[Steve[_3_]]

Hi all;

I was originally looking at getting a Yamaha Subkick, but have seen plans
and articles that lead me to believe I can build one myself (I can solder,
etc. etc.) using a speaker and an old drum shell or enclosure. I have a few
audio questions:

1. What type of woofer should I be looking to buy? Paper, Poly cone?
Rubber, cloth, etc surround? What "style" cone? Flat? One piece rounded
(no dust cap), Normal style? Does this matter? How do these factors effect
the sound?
2. What size should I get and how will it effect the sound? Most of the
articles point to using a 6" or 8" woofer. Does it matter that much?
3. Should the back of the enclosure be open or closed? Does this mattter?
4. How should it be wired? I have seen people wiring them + and - to XLR
then into a mic preamp. Is this the best way or shoud it go reversed into a
DI box first?
5. Would I be wasting money on buying a really high end woofer (like a
Fostex) to something "made in China" at the local electronic shop?

Thanks in advance;
Steve

[Scott Dorsey]

In article , Steve wrote:
I was originally looking at getting a Yamaha Subkick, but have seen plans
and articles that lead me to believe I can build one myself (I can solder,
etc. etc.) using a speaker and an old drum shell or enclosure. I have a few
audio questions:

1. What type of woofer should I be looking to buy? Paper, Poly cone?
Rubber, cloth, etc surround? What "style" cone? Flat? One piece rounded
(no dust cap), Normal style? Does this matter? How do these factors effect
the sound?

Buy the cheapest drivers you can. If you buy a small driver, you will get
lots of breakup and distortion, and a nice kick drum sound that comes across
on small speakers. If you buy a large driver with a low Fs, you will get
lots of low end fundamental without a lot of high end stuff, which will
add some depth to a kick sound.

2. What size should I get and how will it effect the sound? Most of the
articles point to using a 6" or 8" woofer. Does it matter that much?

I like using a 4" 45-ohm driver, personally.

3. Should the back of the enclosure be open or closed? Does this mattter?

It does. If you enclose it, the resonant frequency goes up. If you put it
in a larger box, it goes down, in a smaller box, it goes up. Start with a
coffee can and work from there.

4. How should it be wired? I have seen people wiring them + and - to XLR
then into a mic preamp. Is this the best way or shoud it go reversed into a
DI box first?

Just run it into an XLR connector. If you run it unloaded, it will flap
around a lot. If you want a more controlled bass sound, solder a 10 ohm
1 watt resistor across the terminals so the speaker sees a load.

5. Would I be wasting money on buying a really high end woofer (like a
Fostex) to something "made in China" at the local electronic shop?

Don't pay money, ask your local recone shop for some of the crap that they
would otherwise be throwing away. There are plenty of consumer speakers
out there with blown tweeters that aren't worth repairing... pick a driver
out of one of those.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Steve[_3_]]

Scott;

Thanks!!! I have a few options laying around in the basement I can try. If
they don't give me tyhe sound I want I will visit the local shop.

Cheers;
Steve

"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message
...
In article , Steve
wrote:
I was originally looking at getting a Yamaha Subkick, but have seen plans
and articles that lead me to believe I can build one myself (I can solder,
etc. etc.) using a speaker and an old drum shell or enclosure. I have a
few
audio questions:

1. What type of woofer should I be looking to buy? Paper, Poly cone?
Rubber, cloth, etc surround? What "style" cone? Flat? One piece rounded
(no dust cap), Normal style? Does this matter? How do these factors
effect
the sound?

Buy the cheapest drivers you can. If you buy a small driver, you will get
lots of breakup and distortion, and a nice kick drum sound that comes
across
on small speakers. If you buy a large driver with a low Fs, you will get
lots of low end fundamental without a lot of high end stuff, which will
add some depth to a kick sound.

2. What size should I get and how will it effect the sound? Most of the
articles point to using a 6" or 8" woofer. Does it matter that much?

I like using a 4" 45-ohm driver, personally.

3. Should the back of the enclosure be open or closed? Does this
mattter?

It does. If you enclose it, the resonant frequency goes up. If you put
it
in a larger box, it goes down, in a smaller box, it goes up. Start with a
coffee can and work from there.

4. How should it be wired? I have seen people wiring them + and - to XLR
then into a mic preamp. Is this the best way or shoud it go reversed into
a
DI box first?

Just run it into an XLR connector. If you run it unloaded, it will flap
around a lot. If you want a more controlled bass sound, solder a 10 ohm
1 watt resistor across the terminals so the speaker sees a load.

5. Would I be wasting money on buying a really high end woofer (like a
Fostex) to something "made in China" at the local electronic shop?

Don't pay money, ask your local recone shop for some of the crap that they
would otherwise be throwing away. There are plenty of consumer speakers
out there with blown tweeters that aren't worth repairing... pick a driver
out of one of those.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Scott Dorsey]

In article , Steve wrote:

Thanks!!! I have a few options laying around in the basement I can try. If
they don't give me tyhe sound I want I will visit the local shop.

What is the sound you want?

Traditionally, I think of this as a thing that people do using a small
speaker, in order to get a nice grubby kick drum sound with lots of
midrange harmonics so it comes across sounding good on a transistor radio
speaker.

Some folks also are using larger speakers, in order to get deep fundamental
sound they can mix in and make the kick sound deeper on large speakers.

Different tools for different jobs, so try both.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Steve[_3_]]

My current kick options are a D112 and an RE20. Happy with the 112, rather
reserve the RE20 for male vox.... Just preparing for the kid who comes in
and says "got anything better"? Then we add (a little of the) the kick drum
woofer....

Then they say "wow that mic is AWESOME!!! What is it???
Cheers;
Steve

"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message
...
In article , Steve
wrote:

Thanks!!! I have a few options laying around in the basement I can try.
If
they don't give me tyhe sound I want I will visit the local shop.

What is the sound you want?

Traditionally, I think of this as a thing that people do using a small
speaker, in order to get a nice grubby kick drum sound with lots of
midrange harmonics so it comes across sounding good on a transistor radio
speaker.

Some folks also are using larger speakers, in order to get deep
fundamental
sound they can mix in and make the kick sound deeper on large speakers.

Different tools for different jobs, so try both.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."