Would a drum work as a speaker cabinet

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ericerik
ericerik Posts: 53
in DIY, Mods & Tweaks
I have two bass drum wood frames ( no drum heads) from a drum set , that I was thinking of making into speaker cabinets . Actually just woofer cabinets . They are hand crafted I believe. Beautiful Raw wood . No finish. So basically it would be a cylinder . Would this work well as a cabinet?
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,020
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    Similar has been done before

    i17azl126k2u.jpeg
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
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    No, the shell is not in any way acoustically inert (without modifications). You'd want to build baffles and multiple cross braces and somehow laminate MDF or Sono tube onto the i.d. of the shell. Then, since they will be sizeable, a ported enclosure will likely be the best fit in an isobaric configuration. That way you can still maintain the look of a real drum.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,030
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    The DCM timewindows (which were/are very fine sounding loudspeakers, BTW and IMO) were - famously - crafted from Sonotube and a coupla pieces of MDF (or similar) to achieve their distinctive footprint.

    Just sayin'.

    93fj8levs0vv.png

    (borrowed image)
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,030
    edited August 2019 Answer ✓
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    ericerik wrote: »
    WOW!! now thats pretty wild. were is the rest of the organ?? thats a audio system for a person who has everything.
    im thinking a sub... but i think i will pass on the giant tubes . also have a pair of tom toms. thinking of using those for pair full range.

    That would be Nelson Pass :)
    He's rather well known for his amplifiers and preamplifiers :) but he's also dabbled in loudspeakers during his long and storied career. He, famously, once ended up hospitalized from ozone toxicity during development of a wide-range plasma loudspeaker :( That little issue with ozone formation is why Hill Plasmatronics used helium rather than room air for their wide-range plasma loudspeakers :p
    https://www.stereophile.com/content/hill-plasmatronics-type-1-loudspeaker

    Nelson then:

    uffq9x6oslkv.png
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    Nelson now (-ish):

    evdj0m1edc0b.png

    ahem, back on topic :# ...
    Speaking of tom toms, there was a briefly fashionable fullrange driver from a Thai company called Norh (heh, that's horn spelled backwards B) ) that used some sort of hollowed out gourd style drum design ("Thai long drum", http://www.norh.com/Norh_Loudspeakers/About_Us.html) as its enclosure. I guess they're still around and still making speakers and electronics...

    http://www.norh.com/Norh_Loudspeakers/Products.html

    diqku5fzrq75.png

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  • Polkaguy58
    Polkaguy58 Posts: 352
    edited October 2019 Answer ✓
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    I think what would be a fun experiment, is to leave the top head on the drum and add a tranducer (exciter) to the underside of the head, then stick some Dynamat along the inside of the shell and cap off the back.
    I imagine that if you played around with the lug tension on the head, you could "tune" it.
    Post edited by Polkaguy58 on
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  • ericerik
    ericerik Posts: 53
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    Yes very similar. But shorter in length. Was planin on keeping the apperence of a drum . With legs on the sides etc .
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  • ericerik
    ericerik Posts: 53
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    So basically, Im not the first person to try this. And it seems fun to try. If and when I can get started I post some pics. And more advise will be needed .
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  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    edited August 2019
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    Driver selection and isobaric design will be your focus. If it's a standard 24x20 kick drum design, you'll want a larger driver to work well in that volume. First things first, work to make the shell acoustically inert, then measure for internal volume and chose a driver based on that new number.

    I'm invisioning a 4th order bandpass configuration, and using the front drone head port hole as the outlet.
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  • WLDock
    WLDock Posts: 3,073
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    ericerik wrote: »
    And more advise will be needed
    Just search google for DIY Sonotube subwoofer for help. Many projects are out there.



    2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Mirage Omni S8 sub1 | Mirage Omni S8 Sub2
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,030
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    WLDock wrote: »
    ericerik wrote: »
    And more advise will be needed
    Just search google for DIY Sonotube subwoofer for help. Many projects are out there.

    El-Pipe-O, baby :)

    http://www.firstwatt.com/pdf/art_elpipeo.pdf

    ihvelsalfpyp.png

    El-pipe-os providing the bass foundation for a small pair of full-range, single driver back-loaded horns (the Kleinhorns) at, presumably, Mr. Pass's abode.

    :)

    ws1sd6i6mmc3.png

    (ok, looks like he added some planar 'supertweeters', too...)
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  • ericerik
    ericerik Posts: 53
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    WOW!! now thats pretty wild. were is the rest of the organ?? thats a audio system for a person who has everything.
    im thinking a sub... but i think i will pass on the giant tubes . also have a pair of tom toms. thinking of using those for pair full range.
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  • WLDock
    WLDock Posts: 3,073
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    ericerik wrote: »
    . also have a pair of tom toms. thinking of using those for pair full range.

