recordinghacks



KickPort Review and Analysis

Monday, March 16th, 2009 | by


At the NAMM show in January 2009, I was very impressed a bass-drum EQ device called the KickPort. I shot a little shaky-cam video of a drummer named Taz Roberson tearing it up. The kick drum sounded killer.

Karma K35I bought a KickPort, and took some time to test it. My initial results were mixed — I proved that it’s doing something, but I was not convinced it was doing something I need. But my results were unsound, for at least two reasons: briefly, the KickPort imposes requirements on the resonant head that my reso head didn’t meet. Further, my early prototype KickPort appears to have been flawed in some respect, and was graciously replaced by the vendor, Future Percussion Concepts.

I’ve since done a lot more testing, and after many weeks’ delay I’m finally writing the review I wish I’d written in the first place.

Description

KickPortThe KickPort is a “tuned port” that can be installed in any bass drum head with a reinforced 5''–5.5'' port in the resonant head. It is essentially a flared plastic tube plus a clever mounting and sealing mechanism.

The flared end, which is backed by foam weatherstripping, seats against the outside of the drum’s front head. Midway down the tube is a flexible rubber ring (the only illustrative term that seems really accurate here is foreskin) that is folded back for insertion (bear with me), then flipped back up toward the head where it locks the KickPort onto the head from inside the drum.

KickPortIt can be easily installed or removed without taking the head off the drum. (Flipping the rubber lip forward requires reaching through the port and lifting the lip with a pen or screwdriver. It’s easy, and it works.)

Its construction seems to be solid. It looks like it will survive many installations — and once installed, it will probably outlast the head.

Setup

I tested the KickPort on two drums: a 22''x16'' Tama Granstar II (7 ply, 9mm birch), and a 20''x16'' Taye Studiomaple (7 ply, 5.3mm maple).

The 22'' Tama had an Aquarian Super-Kick II batter head. This is a double-ply head with a “floating” felt muffle ring attached to the back side. The resonant head was a loaner from KickPort inventor Sammi Millender: a basic white 2-ply Remo Emperor, with a reinforcement ring around the port.

The 20'' Taye had an Aquarian Super-Kick I batter head. This is a single-ply version of the Super-Kick II. The resonant head was the stock crimp-lock Dynaton head that came with the kit. It’s a single-ply head with an internal “muffle ring” of head material around the circumference.

The KickPort is picky about resonant heads. If you use a damped resonant head, such as an Aquarian Regulator or Evans EMAD (with foam ring), you’ll get no benefit from the KickPort until you change the head. The KickPort is essentially one piece of a system. The other piece is an undamped resonant head. As FPC rep Jesse Bradman told me, “the user may have to adjust his/her rig to achieve best results.”

The KickPort documentation has been made more explicit about this issue, due, I think, to my initial inability to get a good sound out of the thing:

Please note that drum heads with felt or foam muffling rings on the resonant head will take away most or all of the great qualities of the KickPort — we advise removing the felt/foam or using another head.

KickPort Test #1 — 22'' Tama Granstar II

I did my testing in a 28'x15' room. It has a cathedral ceiling that peaks 12' off the floor. The room is not treated, but it’s big enough to let the drums speak. Acoustically, the drums sound great in the room.

I set up several microphones, because I wanted to know which ones would “hear” the EQ change from the KickPort. For example, would a mic inside the drum hear whatever EQ change the KickPort is creating?

D 112Inside the drum was an AKG D112, shockmounted via the May mic-mount system.

STO-2The Avenson STO-2 is a condenser mic with remarkably flat response — within about 0.1dB of flat from below 20Hz to ~8kHz. Unlike every dedicated kick-drum mic you can name, the STO-2 is capable of hearing in glorious hi-fi every bit of EQ change the KickPort might produce, down to 20 Hz and probably even lower. I put this mic just inside the hole in the drum’s front head.

M179Outside the drum, I set up a CAD M179, a large-diaphragm condenser mic with extended low-frequency response. I set it about 16'' away from the resonant head, in Cardioid mode, pointing at the center of the resonant head.

KickPort TestI played a series of strokes on the drum, with and without the KickPort. From each group, I selected notes that were within about 2dB of one another in gain, then normalized them all individually (adding at most 1-2dB of gain). The result is a sequence of 4 notes without, and 4 notes with the KickPort, as heard by each of the three microphones.

