Nothing wrong with porting the kick.
I think you might like the sound better after the porting.
Just dont make it bigger than 5 or 6".
Unfortunately, we weren't really satisfied with the bass drum through the PA. We tried several mic positions, etc, but never really got a clean sound out of the PA - it tended to be muddy. I'm going to go ahead and port it.
On my old kit I used a Kelly Shue and loved the sound even with an unported reso, but I had a hole drilled in the shell for the cable. I'm not drilling these Ludwigs, so I guess porting is the best answer to get the isolation and attack that we want. Too bad, because I love the unported sound and feel.
Did you try mic'ing the batter head? That's done the trick for me; one on the reso and one on the batter.
I see you've already ported the head but just curious.
Unfortunately, we weren't really satisfied with the bass drum through the PA. We tried several mic positions, etc, but never really got a clean sound out of the PA - it tended to be muddy. I'm going to go ahead and port it.
On my old kit I used a Kelly Shue and loved the sound even with an unported reso, but I had a hole drilled in the shell for the cable. I'm not drilling these Ludwigs, so I guess porting is the best answer to get the isolation and attack that we want. Too bad, because I love the unported sound and feel.
It's ashamed that you had to port the reso because someone couldn't ascertain how to get a great sound from your bass drum otherwise. I very rarely gate snares on live gigs, it's really not needed and can cause more problems than it's worth.
Your Ludwigs are a beautiful set of drums.
Dennis
All well - all worked out OK. I kind of like BGHs suggestion, but I was worried that the cable would rub on the reso head and damage one or the other. I'm sure there is a solution.