Speaker as kick mic and Ribbons on drums?

[Text_Edifice]

Hi all,

wondering if anyone can help me out with what's involved in converting a speaker to use as a kick drum mic and what the best setup is for recording with it - I've heard it's best to use a second mic to fill in the sound a little.

Also, is there any reason not to use a pair of Royer SF-1's or R-121 as a tight overhead pair on a kit? I have read this gets a great sound but am paranoid about damaging the mics.

Cheers.

Text_Edifice

[Mark Bassett]

Yamaha make the Subkick specifically for this purpose.




Read some write ups here and here and some talk here

As far as making one goes, Yamaha simply

[Martinez]

I know this wasn't your original question but,

earthworks make this device that fits betweent your mic and your everything else.

it adds about another half an octave below and sounds huge.
its only a bit thicker than the mic lead its self.

works espesialy well with their mics but works with any of your fav kick mics aswell.

if you go look up their site theres a part where you can get them to send you a free demo CD.

[mattfell]

i dunno, i've used the yamaha subkick (in conjunction with an inside mic) on a couple of sessions in my studio and i've never been overly impressed.

yes it does pick up a lot of bottom end but to my ears a mic on the outside of the kick sounds far more natural and combined with the inside mic is a winning combination.

on the royer topic, i'm thinking about getting (or at least checking out) an R-121. anyone out there had good experiences with em?

[timo]

i made a kick mic out of an earthquake 10" car sub
it was just layin around so i thought id turn it into a mic
i used it on a recording recently
i combined it with a few diff pres api, audix and i think a calrec

http://www.rdv.com.au/september/press.html

have a listen if your bored

[timo]

oh yeah and the sub kick was blended with
atm25
m88
oh and OH mic used was an sf12(wish i had something else)

[timo]

oh and i also used it in combo on the bass cab
with
u87
atm25
m88
some real rad tones
deep basssss!!!!

[Text_Edifice]

Hi all,

thanks for the comments - the yamaha sub-kick isn't really for me, part of the appeal of converting a speaker is that I've got a few lying around so I could do it for cheap and experiment (and I'm not out of pocket if I hate the sound...). Anyone know where I could get a schema for doing this (I assume it's pretty simple but would like a guide to work off)?

I'll let you know how the Royers go on drums (planning the session for early dec) - all reports I've read indicate they're a winner but as there a hire job I really didn't want to destroy them through misapplication.

Thanks for the link to the examples Timo - unfortunately I'm on a dial-up connection on my laptop at the moment but I'll check them out when I'm back on broadband.

Thanks again.

Text_Edifice

[timo]

just wire up the + & -
+ to pin 1
& - to pin 2
i think
well it worked for me
go to jay car or dick smiths or your local audio shop and grab urself an xlr get some mic cable and get crackin with your soldering iron
took me about 5 min to wack up
i got some scrap mdf and mounted the sub in it and made a nice stand so i can just plonk it where i please

[Text_Edifice]

Thanks Timo, really appreciate that!

Cheers.

Text_Edifice.