From top to bottom, you’ll hear the D112 (internal), the STO-2 (in the port), and the M179 (external). Be aware that if you’re listening on tiny, underpowered speakers you’ll get less out of this test than you will if you listen through a playback system capable of low-frequency reproduction.
[audio:http://recordinghacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/d112_tama.mp3]
[audio:http://recordinghacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/sto2_tama.mp3]
[audio:http://recordinghacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/m179_tama.mp3]

The KickPort produces an audible change within each sample. The drum sounds less boomy with the KickPort. The sound is tighter and punchier. And the low frequencies are more pronounced.

The LF shift is most apparent in the STO-2 sample — right in the mouth of the KickPort tube.

The KickPort really does bring out the drum’s low-end thump.

KickPort Test #2 — 20'' Taye

M380For the Taye test, I set up the M179 as on the Tama. Hear it in the top clip below. I added a Beyerdynamic M-380 (bottom clip), an oddball figure-of-8 dynamic that has earned cult status as a bass cab and kickdrum mic, thanks to praise from Steve Albini.
[audio:http://recordinghacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/taye_m179.mp3]
[audio:http://recordinghacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/taye_m380.mp3]

KickPort TestThe M179 sample is especially revealing. The drum “before” has a nice punch, but a low-frequency ring that isn’t appealing. With the KickPort in place, the drum sounds slamming. The samples are at -6dB across the board, but the KickPort samples sound louder. The ringiness is gone.

A true comparison?

The above before-and-after samples are somewhat contrived, because not many drummers would play an undamped front head with no towel, foam, or pillow inside the drum. A more honest test would compare the muffled and damped drum to an empty drum with the KickPort on an undamped head. That way, the KickPort sample would have even more body and tone, in part due to the lack of internal muffling.

Nonetheless, I conducted these tests the way FPC did at NAMM: the only change from “before” to “after” was the insertion of the KickPort.

The point is that, depending on your kick drum setup, you may well hear even more dramatic changes than are suggested by the audio clips here. I started with a pretty dead kick drum, but this test has entirely changed the way I tune it.

KickPort Frequency Analysis

Jesse from FPC had told me that the KickPort causes a boost in low-frequency energy in the low 20Hz range. It does that for sure. In fact, mics that are capable of picking up lower frequencies show that the KickPort is creating another peak below 20Hz.

To see these effects, I imported single kick-drum samples into a frequency analysis tool. The plot from the STO-2 on the Tama drum illustrates the sort of change I saw in most of the mics: the peaks in the LF are shifted to lower frequencies by about half an octave. In most cases, I saw a flattening or reduction in sound in the 100Hz-500Hz range.

KickPort Frequency Response Change

It’s very interesting that the three peaks in green describe exactly 2 octaves. I didn’t see the same pattern with all the mics, but then none of the other mics have such consistent low-frequency response.

What will those big blasts of sonic energy at 12Hz and 24Hz do for you? People in the room will feel ’em, but they won’t make your record. Engineers roll those frequencies off because most playback systems can’t reproduce below 40 Hz, although with a bit of gain they’ll sure sound crackly and bad trying to.

In most cases, those low frequencies won’t make it to a PA either, simply because kick-drum mics are EQ’d to have a LF peak at 50Hz, and roll off below that — see, for example, the D6, the Beta 52, or the N/D868. (The “chart” button on those pages will show you each mic’s frequency response graph.)

But the KickPort is clearly doing more than just creating frequencies only your subwoofer can love, or else you wouldn’t have been able to hear differences in the audio clips above.

In other words, a frequency-response chart does not tell the full story. It confirms that the KickPort is altering the frequency response of the drum. The KickPort is also altering the attack and sustain of the drum. Neither of those changes would show up on this graph, but I think you’ll hear them.

Hearing the KickPort in context

What does the KickPort sound like in the context of a full drum kit, with multiple mics happening?

(coming soon)

KickPort / Resonant Head Compatibility Chart

Head Notes
Aquarian ported, 4.75'' The hole is too small, and the felt ring must be removed.
Aquarian ported, 7'' The 7'' port is too large.
Attack resonant (Ported) The 4'' port must be enlarged.
Evans Onyx Resonant With a 5'' port, this head should work fine. The “control ring” might need to be taped down if it causes noise.
Evans EQ3 With a 5'' port, this head should work fine. Remove the “EQ muffle ring.”
Evans EMAD Resonant The 5'' port will work fine. Remove the foam muffle rings.
Remo Powerstroke 3 With 5'' DynamO
Remo Ambassador (Ported) The 5.5'' port is larger than ideal, but should work fine.
Remo Emperor The 2-ply Emperor is one of the demo heads used by FPC; note that it will need a port cut and reinforncement ring installed.

