BK Manual 8/01 - Home@The Movies
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1. section will not allow as much bending of the floor s materials between its supports hard points and would therefore exhibit less low frequency shaking than the 12 by 9 section For example a higher note on a guitar string suoneJepisuo BHBuljunop As an additional note if the wider section of this floor were shaken with the ButtKicker the narrower section would still exhibit some sympathetic and less pronounced vibrations because of its connection to the wider section of the floor Example 3 A room with a concrete slab floor lying directly on the earth This floor will be practically impossible to shake In your main listening area your favorite couch is the best option The feet at the ends of the couch are pressed and held firm against the concrete slab by its weight and are therefore unmoving hard points of the couch The horizontal length of the couch between the feet is suspended and will bend Mounting Considerations and shake but only to the degree allowed by its materials and construction As it sets the furniture may respond to midrange frequencies but not respond properly at the desired low frequencies Please see following sections for more information regarding furniture installation Floating Wood Floors The surface below you is your physical connection to your environment A suspended joist floor is an ideal mounting surface for the ButtKicker Best results are obtained by installing two2. 2 x 6 boards between two floor joists See Figure 6 Place them near the center of the room or near the seating area of the audience avoiding any supports and bracing that would not allow the floor to move Then mount the ButtKicker to the two 2 x 6 boards An alternative method is shown in Figure 7 Here a 2 x 6 or wider board is attached broadside across the bottom edge of three joists Figure 6 Figure 7 Page 10 Chairs and Couches IMPORTANT Only when properly installed will your couch or chair adequately respond to the ButtKicker with excellent low frequency reproduction and without excessive midrange vibrations Three primary reasons for shaking furniture rather than the floor are 1 It is not possible to move the floor If your floor is a concrete slab and therefore resting totally on the earth it will not move Shaking your entertainment room furniture is the next viable alternative 2 You choose not to move the floor If you live in an apartment building with neighbors below you you will want to enjoy the low frequency shaking of the ButtKicker without disturbing their privacy suoneJepisuo BHBuljunop 3 Portability Musicians have made the ButtKicker a part of their portable setups for low frequency monitoring i e bass players drummers etc A ButtKicker mounted to a small properly built platform allows the user to use many types of furniture and still maintain a broad range of low frequ
3. User s Guide Ft Kicker a Feel what you ve been missing The Guitammer Company Inc Post Office Box 82 Westerville Ohio 43086 Thank you for your purchase of the ButtKicker the most powerful musically accurate and long lasting low frequency audio driver available today This User s Guide is designed to help you install and use the ButtKicker in order to receive the most possible enjoyment If after following these instructions you are not THRILLED with the ButtKicker please contact us Call email or fax us We will do everything possible to make sure you are completely satisfied INSTALL e SHAKE e ENJOY Contents Product Description i12 decia kaa pie shi nated 1 Quick Setup i user ak ee dien ka tute ak etn ea xd ND 1 Integration into Your Sound System 8 2 POWOF kika ka w pk thar ke a kk a ak e e batan vi a a A 2 LOW End ROI Offo a asas saka k kabes anan krase 2 Source Mat erialuu indict a asua ian diria Maret tk nanan 3 Source Hookup to Amplifier esee 4 Surround Sound System uuu usul aaa sasin kas 4 Stereo Syste M sities iy Sia ok en afe e moke DI TR RUN ka 4 No Preamp Output i aka data katon a mpa nd koka panko aaa pi 4 Signal Levels icio eines aspiq onan oi cage jete Paka 5 Physical Mounting and Placement 6 Mounting Considerations esssssenmmmenete 7 eri 7 Floating Wood FIOOFS Juma enh
4. al processing is necessary to energize the ButtKicker but some circumstances may warrant extra measures Hi Pass Your kick drum signal could easily include infrasonic below the hearing range signals that are not relevant to your need and could cause excessive excursion within the ButtKicker This is not damaging but it could result in lack of control and the possible missing of complete beats These infrasonic signals are influenced by head tuning other sound sources in close proximity etc Eliminate the infrasonic signals by passing them through a Hi Pass filter siouwunJaq Gate If the signal contains a lot of garbage between beats from other picked up stage noises you may want to gate the signal Troubleshooting Missing a beat especially on the hard beats See Signal Processing Hi Pass Page 15 Thermal Protection The ButtKicker is basically an electric motor and as with any type of electric motor if it is driven too hard too much power for too long of a period it will become overheated For this reason each ButtKicker contains a thermal switch This switch will automatically disconnect the ButtKicker from the amplifier if the internal temperature of the shaker reaches a preset limit This should happen only rarely and only when the unit is overdriven In most situations the level of shake that is produced by the ButtKicker until it overheats will be far more than needed This is also r
