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PlnsMstkn4Jacob
New member
Any ideas on making one of these? Does a company make them or is this a DIY kind of thing?
Farview
Well-known member
Put a chair in front of your kick drum and put a blanket over it and the front of the kick. That is your tunnel, no need to buy anything.
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mikeh
New member
I agree with Faiview a tunnel does not have to be fancy. I've seen tunnels made out of chicken wire with carpet material, out of plastic garbage cans. etc. but candidly, I've never been that convinced that it makes that much difference in sound.
One of the major companies (either Yamaha or DW???) made (still makes??) a bass drum extension to place in front of a bass drum for extra low end resonance.
The theory behind a drum tunnel is simply to allow the low frequencies to move some air before recording them (which is different then using something like a blacket to cover the kick drum for isolation).
The reality is, a decent sounding drum that is well tuned and properly mic'd should sound good - if it doesn't sound good, it makes more sense to fix that chain rather than creating yet another variable.
One of the major companies (either Yamaha or DW???) made (still makes??) a bass drum extension to place in front of a bass drum for extra low end resonance.
The theory behind a drum tunnel is simply to allow the low frequencies to move some air before recording them (which is different then using something like a blacket to cover the kick drum for isolation).
The reality is, a decent sounding drum that is well tuned and properly mic'd should sound good - if it doesn't sound good, it makes more sense to fix that chain rather than creating yet another variable.
Farview
Well-known member
mikeh said:
That's the problem with that theory, the extra shell doesn't do anything except isolate the kick. Letting the note develop before recording it is a good idea and does work, the only thing the tunnel does is isolate the mic that is in front of it. You get the same effect on the kick without the tunnel, but you get a lot of the rest of the kit in the mic. (it turns into a room mic)
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mrface2112
Well-known member
mikeh said:
well......except that if you wanted to let the low notes from a kick fully develop, b/c the wavelength on bass notes is so long you'd need at least 25ft before you got a full wavelength--even longer if you wanted the real low end where the kick lives. and i don't see anyone making 40ft (or 100ft) long kick drum tunnels.
as jason said, the primary reason for a kick drum tunnel is to keep the other drums (and cymbals in particular) out of the kick drum mics (isolate the kick). that's also largely why a blanket works--it attenuates a lot of the high end from cymbals at a sufficient enough level that you don't generally need anything more than that.
cheers,
wade
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mikeh
New member
Perhaps my original post was poorly worded - or perhaps it's a matter of semantics.
I've seen many situtations where a blanket is place over the front of a kick drum to "isolate" a mic that is close mic'ing the kick. I consider that isolation rather that a "tunnel".
I've seen other situations in which a mic is placed a few feet away from the kick and enclosed to capture some space (and yes indeed to isolate the kick from the rest of the kit and/or other instruments). I consider that a "tunnel" - but I do stand corrected, that it is also isolation. As fariview indicates this would in essence be a room mic (except the tunnel "isolates" the kick sound).
I agree that the add on shell is not designed to create a tunnel, but the extra depth it adds to the drum should allow for more low end resonance - I don't think I've ever heard one of the commercially marketed add on shells - but I did run across a kit where the drummer added a second kick shell and it did add to the low end.
I've never been one to study the theory behind sound frequencies so I don't know how many feet it takes for low end to develop (I do know it takes a lot of space) - but I have no doubt mrface is correct. That is why I indicated that I've never been able to hear any significnat advantage to drum tunnels (at least the 3' to 5' long ones I've encountered).
I've seen many situtations where a blanket is place over the front of a kick drum to "isolate" a mic that is close mic'ing the kick. I consider that isolation rather that a "tunnel".
I've seen other situations in which a mic is placed a few feet away from the kick and enclosed to capture some space (and yes indeed to isolate the kick from the rest of the kit and/or other instruments). I consider that a "tunnel" - but I do stand corrected, that it is also isolation. As fariview indicates this would in essence be a room mic (except the tunnel "isolates" the kick sound).
I agree that the add on shell is not designed to create a tunnel, but the extra depth it adds to the drum should allow for more low end resonance - I don't think I've ever heard one of the commercially marketed add on shells - but I did run across a kit where the drummer added a second kick shell and it did add to the low end.
I've never been one to study the theory behind sound frequencies so I don't know how many feet it takes for low end to develop (I do know it takes a lot of space) - but I have no doubt mrface is correct. That is why I indicated that I've never been able to hear any significnat advantage to drum tunnels (at least the 3' to 5' long ones I've encountered).
Farview
Well-known member
You only need a 1/2 wavelength to give you what you want. You also must realise that the chest thumping frequencies are around 100Hz, not 40Hz.
