment info.But I'm trying to figure out roughly how many people my little 1 top 1 bottom aside band system will cover as a general rule of thumb for the venues I play(and occasionaly run sound at)befor I need to add on(either dual PA or rent/borrow stuff)
I'll be using a pair of Eaw fr159z and a pair of Eaw SB180zr.Each FR powered by its own Crown CE1000 seeing 900W@8ohm bridge mono.And each SB180z seeing 1325W each from its own Crown CE2000@8ohm bridge mono. Tops up in the air horn over my head(6ft)
Dbx 223Xl X-over,Ashly 31 band EQ between amps and mixer.

As usual, those guys posting those first few responses are giving good advice.

You have a high quality, well powered bar rig that's good for a couple hundred people.

I know a lot of bands who would be very happy with that system, and very happy playing to a couple hundred people.

I like a nice kick drum sound as much as the next guy, but I find that there is more to sound reinforcement than kick drum.

[Ivan Beaver]

but I find that there is more to sound reinforcement than kick drum.

oh NO YOU DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT.

How DARE you.  It is ALL about the kick.

Or at least many sound guys think--------------------------

Since it's Sunday-lets all bow down and worship the almighty kick drum------------

[Brad Weber]

90 dBA slow is the OSHA permissible level for 8 hour exposure.
For 15 minutes, the OSHA permissible level is 115 dB, which your speakers could do at 4 meters, (13 feet).

Being overly nit picky but this is mixing dB and dBA and how you run the low frequency levels higher could be a factor in how those compare.  In addition, OSHA is not really saying that 115dBA for 15 minutes is always allowed but rather that exposure to 115dBA for 15 minutes is equivalent to the full allowed 8 hour exposure, however because OSHA is addressing an 8 hour 'dose' or expsoure you also have to consider what happens for the rest of the 8 hour exposure and not just for a 15 minute portion of that period.  In other words, 115dBA is allowed for 15 minutes only if the exposure for the rest of the 8 hour exposure period adds nothing further to the total noise exposure.  Finally, OSHA identifies two levels of action and the numbers referenced relate to administrative or engineering controls (i.e. actively reducing the exposure), however a level 5dBA lower requires implementing a hearing monitoring program and is thus the level at which some action is required.
 
The point is really that OSHA is often misunderstood and the numbers misinterpreted such that it is generally not a good way to look at sound system levels and noise limits unless the situation involves long term exposure of employees.  As an example, I believe that OSHA allows a single momentary peak level of 140dBA so if you do not consider the dosage or exposure aspect involved one could argue that is the 'permissible' level.
 
I also differ a bit on the definition for "coverage" and take it to address the variation in level and response over the listener area rather than simply how loud at what distance.  For example, a speaker whose pattern changes significantly with frequency could exhibit good overall levels at some distance but also have poor coverage in that the response and levels may vary significantly over the listener area.

[Tim Perry]

oh NO YOU DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT.

How DARE you.  It is ALL about the kick.

Or at least many sound guys think--------------------------

Since it's Sunday-lets all bow down and worship the almighty kick drum------------

I just won a vintage SM91 on e bay... does that count?

[Jeff Bankston]

i prefer to have the snare drum a little louder then the bass drums for the drive. the hihat/ride cymbal is the time keeper. the snare drum is the drive. the bass drum is the beat. and if you listen to Michael Jackson you need to beat it !

[Ivan Beaver]

i prefer to have the snare drum a little louder then the bass drums for the drive. the hihat/ride cymbal is the time keeper. the snare drum is the drive. the bass drum is the beat. and if you listen to Michael Jackson you need to beat it !

Louder as in perceived or in actual SPL?

With both drums at the same SPL the snare will sound louder.  Hence the reason to have a lot more bass/sub energy than higher freq-our ears are less sensitive to the lower freq.

So that needs to be accounted for when designing a system (which is the whole topic of the thread).

[Jeff Bankston]

Louder as in perceived or in actual SPL?

With both drums at the same SPL the snare will sound louder.  Hence the reason to have a lot more bass/sub energy than higher freq-our ears are less sensitive to the lower freq.

So that needs to be accounted for when designing a system (which is the whole topic of the thread).

like this. Bruford is playing a ludwig supra 400 5x14 snare. my snare is a ludwig supra 400 6.5x14 and tuned lower. my bass drums are tuned a lot lower.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkGzjIq4aZI

[ProSoundWeb Community]