First question, how big of an area will you be playing?

You might not need to mic the snare or the cymbals. The smaller gigs that I have played, where, we would have to bring our p.a., I would only mic the bass drum. Snare drums and cymbals are loud and their sound can carry. If you do not need to mic the snare/cymbals, I do not see a problem with an 18inch speaker for the bass drum. People use 15in Roland keyboard amps for their electronic kits all the time. Try it at band practice, but, start with low volumes and turn the bass down (not off) on the keyboard amp. You will need to mess with the eq a bit. One keyboard amp is far from ideal to mic a drum kit, but, I think just going with the bass drum will work.

Investing in a small personal p.a. drums, might be your best bet. But, that's more money and space in the car/van for gear.

I don't know why you'd have a problem using that amp. If it's got an 18" I would think it would be good.

I use a 26" kick, but also trigger an Alesis D4 drum module, and to amplify that I've used a cheap-but-works Behringer KX 1200 keyboard amp that has a 15", 6" and horn, and I played med clubs (100-200) people with it, not playing heavy metal loud, but to a packed dance floor. That was not a mic on my kick like you're talking about but the Alesis kick is very heavy.

I'd just try it and see if the speaker sounded healthy. The demand keyboards can make on speakers is probably more than anything else, and it is a keyboard amp. If it sounds clear then it's fine, just don't run the bass so that the sound busts up.

I appreciate your help - I originally thought that my keyboard amp would be beefy enough to handle our outdoor stuff. I just got concerned with some of the advise I was getting. Most of our outdoor performances are in a shelter or covered area and your right, my main concern was projecting the Bass Drum sound, not the snare and cymbals.

I'm glad for this drum forum, you get to talk with people who understand drummers, we're such an odd lot....

Thank You.

Yes, most drummers are very weird, but I'm not, I'm 100% normal.

Stage Band2Stage Band2Stage Band2Stage Band2Stage Band2Stage Band2

Just a follow-up: I spoke with Mike at Peavey and he said "well if you turn the amp on '10' you will probably blow the speaker, but felt that the 18" should handle my outdoor needs. I also spoke with a sound guy at Shure, (I'm getting a Shure drum mic kit and wanted some wind screens), and he felt the movement of the cone might not keep up with all the low's and mid-ranges and suggested that I could use a separate speaker just for the kick drum. I told him that I was going to try it with just the one 18" & horn keyboard amp. If I found that if that setup did not work that I would get a sub-woofer and run my kick drum through the mixer panned left and run everything else panned right. I'll keep you posted = get it!!!!

Joe Pearl