5. d characteristics associated by your mind with the addition of another person Your brain and body have perceived this many times before whether you are consciously aware of it or not Your body also knows more about its surroundings via the sense of feel than you probably realize The field of entertainment has come great distances to capture your senses of hearing and seeing and the next major sense to capture is your sense of feeling jueuje2e d pue GBununon esyd Our bodies feel sound through both air momentary changes in air pressure and structure i e the ground or floor on which we stand The speaker system supplies the air vibrations and pressure changes we hear and feel in the air The ButtKicker Shaker when properly applied will supply the structural vibrations Mounting Considerations Mounting Considerations General The best way to understand the movement or shaking potential of any structure is to first identify areas that will NOT shake see Figure 5 3 2 B2 2 1 Figure 5 e The earth will not shake While this is not an absolutely true statement it is a very practical statement and for the purposes of this User s Guide it will be considered an absolute 1 in Figure 5 e Any hard support or structure that vertically ties a surface to earth defines a secondary hard point a point not allowed to shake by virtue of its connection to the earth For example a supporting wall c
6. elated to the flexibility and size of the surface you are endeavoring to shake However if tripped the thermal switch will automatically reset after the unit has cooled sufficiently Then the ButtKicker will resume normal operation Cooling off time can be 5 20 minutes depending on ventilation While in thermal protection mode the ButtKicker may feel quite warm to the touch but the cutoff point has been set to avoid damage Thermal Protection Warranty Warranty Guitammer Company products are warranted against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of two 2 years from date of purchase by the original end user Items returned for repair under warranty will be repaired or replaced at the sole discretion of The Guitammer Company without charge for materials or labor providing such items are returned for inspection transportation prepaid to The Guitammer Company or an authorized service center All repaired or replaced items will be returned freight collect Warranties do no apply to products that have been subjected to abuse accident modifications improper handling or installation or repairs made by anyone other than The Guitammer Company or an authorized service center The Guitammer Company shall be the final authority in the determination of all warranty service claims Page 16 Specifications Dimensions 5 375 h x 5 5 w Frequency Response 5 200 Hz Weight 11 Ibs 5 kg Nominal Impedance 4 o
7. ency fidelity and response For full low frequency response in any configuration the furniture on which you sit must be allowed to move with or without the floor The ButtKicker may be enjoyed by either installing it directly onto your furniture or by adding a properly built platform under the furniture with a forward extension for resting your feet Most furniture will not provide adequate low frequency response while resting directly on an unmoving floor Therefore some kind of cushion isolator needs to be placed between the furniture feet and the floor to isolate the furniture from the floor allowing the furniture to vibrate With some kind of rubber cushion between the furniture feet and the floor the furniture is allowed to move without the floor moving The density and shape of this cushion material are dependent on the mass of the furniture and occupants supported by the material One simple solution is to use Kinetics brand rubber isolators to isolate the furniture from the floor Page 11 Mounting Considerations Another effective alternative is to build a simple platform large enough for the furniture it will be under and the user s feet Isolate the platform from the floor with rubber isolators again we recommend Kinetics The ButtKicker may be mounted on top of the platform either under the couch or chair remove dust covers or behind the couch or chair Figure 8 Kinetics Rubber Isolator How to Determi
8. er processor This output is controlled by the volume control If a subwoofer is also a part of the sound system and connected to this signal output then a Y cable maybe needed to split the signal two ways Figure 3 C Stereo System Yes the ButtKicker also works well in a regular two channel stereo system In a two channel stereo system the low frequency signals are very seldom only on the left or right channel so a connection to either left or right channel preamp output would produce satisfying results Figure 3 B Jouijduwy 03 dnyooH e24nos c UERN piir Figure 3 No Preamp Output If no Preamp Output exists on your receiver preamp then the only available signal source would be a record output in the tape monitor section While this would supply a signal for the ButtKicker it is less useful because it is not controlled by the master volume control Source Hookup to Amplifier Predump Cup kreti 10 2 Signal Levels The amplifier you use to power the ButtKicker will require a specific input signal level from your system s control center receiver processor preamp in order to deliver full power output to the ButtKicker The level of input signal required will vary from model to model There are two standard levels prevailing today One standard level is 0 15 volt common in consumer equipment and the other is 1 5 volt more common in higher power and professional equi
