So was the DW Subwoofer a passing fancy?

Have any of you heard one in person? Do they work?

I've seen drummers with them in concert and I couldn't tell any difference from a standard kick that was well tuned, mic'd and mixed.
Yup, used one for years. It is not intended to make the tone different for the drummer or the listeners in a live setting......it is made for capturing all of the available sub frequencies in the kick drum with the internal mic. Basically it's a sub catching mini bass drum/microphone all in one.
 
I remember seeing these back in the 90s. An addtional bass drum placed in front of your primary bass drum, so it would resonate along with your actual bass drum and produce more lows than you could possibly imagine wanting.

The first time I saw this in a good practical way was when Billy Ward came out using a 20x12 bass drum, but his subwoofer was a 28x8 inch monster kick. I thought it was a cool concept.

But at the same time it came from the company that also started making 23" bass drums for no apparent reason as well.

Is anyone out there still using a subwoofer? Or has it gone the way of the dinosaur as things attempted that never panned out?
Yup, still use one today. Once you get it set up the right way there is no comparison to a conventional bass drum mic set up. The sub captures way more thump,sub and low end.
 
I think we all knew it was a fad that wouldn't last long when neither Pearl nor Tama even bothered to come out with their own version.

As mentioned, it was highly impractical for the average working drummer. And the cost of essentially buying another drum that you don't even get the pleasure of hitting was lost on most people.

And the sonic benefits that came from using one, while measurable, were small compared to the cost. And once the drums are blended in with the full band, thought a PA or mixing console, I doubt most anyone could hear the real difference. So it was a lot of money and time to achieve fractional, if not negligible, improvement.
Sounds like you've never tried one.
 
The only DW guy I can think of that might still use one is Mick Fleetwood. Not DW related but AVH was the subwoofer guy in the 70s/80s.

A nice idea but totally impractical for most working drummers. A good bass drum mic is smaller and does the same thing and fits in a mic case.

The 23" bass drum don't get me started....lets make something nobody stocks heads for and was completely uneccesary in the first place, but DW overthink and/or overengineer something....who'da thunk it!
The professor wanted one........is there any other reason needed to make one?
 
I remember seeing these back in the 90s. An addtional bass drum placed in front of your primary bass drum, so it would resonate along with your actual bass drum and produce more lows than you could possibly imagine wanting.

The first time I saw this in a good practical way was when Billy Ward came out using a 20x12 bass drum, but his subwoofer was a 28x8 inch monster kick. I thought it was a cool concept.

But at the same time it came from the company that also started making 23" bass drums for no apparent reason as well.

Is anyone out there still using a subwoofer? Or has it gone the way of the dinosaur as things attempted that never panned out?
Do you remember Bo my telling the forum that it was (me) that caused DW to produce the 23" bass drum?. Would U believe me if I told U?. It wasn't Neil Peart. I'd even written Ludwig to make the drum at the same time. I'd had replies from both companies a few years befor I opened modern drummer to see the Neil's 23" bass drum full page ad.
 
Do you remember Bo my telling the forum that it was (me) that caused DW to produce the 23" bass drum?. Would U believe me if I told U?. It wasn't Neil Peart. I'd even written Ludwig to make the drum at the same time. I'd had replies from both companies a few years befor I opened modern drummer to see the Neil's 23" bass drum full page ad.
So, it WAS Peart that inspired them to make it. No offense but it makes more sense for them to make it for Peart instead of for an unknown.
 
For close miking, a Subkick seems to achieve a similar result in a smaller, more cost-effective package. Not sure about ambient miking, though, but I'd try easing up on front head mufflling first.
That's for studio, though; for live I agree that logistics alone makes it impractical.
 
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