I've seen the speaker used as a kick drum mic in recording studios. It works to emphasize the bass at the speakers resonant frequency. You definitely want to use a woofer with limited range. The less high and mid response the better. BTW the port works in a similar fashion depending on the size of the case and the hole. With a bit of speaker design math you can make it focus at a specific frequency range. Around 60 hz is popular with kick drums.
Excellent work. Nice use of the old speaker as a transducer. They have that sort of setup at a church I sometimes play at for worship service. Great sounding.
i have been waiting such a long time to find the case i want ,,,, but i did it and im going start tomorrow cant wait,,, and will definitely use some tips thanks
Yes I made one, without the port hole. Not sure if I need that yet. You can see what I did in my last video upload called: DOWN AND OUT BLUES in Oatman Arizona.
No phase issues that I'm aware of. The plugged in audio at the end doesn't really give the full effect of how huge it sounds through a PA. The two signals cover pretty different frequencies so they compliment each other nicely.
Honestly, I do a lot of technical things but I'm not technical enough to know how to explain specifically what wires to connect. I basically took an XLR cable, cut one end off and separated the three wires. I cut the ground wire off and did not use it. I plugged the one end of the XLR cable into a PA system and then touched the other ends to the part of the speaker that the wires attach to. I tapped on the speaker while holding the wires in place and when it sounded like it was picking up sound well through the PA, I soldered them in place. I also eventually tied a knot in the cable around the bracing for the speaker so there was no tension on the solder points if the cables got pulled. Sorry, I'm sure someone could explain in technical terms what I did, but hopefully that helps :-)
I think he took the three wires disconnected the ground and did not use the ground, then put positive to negative and negative to positive, that's probably how it worked.
It's a 5 or 6" speaker. Not sure of the specs. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think it matters much for this purpose, just find a small, cheap speaker from a thrift store and do some surgery :-)
So I’m a bassist who is obsessive about drum sounds and I’ve been building a jungle kit. I found a suitable case for a kick which I won’t share details about because then prices on reverb will skyrocket lol. As of now the plan is to have it all miked and mixed on the kit itself. As much as humanly possible will be mounted on the kick itself. I’ve got a couple nice snares and effect cymbal stuff going on and I’ve got a zoom h4 mounted on a boom. The goal is to have a kit that looks like a mean cartoon alley cat would play, but for it to function as an acoustic drum machine, by which I mean it’s played by a human with four limbs and sticks, but it comes out of a single stereo output into FOH or whatever. This mounted subkick method is SENDING MEEEEE. Now I just need to find a human drummer that can nail the beats I want in my life.
Hey Senor Peril. So one year later, how did it go? I'm trawling youtube DIY drum vids because I want the exact thing you described, a self contained trash-electroacoustic drum kit which functions as a human powered drum machine. Would love to see/hear your solution.
Drill a hole for the bass spurs. And get a compression fitting from the hardware store. That will slip on the spur legs. And keep it tight on the inside and out!! Goddamn I'm a genius!!
Bass Kick drum sound at start of video doesn't sound at all like recorded sounds at end of video. Best: a mic 4 feet away from the suitcase - just like your music demo was recorded by the video camera.
Yeah, the camera mic at the beginning does a pretty good job to give you an idea of the natural acoustic sound and maybe would work well on a recording, but the technique at the end is still the best way to amplify the kick drum through a PA system. I just did an outdoor show a couple days ago with it mic'ed in the sound port plus the internal "speaker-mic" and it sounded HUGE! This video demo doesn't quite capture the tone and volume of the kick through a PA unfortunately.
I've seen the speaker used as a kick drum mic in recording studios. It works to emphasize the bass at the speakers resonant frequency.
You definitely want to use a woofer with limited range. The less high and mid response the better.
BTW the port works in a similar fashion depending on the size of the case and the hole.
With a bit of speaker design math you can make it focus at a specific frequency range. Around 60 hz is popular with kick drums.
Very cool tips! Love the sub bass speaker mic
Excellent work. Nice use of the old speaker as a transducer. They have that sort of setup at a church I sometimes play at for worship service. Great sounding.
Pure genius!!!!! I want to make one of my own!!!!!
i have been waiting such a long time to find the case i want ,,,, but i did it and im going start tomorrow cant wait,,, and will definitely use some tips thanks
Zac, love this concept and video brother
thanks for the tips.
Thanks ❤nice video man.
