Yamaha Subkick

[Dispatched]

I saw this in a picture in modern drummer and thought it was a great idea, an acoustic subwoofer for the bass drum. Does anyone own this? Does it need to be put in front of a hole in the resonant bass drum head? What does it sound like? Any input would be appreciated.

[moe.ron]

im dying to get one of these. they really bring out the bottom end of the bass. the real low frequencies come alive.

[Tama Player]

yes definetley, i saw Tommy Aldridge use them, on his page. I wuz like, what is that?!?! ( 1 year ago) I looked it up and heard it can pick up very low bass and sounds REALLY good. ( if your looking for a bass drum that can sustain or lookin for that really low" thump" ) very nice : )

[Dispatched]

also, does it work well acoustically without any electrical micing because I like the idea of an "acoustic mic" for gigs that don't use drum mics.

[T.Underhill]

I think Bermuda Schwartz uses one, or something similar. I'd hook up with him and ask the good questions.

[moe.ron]

i also remember seeing russ miller explain it on yamaha's home page

[tracer]

I saw Russ Miller play a Subkick at Drummers for Jesus in Texas.It was amplified as was the Trio he played with.Additionally he played the Yamaha Oak Customs,which are not lacking projection in their own right.It sounded excellent,(to me),with no weird distortion or bass heavy emphasis.If I played out in a heavy electric setting,I would buy one in a heart beat.

[grahamo87]

I've owned a subkick for about 6 months now. they're just a large diaphragm mic. They sound really good, but I don't like using them as a primary mic. I like having my subkick set up to one side and an audix D6 on the inside of the kick as well. It sounds so good. There are mics just like the subkick that are better, but they are much more expensive.

[drummerchick435]

Whats the function of a subkick? I've been seeing those a lot and I've been very curious.

[comic amusement]

Whats the function of a subkick? I've been seeing those a lot and I've been very curious.

bump bump

what is the function of a subkick?

[Chonson]

The Subkick is a large diaphragm microphone (actually, an 8" speaker wired in reverse) that basically only picks up sounds at about 500Hz and below. Used with a regular kick mic (Beta 52, D112, D6), it can help fill in some additional low end, especially in the 60-120Hz range. It will also pick up some of the low end of 16 & 18 floor toms in my experience.

The Subkick is mounted in a small shell with mesh heads. It has no unique sound of it own. It won't do anything to alter or change the sound of the drums acoustically - at least not substantially in any way you'd ever hear over the volume of a kit being played.

I wouldn't use it solo on a kick, but in concert with a Beta 52, Beta 91, D112, or D6.
If you wanted something that had some marginal effect on the drum's sound in the room, you might want to look at a woofer (like what DW sells) - but as I noted elsewhere, that is primarily a microphone as well.

There are a number of sites that show how to make a DIY Subkick but the common denominator is that the output is very hot, so you need to exercise some care.

[MusiQmaN]

Here's my new SK straight from JP.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL1281/4353153/9184002/366249546.jpg

At home I do use it solo. On stage icw a mic. Its a real nice boost to the kick sound (altough my Oak kick doenst need it that mutch, it gives a good compensastion for the 20'' size)


You can also use it on other instrumetns like a Cajon, Bass stack (watch Leland Sklar with Phill Colins, FIrst Final Farewell live dvd) etc.

[keep it simple]

I picked one up at a great price last week. Shop ex demo, but mint. Anyhow, I've had a good opportunity to try it out on my band PA. It's only a small club system, with single 12" 400W subs each side. Quality's very good though. I normally use a D112 inside the kick through a 4" port for live work. This time, I tried the Subkick on the reso with the D112 externally, firing at the batter head. Not expecting too much benefit with the small PA, but wow, what a difference!

The big thing for me, is not getting bottom end through the PA, EQ can do most of that if needed, it's capturing that true bottom end without resort to EQ. Both the D112 & the Subkick were run flat. Such a lovely rich sound but with plenty of breath. Not so sure about how they perform in a recording environment, but the live benefit is certainly worth the haul. Just thought I'd share.