9. hms inductive Power Handling 400 watts min 1500 watts max Wiring polarity Red terminal is Hot Thermal Limit internal 150 F 70 C i TrITTTITTT ITTT _ mel IH j Ta UONEWIOJUT 32e3u052 suone2uiedsg Contact Information The Guitammer Company Inc PO Box 82 Westerville OH 43086 support guitammer com Voice 888 676 2828 Fax 815 346 9532 Please visit our website www thebuttkicker com for additional technical information specifications and FAQs r ki GUITAMMER COMPANY INC Cree k MI aT smaller better more responsive Pout Office Bor OF Weilterviils Ohio 41086 i fa guilammer cam pow BA 676 EB faw B95 24 951
10. n n Rund 9 Chairs and Couches eerte ae Ene oO ata mais 10 How Many Isolators Will You Need 11 Vertical vs Horizontal um ners eremo tnm n nn 12 DIUM CNS AE A A A ON ON EY EE iS Thermal Protection aaa aaa wines baee py Eua ee appel ta iN 15 Waranty ki nat kata kx ak po kt kx a apa pr a DER cr aaa a ake A viaa EN 15 SPECIFICATIONS E 16 Contact Information u uu a usus aa 16 Product Description Quick Setup Product Description The ButtKicker utilizes a new type of patented transducer technology including a magnetic suspension system which allows the reproduction of very powerful low frequency sound Witha natural working range of 5 200Hz it is designed primarily to move structure not air and to provide a much more direct method By providing a more effective sense of feeling than that produced by the speaker system the ButtKicker allows your subwoofer and speaker system to function in their more natural audible working ranges of sound perception Quick Setup This section is for those who are more experienced with sound system installation The ButtKicker is similar to a passive 4 ohm speaker load which requires power from an audio power amplifier which in turn requires an adequate signal feed from your sound system Figure 1 Shaking forces are produced in the direction of the axis of the shaker as shown Figure 2 A positive voltage at the red terminal wire will p
11. ne How Many Isolators You Will Need Kinetics isolators come in different weight capacities All their isolators are designed to be partially compressed in application and therefore numerous models are made with varying weight specifications This specification RDA 55 RDB 120 RDB 220 RDB 375 indicates the amount of weight in Ibs that each isolator is designed to support per isolator for greatest efficiency Calculate the total weight to be carried by the isolator including platform chairs and people Divide this weight by the total number of isolator feet to be used i e a minimum of 3 a usual number of 4 more only when necessary This will give you the weight per isolator Pick the isolator model closest to your calculated weight More information on Kinetics isolators may be obtained at our website www thebuttkicker com or at Kinetics site www kineticsnoise com Page 12 Vertical vs Horizontal The ButtKicker was designed for optimal performance in the vertical orientation but will function at any angle If installed in the horizontal axis some additional internal friction will result in some distortion best characterized as similar to crossover distortion in an amplifier Some customers though have utilized the ButtKicker in the horizontal orientation with satisfactory results Movement sensation is very different in the two axis and one should have specific sensations in mind requiring horizontal m
12. o 3 dB at 10 Hz A full cut at 20 Hz and below is not acceptable because it will severely limit some of the remarkable qualities of the ButtKicker for use as a home theater shaker You should find frequency response listed among the amplifier manufacturer s specifications Wa2SAS punos JNO oui uone45equ On the other hand if you are a musician using the ButtKicker for low frequency monitoring your main interest may be in the low audible frequency information So filtering out the confusing infrasonic signals that can be generated on stage could be a very important aspect to your work Integration into Your Sound System Source Material The ButtKicker responds to a broad range of bass frequencies including those far below what we hear or way down into the feeling range of sound Today s digital sound sources are capable of carrying signals down to 5 Hz but it is the producers who determine the content of a sound track Therefore the level and range of bass contained within any given sound track will vary Even though a video may show the launch of a rocket the audio track will contain only what the producers chose to include in the audio track The ButtKicker simply responds with great fidelity to the existing low frequency content much as a speaker responds to the signal given it Source Hookup to Amplifier Surround Sound System One signal source for the ButtKicker is the Subwoofer output of your surround receiv
