Product Review: The Kickport
By: Dross – Issue 12
Manufacturer: Kickport International
MSRP: $56.00
Average Price Online: $39.99
More KICK for your Kick!
The Kickport is another one of those products that I was introduced to at a NAMM show. The Kickport team was nice enough to give me a full demo of the product at the show, but between the hustle and bustle, loud noise, and my alcohol-induced intoxication I knew that I was going to have to put this product to the test myself at a later time.
You’ve likely seen a bass reflex enclosure, also referred to as a ported or vented speaker enclosure at some point in your life. You’ve got to love this technical language, right? I’m sure you’ve seen a speaker that has a vent hole in the front of it. No, I’m not talking about the one your little brother poked in your speaker just before he pushed your tweeters in! The speaker cabinet would just have a vent or port hole somewhere on the front of it. That vent or port is used to add more end to the speaker system by introducing you to the indirect frequencies being released from the back of the speaker. The Kickport, much in the same way, is designed to boost low-end frequencies, dampen the resonant head, and focus and compress the air as it leaves your bass drum, adding punch.
I contacted Kickport International and they were cool enough to send me a pair of their Kickports to put to the test at my recording studio here in Los Angeles. I had two clients come in just shortly after I had received the Kickports and both drummers were cool enough to let me experiment with the bass drum tone and try these Kickports out on their recordings. Both of the drummers were immediately impressed by the low-end, tight, punchy sound the Kickport added to their bass drum. I have to admit I was impressed as well. My real concern was with regard to micing the kick and what effect the Kickport would have on the recording itself.
My concern about the Kickport for recording was whether or not it would impede my micing technique, as the port is about four or five inches deep and many times I hook my bass drum mic right around the head and aim it right at the beater to try to capture a more natural click and/or attack. I found that the Kickport was pretty pleasant to work with as an audio engineer. I wish I had more time to experiment with the Kickport by trying some multiple micing techniques and so forth, but time is money. I should also state that a standard bass drum mic such as a Shure Beta 52 will easily fit inside the Kickport should you prefer to mic the kick internally as opposed to the outside of the kick. The Kickport can also be added and removed from a kick drum in about thirty seconds, so you’re good no matter what your micing tastes are as an engineer.
- It ports the kick drum in the same manner as a bass reflex speaker cabinet which boosts low frequencies.
- It adds ideal dampening directly to the resonant head which allows you to remove most if not all of the internal materials thus reclaiming all of the natural resonance and tone of your drum.
- It focuses the air as it exits the kick drum and this compression increases punch.
- It’s tunable! Due to its broadband design, The KickPort® improves the sound of bass drums sized 16” to 28.” It can be tuned up or down by adjusting the tuning of the resonant head.
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Когда "Magic the gathering русификатор"ты ударишь им Долоникуса, выкрикни его имя, и ты его убьешь.
Кабальеро, сказала она, вы, наверно, "Игры управлять поездом"приехали сюда не для того, чтобы смеяться над бедной девушкой.
Вскоре он уже смог различить ""контуры небольшой двухвесельной лодки.
Браун вжался в угол ""позади стойки и стал ждать.
Я обычно стараюсь не связываться с храмовыми собаками.
Или вы ""принимаете мое предложение и делаете то, что от вас требуется, или немедленно отдаете мне ключ!
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