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[francesco girau]

Did anybody ever try to mic a kick with a speaker (let'say a "8") instead of a traditional mic? comments?

[Mark Funderburk]

Did anybody ever try to mic a kick with a speaker (let'say a "8") instead of a traditional mic? comments?

Yes I believe so, some refer to it as a "Sub Kick".

Here is a post on some other forum with a few pictures http://www.seventhcirclestudios.com/SCA/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=4480&sid=addb66398c800b65eef7fea05e132f00

Also https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=yamaha+sub+kick

I have never done this, so can't comment on it's effectiveness vs. a mic.

[Charlie Zureki]

Did anybody ever try to mic a kick with a speaker (let'say a "8") instead of a traditional mic? comments?

   Hello,

   When I've tried it many years ago, the problem with this kluge scenario is that it had to be  close to the drum to get a decent signal, (almost touchng) which then blocked the air port. The drummer had to have a powerful leg.    I saw too many inconvieniences and decided to use microphones instead.
   HAmmer

[John Roberts {JR}]

Did anybody ever try to mic a kick with a speaker (let'say a "8") instead of a traditional mic? comments?

This idea is old enough that there are commercial products available in the market.

Loudspeakers are similar technology to dynamic microphones, while the mass of a repurposed loudspeaker will LPF the response.

More of a recoding thing than for live sound reinforcement (IMO).

JR

[francesco girau]

Yes I believe so, some refer to it as a "Sub Kick".

Here is a post on some other forum with a few pictures http://www.seventhcirclestudios.com/SCA/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=4480&sid=addb66398c800b65eef7fea05e132f00

Also https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=yamaha+sub+kick

I have never done this, so can't comment on it's effectiveness vs. a mic.

Thanks Mark, very useful

[Ivan Beaver]

Did anybody ever try to mic a kick with a speaker (let'say a "8") instead of a traditional mic? comments?

I have only run across the Yamaha sub kick once.  I didn't have much time-and could not get a decent sound-not enough "impact/slam-what have you".  so I just threw a 57 in the kick and all was fine.

It could be that I know nothing about how you are supposed to "work it"-(and didn't have time to find out) so that could have been the problem.

You don't see many of them-maybe for a reason.

[Hayden J. Nebus]

You don't see many of them-maybe for a reason.

Because an NS10 woofer is what it is, no matter how shiny the drum shell you mount it in?

Because a mic diaphragm of that mass has the transient response of a brick in a bowl of pudding?

Or because all it does is go thunk and keep people from reading the band name on the drum head?

[Rick Earl]

As Yamaha's name for it implies, it is pretty much a low frequency only transducer.   I have built two, and use them for live shows with great results.  They are never stand alone, as I always use another mic for attack and detail.  Pretty much they get sent only to the sub and are used as an effect more than the primary sound of the drum.   The students borrow them from time to time in the studio, so far the results have been good.  If you buy one, it is a big investment for a limited application device.   I was able to build 2 for less than 1/2 the price of purchase.  If you don't regularly set up aux fed subs, I would not recommend them, they have a figure 8 pattern and unless you have some good low pass filters on your console, they can sound pretty rank on the top end from stage noise.

[Greg_Cameron]

Taylor Hawkins, drummer from the Foos, had a Sub Kick on his live kit combined with another mic when I saw them back in November. Sounded good.

[Jordan Wolf]

Did anybody ever try to mic a kick with a speaker (let'say a "8") instead of a traditional mic? comments?

I would only every utilize a subkick device in addition to a "normal" mic…more like icing on the cake as compared to the whole kit and caboodle.

As far as personal experiences go, I can only think of one: the result was certainly audible; I felt the "mic" added "depth" and "dimension" to the drum's tone without causing it to sound "flubby" or "boomy".  (Do you like my quantitative technical terms?)  The person mixing was experienced and had used the device in the past, so I'm sure that (along with the outboard and more-extensive channel EQ) helped.

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