13. oncrete slab building foundation pier or column 2 in Figure 5 What DOES shake e Any horizontal structure suspended between two or more hard points will flex bend and shake between those hard points depending on the construction and rigidity of the suspended structure For example a wood joist floor or a couch between its legs 3 in Figure 5 Example 1 A room with a suspended joist floor measuring 12 by 14 The floor is only supported around the edges at the walls by a foundation and is capable of bending and vibrating in the area between its supported hard points This is similar to a guitar string that can vibrate between its supporting hard points at each end of the string This floor would be best shaken by a ButtKicker mounted to the floor in the center area of the room away from the dampening action of the walls Example 2 A room similar in size to the room of Example 1 but this construction is different in that the floor has additional support underneath made up of a pier or foundational wall that runs under the floor about 5 feet from one of the room s walls The floor is now supported at an additional point which effectively divides the floor into two suspended sections measuring 12 by 5 and 12 by 9 This effect would be similar to placing a finger on a guitar string holding the string against a fret This floor will vibrate in a different manner than that of Example 1 The 12 by 5
14. otion Please note horizontal orientation will not damage the ButtKicker suoneJepisuo Gununow Page 13 Drummers Drummers The following are considerations when using the ButtKicker with your kit ButtKicker Mounting When mounted directly to the throne seat the ButtKicker will of course deliver the most direct kick but some thrones seats are too small for direct mounting of the ButtKicker A small platform isolated from the floor with rubber feet can be constructed on which the ButtKicker is mounted and the throne is set The ButtKicker2 is smaller making installation easier Signal Source Kick drumhead tuning determines to a large factor what signal is sent to the ButtKicker loose vs tight low vs high etc You do not need to change your playing habits or drum tuning in order to take advantage of the ButtKicker Microphone A tap off the kick drum mic signal used by the sound system can be taken for the ButtKicker shaker system feed Pickups A popular pickup used seems to be the V drum pickup Let us know of others The pickup s position on the head is a large factor on both the level and frequency content of the output signal Mixer A pre fader auxiliary send can be used to send a signal to the ButtKicker This allows a mix of whatever drum mics you want to feel though most other drums may have little usable program content within the ButtKicker s range Page 14 Signal Processing No sign
15. pment The signal levels reaching the power amp must be able to drive the amplifier to its full power level If connecting a consumer preamp processor to a professional amplifier then a device will be needed to boost the signal level to the level necessary for the power amplifier Insufficient signal levels from the system control center will not drive the power amplifier to full output power Please refer to the user manuals of your equipment for specific operating levels Figure 4 shows a proper system level setup Please note that if your preamp has nominal output levels of 1 5 volts then no level conversion is necessary the preamp should drive the amplifier directly Loew Cone WD J in od Z ou Figure 4 Signal Levels Physical Mounting and Placement Some consideration regarding the human sense of feeling Our brain is constantly making perceptions of our surroundings indoors or outdoors size shape and material of a room etc Your brain and body have been doing this with all of your senses since the day you were born confirming and associating what it hears with what it sees feels tastes and smells You probably at some time have become aware of something or someone by seeing a shadow it cast within your view its affect on your environment rather than seeing the item itself Have you ever sensed someone enter the room without them making a sound You were unconsciously aware of a change in the room s soun
16. roduce a push by the ButtKicker toward its feet red terminal is positive It can be mounted on the topside of a surface or inverted and mounted to the bottom side of a surface Additional details are provided in the following sections Ressa PAm Am p Figure 2 Shake Figure 1 System Integration Integration into Your Sound System Power The ButtKicker is a passive load and therefore requires its own dedicated audio power amplifier Minimum required power is 400 watts We recommend 600 1000 watts depending upon your specific application The use of 12 gauge cable between the amplifier and ButtKicker is important particularly if long cable runs are required For shorter runs 16 gauge wire would be minimum 12 gauge is recommended 10 gauge wire is recommended for lengths over 25 feet Low End Roll Off When choosing a power amplifier for the ButtKicker please be aware of the low frequency response of the amplifier Many manufacturers roll off or cut frequencies below 20 Hz usually because anything below 20 Hz has been considered unusable and damaging for speaker systems Therefore amplifier manufacturers often include additional circuitry to reduce or eliminate those damaging unusable signals before they are amplified and sent to the speaker This roll off of low frequencies also called a Hi Pass Filter is not best for the ButtKicker although a shallow roll off can be tolerated i e 1 5 dB t
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