How does the "subkick" sound?

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pearldrum944

New member
I've been wondering for a while what kind of sound those subkick "mics" make on bass drums. Does anyone have a solo track of a subkick and maybe one with it mixed in with a mic (if you used one)?
 
is that the thing made by yamaha i think it was? i was kind of curious too...and how would you set something like that up? i was looking at it on sweetwater and i was completely baffled.
 
They sound pretty cool. If you listen to one soloed, you dont get the whole picture. But when you add it in with a great kick mic, or any kick mic for that matter, the results I've heard have been awesome.
You can make one yourself i know for about $30 or $40 at the most. I haven't actually done it yet, but plan on doing so very soon. From the way I understand it, you take a speaker (which is just a mic in reverse, basically), preferably something around 6 - 8" from what I've read. Then you take the wires, and solder on an XLR cable.
Now, those are just the basic instructions (VERY basic), but if you search around the forums for the word subkick, you'll find some things on it.
 
hotwatertim72 said:
You can make one yourself i know. I haven't actually done it yet, but plan on doing so very soon. From the way I understand it, you take a speaker (which is just a mic in reverse, basically), preferably something around 6 - 8" from what I've read. Then you take the wires, and solder on an XLR cable.
Now, those are just the basic instructions (VERY basic), but if you search around the forums for the word subkick, you'll find some things on it.
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I need to try that, I've seen where other have done it before, but wanted to hear it.
From what I have seen both the subkick and a bass drum mic have been put in front of the front bass drum head, one on each side.
 
by what im reading in other forum posts on this topic, a subkick alone on a bass drum doesnt sound good at all, its just good at picking up a low range sound to mix with the bass drum mic.
 
pearldrum944 said:
I need to try that, I've seen where other have done it before, but wanted to hear it.
From what I have seen both the subkick and a bass drum mic have been put in front of the front bass drum head, one on each side.
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I actually have a buddy who did this. Looks ugly as hell. But it adds a nice touch to the over all sound. It is definetely not for all styles of music though and you have to use it sparingly. I think he just went to a pawn shop and bought a 10" sub for $15 bucks and screwed it to a home made stand.
 
I've posted this before, and people are probably getting annoyed with it. I have been working on a CD, which has taken a long time due to medical complications I've been having, but while we were getting ready for pre-production we recorded some test runs of the drums. Don't mind the tempos as there are none! I was just getting drum sounds and coaxing my guitarist to adjust faders while I was playing.

This is using a sub-kick mic to enhance the low end. The subkick is mixed in at about 1/6 to 1/5 the level of the main kick mic. It just adds a little roar to it. There is no muffling in the kick except a small shop towel taped to the shell, just touching the batter head.

 
someone i know did this, in conjunction with a sm-57, and he said it was the best kick sound he'd ever heard. the kick was pretty nice though, pearl i believe, although im not sure what series.
 
pearldrum944 said:
I've been wondering for a while what kind of sound those subkick "mics" make on bass drums.
Click to expand...

the kind of sound you get when you wire a speaker to a xlr or 1/4 inch plug (+/-) and plug it into a direct box or preamp.
 
PhilGood, nice sounding kit.

I'm playing it through my reference system. Lots of bottom and thump.

What are the other mics used for the recording of the kit?
 
bgavin said:
PhilGood, nice sounding kit.

I'm playing it through my reference system. Lots of bottom and thump.

What are the other mics used for the recording of the kit?
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GLS ES-57s on toms, MXL V63s for overheads, Superlux ECO-H6A on snare, Superlux FK-2 on bass drum with the subkick.
 
notbradsohner said:
the kind of sound you get when you wire a speaker to a xlr or 1/4 inch plug (+/-) and plug it into a direct box or preamp.
Click to expand...


I don't think you even need to go that far...I saw a guy just set an old NS-10 in front of the kick, plugged in like any mic, with a 57 close to the beater for some click.

I wonder, does it need to be a pretty small speaker for the kick to get the cone moving? Or would a 12" guitar speaker work, too? Looks like I'm firing up the soldering gun tonite.... :rolleyes:
 
There are several threads regarding using a speaker as a microphone and using this for a kick has been done for a long time. The most common speaker seems to be an NS-10. I tried making a homemade subkick from an old, very cheap, guitar speaker and it was really worthless. I suspected that the problem was the speaker quality and ended up getting a good deal on a subkick. I love the subkick coupled with a D112 inside. The D112 takes care of the beater and the subkick takes care of the low end. The subkick is worthless by itself.
 
corso said:
I don't think you even need to go that far...I saw a guy just set an old NS-10 in front of the kick, plugged in like any mic, with a 57 close to the beater for some click.
Click to expand...

Here is a sound file of an NS-10 right up in front of a kick drum. I ran the output of the speaker into a DI box, then to an API 512b mic pre, straight to 2". I also recorded a Beta52 along with it and used both in the mix, but this track is just the NS-10.


I wonder, does it need to be a pretty small speaker for the kick to get the cone moving? Or would a 12" guitar speaker work, too? Looks like I'm firing up the soldering gun tonite.... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I have only used the NS-10, but I have seen pictures of people using 15" and 18" bass cabs in a similar fashion. I have not heard what that sounds like though.
 
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