Note: the above table is a work in progress; I welcome corrections and additions. The general criteria a resonant head must meet are:

  • Two-ply heads are preferred, but not necessary.
  • The port must be 5-5.5'' in diameter.
  • The port must have a reinforcement ring installed, both to prevent tear-outs and to give the KickPort something to grip.
  • No foam or felt muffling is allowed. This is critical. Heads with built-in foam or felt, such as the Aquarian resonant, must be replaced or stripped of the damping materials.
  • Perimeter rings of head material, as found on the Remo Powerstroke, are acceptable but these must occasionally be taped down to prevent rattling.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Microphones, Technique, Video | 19 Comments »




19 Responses to “KickPort Review and Analysis”

  1. walter jojo garth

    August 27th, 2009 at 2:30 pm

    just orderd one today friend told me about it at a gig. cant wait to try it.

  2. Micah Whitney

    September 19th, 2009 at 2:26 pm

    What would be the best possible reso head option? im looking at the aquarian force 2, but it seems to have a “vented” muffling ring, however, its not felt or foam. Would this head still work?

  3. matthew mcglynn

    September 19th, 2009 at 5:45 pm

    Micah, I think the Full Force heads have a perimeter ring of Mylar like the Remo Powerstroke As noted in the article, these heads should work fine, but if you hear a rattling sound it might be due to the vibrations of the ring. The KickPort documentation says that these rings can be taped down to prevent the rattle. I haven’t tried it, so your mileage may vary.

  4. BMann

    September 21st, 2009 at 8:45 pm

    just heard this tonight with crystal gayles drummer ( im a tech) and im now looking to buy one asap !!!! sounded great through a good PA ( line array)
    where can i buy one for my own kit ??

  5. CJones

    October 26th, 2009 at 10:10 am

    I am an educated musician that has been consistently looking for a better sound. I’ve had the kickport for a couple of weeks. I’ve played live gigs with it and it has improved the sound from my kick. I use an audix D6. I immediately heard a difference after applying it to the drum. I’m a naturalist in putting nothing inside to mute my drum. I am not a hard hitter and the added volume has helped me hear each note played to match the entire kit. My fellow band mates love the punch and low fundamental pitch. One thing to think about is if you play at a huge venue the sound tech behind the mixer will add the extra knotch to help live performances. Test for yourself, if the ear notices a difference without using a microphone then the instrument as a whole will either sound better or worse.

  6. louis

    November 21st, 2009 at 9:17 pm

    wheres the best place to cut the hole in your resonant head or does it matter?

  7. matthew mcglynn

    November 22nd, 2009 at 8:13 pm

    Louis, from what I’ve read, cutting a hole in the center of the reso head kills all the resonant properties of the head. If you want the drum to sound like it has two heads, cut the hole as small as possible (4 or 5 inches in diameter) and offset it near the edge of the head, so the edge of the hole is maybe 2 inches from the bearing edge.

  8. kaper

    December 22nd, 2009 at 5:42 am

    Hi, I have found that the Aquarian heads just don’t get it done. I think the only thing they are good for is on practice sets in very small rooms where you just don’t care about a big drum sound. I am looking for info on the kickport on Remo heads (maybe Evans too). Could you possibly test and post the kickport with Remo Powerstroke 3s on the batter side and a single ply Resonant head? Thanks.I choose the Remos because they last. The equivalent Evans heads lose tone and quality much faster. If I was getting free heads from Evans like the “big guys” I would use them. They sound good new but they really die young.

  9. Henrik

    January 11th, 2010 at 12:13 am

    Hi,, GREAT review!!

    Like kaper I would love: “Could you possibly test and post the kickport with Remo Powerstroke 3s on the batter side and a single ply Resonant head? ”

    I would even more love if you tested with:

    Remo PowerStroke 3 Coated on the batter side and Remo Ebony Ambassador OR Coated Ambassador on the front.

    Thanks :-).. keep up the great work! You are helping a lot of people here!

  10. Harm Megens

    February 6th, 2010 at 2:01 am

    Since a couple of days I use the Kickport with an Evans GMAD batter and a standard Tama coated Starclassic resonant head. The bassdrum is a Tama Starclassic B/B 22 inch. I don’t use any internal muffeling, like pillows, towels or blankets.
    Behind the kit there seems to be more “pressure”, I prefer to play with more pressure on the batter head. Some drummers don’t.
    In front of the bassdrum I hear a nice round tone with more sub frequenties. The attact en focus is fine. For me it works! I will try the Kickport in combination with a Remo medium Fyberskin.

