maybe it's because i just watched the great escape last night - this is a technique im kind of intrigued by, though have yet to try it: putting up a long cylindrical tunnel in front of the kick drum and placing the mic inside. i recently got my hands on a discarded cardboard cylinder about the diameter of a kick and am thinking of throwing it in front for a session.

i know some "classic rock" enginneers used this. seems like it would be nice to be able to mic the kick from as much as 4-5 ft away and not have bleed. anybody have any experience with the method?

i tried this with both a d112 and a u47fet. i recorded one take with the mics up close to the front head and then about five feet away with a tunnel. the only marked difference was the close tracks had more low end punch. when mixed in with the other drum mics the tunnel tracks sounded pretty dull. distance micing with no room sound takes all the fun out of it. maybe the material used for the tunnel would make a difference. we were using a big cardboard tube covered with blankets.

I recently saw a design of a transmission line subwoofer that used Sonotubes for the enclosure and it got me thinking that this could make a handy bass drum tunnel.

Sonotubes are heavy duty, thick, cardboard tubes available in sizes from 8" to at least 36" in diameter. They are used in the construction industry for concrete forms. They could be painted a nice flat black and then lined with foam to kill any flutter.

I think I need to find a source and try it out...plus I want to make a TL sub with some extra speakers I have lying around....

(see: http://www.passdiy.com/projects/el-pipe-o-1.htm)

Another easy way to do it is use another bass drum or two, take the haeds off, stick them in front of your bass drum in series and cover them with moving blankets. You can also foam the insides or very end if it gets to reflective in there. I can also get too dull very easily depending on the mic and position to the drum you are playing, but it is fun to play around with it.