    Its interesting that you are considering turning drums into speakers as some use speakers to mic their kick drum. It can be hard to get the natural low end kick from a regular mic. Some use subkick mics, regular mics with a speakers mic, etc.


    LargeDIYKickImage.jpg

    img001961.jpg?w=691&h=&zoom=2

    FO60ME2F7YPXGTT.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&frame=1&fit=bounds

    559407d1463336154-subducer-8-subkick-style-mic-img_2220.jpg
    2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Mirage Omni S8 sub1 | Mirage Omni S8 Sub2
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,030
    edited August 2019
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    ^^^ Good, and interesting, points.

    Yeah, the trick with percussive bass is to get both the boom and the thwack.

    A famous, rather extreme example was the recording of real field artillery in the (in)famous early digital recording by Telarc of Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture (Kunzel/Cincinnati SO).

    jk8fzwl27u1f.png

    I remember reading in one of the hifi rags at the time that the recording engineers struggled to get "believable" sounding cannon. Close miking resulted in an unimaginably loud "pop" -- so they ended up mixing the output of a (relatively) near-field mic and another mic placed a good distance away from the artillery. Mixed together, these resulted in the infamously hard to track LP recording much beloved of audiophiles then and still today :)

    25o8h58ruhp7.png

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  • skrol
    skrol Posts: 3,337
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    Cool 1812 album history
    Stan

    Main 2ch:
    Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.

    HT:
    Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60

    Other stuff:
    Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601
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  • ericerik
    ericerik Posts: 53
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    i agree. that was one the things i miss from back in the day. the album cover. artwork, pics etc. all for $5.99!
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  • ericerik
    ericerik Posts: 53
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    thats some great info , thnx to "mhardy" i believe referring to nelson pass "s research of a protoplasmic tweeter in the sixties? seems a few audiophiles made good use of the psychedelics back in the day! surely there was more being inhaled other than helium.. lmao! seriously tho, thats some great stuff. i appreciate everybody input and knowledge. maybe my "motionless speaker" still has a chance.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,030
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    plasma, not protoplasm :)

    Not to lead the OP further astray -- but there are also the famous bucket subs.
    Consider this as a design concept for your drumspeakers ;)

    https://www.transcendentsound.com/bucket-sub.html

    gfuy9990f65i.png

    sddf20wa7rsq.png
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  • WLDock
    WLDock Posts: 3,073
    edited August 2019
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    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    ^^^ Good, and interesting, points.

    Yeah, the trick with percussive bass is to get both the boom and the thwack.

    A famous, rather extreme example was the recording of real field artillery in the (in)famous early digital recording by Telarc of Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture (Kunzel/Cincinnati SO).

    jk8fzwl27u1f.png

    I remember reading in one of the hifi rags at the time that the recording engineers struggled to get "believable" sounding cannon. Close miking resulted in an unimaginably loud "pop" -- so they ended up mixing the output of a (relatively) near-field mic and another mic placed a good distance away from the artillery. Mixed together, these resulted in the infamously hard to track LP recording much beloved of audiophiles then and still today :)

    25o8h58ruhp7.png

    I've played it in concerts band but the most fun was playing it in college in Mich State Univ. Spartan marching band. The bells at the end were broadcast through the stadium PA but the cannons and fireworks were blocks away done by a military unit and fireworks crew. It was boombastic! I remember the guy that carried the large bass drum aquired a large large wood head mallet just for the piece. He was hitting it so hard that he put major dents in the heads...almost busting them. Waay back in '84, my freshman year.... fun times.

    The 1812 Overture starts at 14:09 via this link - https://youtu.be/TVLlz_0bfxk?t=849

    Full pregame, halftime performance
    https://youtu.be/TVLlz_0bfxk?t=849
    2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Mirage Omni S8 sub1 | Mirage Omni S8 Sub2
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  • ericerik
    ericerik Posts: 53
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    Wow. We have a lot in comon . i too was a freshman in colloge. But in 1985! I went to small liberal arts colloge in ohio called colloge of wooster. Decent music dept consideriing.. And plenty of memories of various events . . .
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  • ericerik
    ericerik Posts: 53
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    Wow. We have a lot in comon . i too was a freshman in colloge. But in 1985! I went to small liberal arts colloge in ohio called colloge of wooster. Decent music dept consideriing.. And plenty of memories of various events . . .
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