  11. Paul Zahl

    March 16th, 2010 at 1:53 am

    I’ve been playing the SAME 22inch Sonor Phonic Series kick for THIRTY YEARS and it NEVER had the butt kickin’ DEEP WHOMP that it has with the K.P.The ACTION is better too….Triplets are WAY EZR because of the way the K.P. pressurizes the drum..This suckers GREAT…Anybody who disagtees is ether deaf or a keyboard player (hehehe Jesse)….If it was a chick,I’d marry it.I AM getting them for my 20 & 24……PEROID..

    Paul Zahl
    Euroland

  12. Sylvain

    November 11th, 2010 at 1:02 am

    Thanks for the much needed review. I can’t believe you can’t get those results on kickport’s website… They have a video with a couple measurements performed with an Iphone! I mean come on… I know the Iphone replaced Jesus Christ, but it is not a spectum analysing tool!

  13. Paul

    January 26th, 2011 at 7:50 am

    Hi! Matt, What a brilliant review!
    I’ve recently bought a Ddrum Dios Bubinga Kit and the Bass Drum is undrilled. I think Ddrum use Evans heads, anyway I’ve just had a Kick Port fitted and WOW what a difference in sound. It’s more punchy, more focussed, more bassy and seems’faster’ to react. I also use a Japanese wheat pillow inside the drum as a muffler and it is a good combination for me!
    Thanks again for your review.

  14. Hans Waterman

    February 20th, 2011 at 8:36 am

    Hi there – I have a problem. Untill now I am very satisfied with the Kickport. It adds a lot of desired ‘umpf’ and it gives a surplus on my bassdrum. I have 22 dw, Aquarian Super Kick I on the batter side and an Evans single resonates on the front. Also before mounting the Kickport, this was a very nice combo. One disadvantage though is a clear rattle which comes with the Kickport. Checked everything – the ring is 5″ with a supporting ring on the inside. Did anyone experience this?? If so: is there a suggestion what to do about it??…..thanx – hans waterman

  15. Steve Trovao

    December 2nd, 2012 at 9:50 pm

    I picked up a kickport a couple years ago and installed in my 22″ gretsch.
    It worked great ,but after a year or less I noticed an odd distortion or rattling type of sound each time I played the kick. I could not fix the problem and took it out. Eventually I called them and they said they had a newer model
    out they could sell me at a reduced price that would not have the same problem. I got it and installed into my new 20″ DW Performance series kick.
    It was awesome, gives great punch and subs, just what this kick needed.
    But then a few weeks back I noticed that pesky buzz again, that distorted rattling sound. I recently talked to a buddy drummer who said he had purchased the kickport and had the same problems. This is unfortunate, and appears to be a design flaw. it seems to work great for a while, but then the inside collar material must start to break down or become less flexible and the distortion sound begins.

  16. Mark

    March 21st, 2013 at 6:42 am

    The Drummer from the band I do sound for just picked up his New Pearl Premier Masters Kit. A kickport was thrown into the deal. Having never used one before I was a bit concerned about Eqing the Kick and seeing how it went.
    Well wasn’t I surprised The Kick note was phenomenal much more pronounced than the standard Boom Kick Sound I usually get more diction and just in general a tighter sound the Subs did not know what hit them,’
    Great product cannot see myself going back to not pushing other drummers to grab one.

  17. DANGERUSS

    December 16th, 2014 at 11:20 am

    I got a kickport and I love it. I can hear and feel my bass drum so much more. I get compliments all the time on my BD sound, and my band loves it too. Got one on each of my kits, and I’m not taking them off. If you don’t have one you should, because it sounds awesome.

  18. teyd

    March 6th, 2015 at 2:02 pm

    So using a kickport with hidden or internal miking, is useless. The sound or effect is only created on the outside of the kickport hole?

  19. Peter van Brucken

    September 10th, 2018 at 5:53 pm

    Hmmm, so it’s a tuned port…with no way of tuning it! So if your kick just happens to have the right dimensions for the port to work, perfect! If not….there’s nothing you can do…. 🙁 After studying for an audio engineering degree, I’ve covered quite a bit on tuned ports for sub woofers and gone into the maths for it. So I can see the merits of the device, but without being able to adjust the port length (preferably after doing some serious maths to get the right length for your kick drum) I think “results may vary” would certainly apply here!

Leave a comment