Just Ordered a Kickport

Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought one of these new fancy-shmancy doohickeys. Actually, I'm really excited to test it out on my new Ludwigs, so hopefully it'll arrive sometime this weekend. I'll let you guys know what I think as soon as I get it set up.

Anyone else get one yet? I remember a few members here were talking about trying it out, but I don't remember anything being said about whether or not they got one.

baited breath , let us know soon as you can.

I'm interested to hear about this too. hurry up and receive this.

Did you check out the review on Drummer Cafe before buying?

I'll be interested in your opinion.

Any review needs before and after recordings.

And a preemptive strike, from a speaker-builder (me): ports in speakers are designed very carefully to add about 1/3 octave (4 semitones) to the output of a given driver in a given-sized cabinet. If you look at the FR plots you see that the port basically "plays" only one note. The diameter of the opening and the depth of the tube must be calculated just right for it to work.

I wouldn't expect this gadget to work in the same way, given that it will go on bass drums of differing sizes, both diameter and depth.

Which is not to say it won't work, just that it cannot work in the same way.

BTW, the flared opening you see on some speaker ports is to reduce wind noise--we audio dweebs call it "chuffing"--that is one of the potential consequences of a ported design. Again, what it does on the kick port is open to evaluation--there's no chuffing in a ported bass drum.

good to know, dad. i might be picking your brain on a bass cab i'm buildin', if ya don't mind...

You should read Bart's review on www.drummercafe.com

It works on specific heads acoustically. So if you ROOM mic the bass drum, OK. IOW for recording not for live. If you mic from the inside, it's a waste. And if you aren't using the type of head they made it for, there is far less effect.

A port on a vibrating membrane cannot be redily compared to a port on a solid material, bass drum to speaker BOX comparision does not work.

Boomerweps

Kick vs. Speaker cab.

On the kick, the radiator is ported. Acoustic design wise, this sounds retarded.

please do before and after recordings!

Thanks

I think I did Jimmy. If I remember right, it did not get the raves we heard from NAMM reports. But, there are so many variables that must be considered. Like DTD was saying. it's basically a "one size fit all" right?

Definitely post a couple clips fron a room mic if you don't mind.

None of the legends needed one

Very interested. Be sure to share your findings

The oddest thing for me is how they personally recommend a 2 ply reso. I considered getting one to fit my Evans reso but they suggest removing all felt around the hole and if it's not going to work well with a single ply then it seems pretty limited. Please post your results, I'm still very curious.

hmmm. i have a 2 ply on my 2nd floor cuz i ran out of heads and it sounds like a moldy sandwich.

i bet because of the extra "weight"? (to support the "port-thingee," so it don't rip the front head?) have to hear it ta believe it.

Will do. I'm really hoping to get it by Saturday evening, but we'll see how fast it ships. I'll try and get some before and after audio with a room mic as well.

Interestingly though, I did watch that Drummer Cafe review, but I feel that it's just something I have to try myself. Like drumtechdad said, ports in speakers are built to certain specifications, and since I'm using a 22x14 kick, perhaps the results will differ. This review was interesting as well: http://recordinghacks.com/2009/03/16/kickport-review/

I guess we'll just have to see.

Hi Marko, your right there are many variables. It's not something I would personally use. I thought the Drummer Cafe review was informative mate.

Will do. I'm really hoping to get it by Saturday evening, but we'll see how fast it ships. I'll try and get some before and after audio with a room mic as well. Interestingly though, I did watch that Drummer Cafe review, but I feel that it's just something I have to try myself. Like drumtechdad said, ports in speakers are built to certain specifications, and since I'm using a 22x14 kick, perhaps the results will differ. This review was interesting as well: http://recordinghacks.com/2009/03/16/kickport-review/ I guess we'll just have to see.

Thanks for linking that, shnoodle. Two things. One, that FR graph is highly interesting: it reveals that the KP adds output down below 20Hz where, the reviewer rightly explains, no kick mic in the world is going to hear it, it won't make it onto your record, and it won't be heard through a PA. (Left unsaid is that it's arguable that no one would hear it in a live unmiked situation with the band playing, either.) As we look at the rest of the graph we see that there is no radical change in output--it just puts the peaks and valleys at different frequencies. In other words, the little variations don't look better, they just look different and the overall curve is essentially unchanged. That doesn't mean that you might not prefer the sound with the KP, but it does show that it's not doing anything especially interesting.

Second, on some of the "before" clips you can plainly hear the reso head flapping--like a reso that's been tuned to JAW without any damping. If I ever had a reso sound like that I wouldn't ever leave it that way. (I don't think anybody else here would, either.) I'd either tune it up a bit or place a rolled-up towel against it to take out the flapping.

The KP clearly takes out the flapping, but then it's not clear that the acoustical shape of the thing has anything to do with it; it leads me to wonder if you'd get the same effect by simply hanging the equivalent weight on the head in the same place.

I'm not trying to be a Kick Port Truther here, but neither of the reviews so far have indicated why it works or whether it is any better than a little damping on the head. Certainly there is no visible or audible peak in the FR at around 60-80Hz where it would indeed be expected to have a serious audible effect.

Meanwhile, there's no guarantee that positive results would be obtained from all bass drums.

shnoodle, if you do make recordings of before/after, be sure to include some that have a good deal of room sound, i.e., from a few feet away. If the thing can give you more low end and punch in the unmiked situation, the thing would be worth its weight in gold. As it is, with either internal mics or mic-in-the-port miking, it seems to be doing rather less than a twirl of the eq knob could do.

Full review will be up some time today/tonight. Didn't arrive until last night, and by that time, it was too late to get it all set up, etc. Don't think the neighbors would've appreciated me banging away. Just finished installing new reso and stuff. I got some audio clips as well.

Let's just say that I am pleasantly surprised with the Kickport.

Full review will be up some time today/tonight. Didn't arrive until last night, and by that time, it was too late to get it all set up, etc. Don't think the neighbors would've appreciated me banging away. Just finished installing new reso and stuff. I got some audio clips as well. Let's just say that I am pleasantly surprised with the Kickport.

just let the neighbors know the importance of your mission, I'm shure they would approve.......or not

Moved review to new thread...

Thanks for your honesty in your findings