Thanks for sharing
Coo video! I have made a few suitcase kicks myself. I have yet to do the internal speaker but might just have to!! 🤙🙌
Thanks for your very intresting video!
what a great video... ty.
gonna make my own this week... very helpfull... ill be in touch...
No need to reverse the speaker wire, but if it's out of phase with the mic, you may want to.
amazing idea bro :)
Yes I made one, without the port hole. Not sure if I need that yet. You can see what I did in my last video upload called: DOWN AND OUT BLUES in Oatman Arizona.
So sick
Killer Man 🤩🙏👍
Great video! I'm trying to put together a few suitcase drums myself and this is really helpful.
This thing really has withstood the test of time
Definitely! And will hopefully still be around for years to come :-)
Nice! Have you had any phase-issues?
No phase issues that I'm aware of. The plugged in audio at the end doesn't really give the full effect of how huge it sounds through a PA. The two signals cover pretty different frequencies so they compliment each other nicely.
Zac Fitzsimmons tx! I have heard a few... yours really rock. Tx
hi can you give some details on how to reverse wire the speaker and which pins do they connect to the XLR? thanks
Honestly, I do a lot of technical things but I'm not technical enough to know how to explain specifically what wires to connect. I basically took an XLR cable, cut one end off and separated the three wires. I cut the ground wire off and did not use it. I plugged the one end of the XLR cable into a PA system and then touched the other ends to the part of the speaker that the wires attach to. I tapped on the speaker while holding the wires in place and when it sounded like it was picking up sound well through the PA, I soldered them in place. I also eventually tied a knot in the cable around the bracing for the speaker so there was no tension on the solder points if the cables got pulled. Sorry, I'm sure someone could explain in technical terms what I did, but hopefully that helps :-)
@@ZacFitzsimmonsMusic thanks, pretty much what I had planned to do :)
I think he took the three wires disconnected the ground and did not use the ground, then put positive to negative and negative to positive, that's probably how it worked.
What kind of speaker did you use? 10" Speaker? How many ohms? Thx in advance for your answer!
It's a 5 or 6" speaker. Not sure of the specs. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think it matters much for this purpose, just find a small, cheap speaker from a thrift store and do some surgery :-)
Warwick from Wazinator Australia here. I make a suitcase kick drum pickup system. I'm wondering if I could send you one to try out? thanks
Sounds interesting! Send me details to zacfitzsimmonsmusic@gmail.com
Cool. But maybe a kick drum mic?
Sure, that would work :-)
Dont have to reverse wire it do you? Speakers are microphones naturally.
A couple people have mentioned that, you may be right.
What kind of drum is that? I know nothing of drums. Any help would be very greatly appreciated.
It's a suitcase... turned into a drum :-)
Intro song please?
Lift Your Head Weary Sinner by Crowder. Here's one of my favorite versions: ua-cam.com/video/xPpEOUVpxrM/v-deo.html
So I’m a bassist who is obsessive about drum sounds and I’ve been building a jungle kit. I found a suitable case for a kick which I won’t share details about because then prices on reverb will skyrocket lol. As of now the plan is to have it all miked and mixed on the kit itself. As much as humanly possible will be mounted on the kick itself. I’ve got a couple nice snares and effect cymbal stuff going on and I’ve got a zoom h4 mounted on a boom. The goal is to have a kit that looks like a mean cartoon alley cat would play, but for it to function as an acoustic drum machine, by which I mean it’s played by a human with four limbs and sticks, but it comes out of a single stereo output into FOH or whatever. This mounted subkick method is SENDING MEEEEE.
Now I just need to find a human drummer that can nail the beats I want in my life.
Hey Senor Peril. So one year later, how did it go? I'm trawling youtube DIY drum vids because I want the exact thing you described, a self contained trash-electroacoustic drum kit which functions as a human powered drum machine. Would love to see/hear your solution.
Drill a hole for the bass spurs. And get a compression fitting from the hardware store. That will slip on the spur legs. And keep it tight on the inside and out!! Goddamn I'm a genius!!
Bass Kick drum sound at start of video doesn't sound at all like recorded sounds at end of video. Best: a mic 4 feet away from the suitcase - just like your music demo was recorded by the video camera.
Yeah, the camera mic at the beginning does a pretty good job to give you an idea of the natural acoustic sound and maybe would work well on a recording, but the technique at the end is still the best way to amplify the kick drum through a PA system. I just did an outdoor show a couple days ago with it mic'ed in the sound port plus the internal "speaker-mic" and it sounded HUGE! This video demo doesn't quite capture the tone and volume of the kick through a PA unfortunately.