Am I the only one here that hated the Kick Port?

I'm not really a fan of them either.

I purchased a used kit a while back that had one on it. It came off rather quickly. I prefer a full reso head anyway.

This thing always seemed to me to be an answer to a question that no one asked.
 
I like it because it keeps the bass drum hole nice and intact. How many heads have I had damaged by a soundguy who either puts the mic inside the drum then someone steps on the cord and it just slices the port open down to the edge.... or the mic contacts the edge of the hole and rips it. This solves that problem

I've not done any waveform research on it but I like my KickPorts, and all of my drums have them. It's like a hood ornament. :D
 
What a lot of mugs we are. I include myself here.

Kick port works but only on certain bass drums with certain limited head choices/tensions. I run a Yamaha MCAN 22" with fiber skin reso with ps3 both at mid tension and a small piece of high density foam touching the batter. The KP really did nothing, I've now used it as an outside drain pipe connection ( it's really good for this purpose).
 
I had on on my 18" hipgig bass and it looked good and made a bit of a difference in low end. In my 20" it buzzed a bit. The reso head is an Evans
 
All I can say is that I bought it for looks and it killed the the tone and volume of my bass. My bass is 22x18 acrylic. I've tried it with an Emad and pinstripe batter heads and emperor, ambassador, and PS3 reso heads. It's so heavy, it greatly limits the movement of a reso head.

For my tastes, I like a big open bass drum sound with a lot of volume. I'm guessing that guys that tend to like a lot of attack and muffling, it would work for them.
 
For my tastes, I like a big open bass drum sound with a lot of volume. I'm guessing that guys that tend to like a lot of attack and muffling, it would work for them.

I don't use any internal muffling in my bass. it really booms with the kickport and is very loud. ( im sure it would without it as well). it may have a lot to do with the drum. Mine is a 3-ply Maple Ludwig shell.
 
I guess I like the KickPort for the reason that I can hear it better in the driver's seat. I did an experiment with and without and from the front , (3 meters away/ 10 feet), I didn't notice much difference. But from the driver's seat I can hear it much better with the KP. And for me that's a big thing as I tend to not get any in the fallback as the bass is miced only for front of house.

And I agree with Bill about the ability to save the reso head. I have had so many rip on me that this thing is a money saver. I do like an unported reso, but for all the gigs I do it just is too much of a issue to explain to every sound guy what to do. Ease. baby, ease....and it looks cool IMO.
 
I just got an Evans ported reso and a used kickport to try it out. I just didn't want to cut a hole on my logo head.

It does make a difference in sound, but the turn down was when I asked my daughter to get behind the kick and give it a try while I was listening in front.... The KP is buzzing so baaaddddd i was so disappointed! I don't see how I could put a mic thought this buzzing thing!!

I Will definitely get rid of it.

For those who are wondering, it was on a 22"x18" Ludwig Keystone.
 
I had Kickports on two of by bass drums. I liked the way they sounded, I thought they made a big difference. I ended up taking them off because they were buzzing and rattling too much. A sound guy at a county fair thought his mic was distorting.
 
They look like hell. Just my two cents which is worth about one cent.
 
Have them on both my kits (Pearl MLX & Yamaha RC). Think they are great & they will stay :)
On the other hand though I did buy one of the little snare EFX Ports & put to in a new Evans Genera. This, I can't get to grips with as you can't tune the head properly with it in. Quickly removed.
 
No kickport but for anyone who says the kickport wasn't there cup of tea, I highly, highly suggest trying a ported Aquarian Regulator. Also note that you need to tighten that thing up more than you would on non-aquarian resonant bass drum head.
 
For those who are wondering, it was on a 22"x18" Ludwig Keystone.

An 18" deep kick doesn't deliver enough low end for you?? :)
 
Just looking at them I don't like them. I like a larger port in my head for the music I've been playing, and it still has some good resonance. Plus easy access for muffling changes for Mic or unmiced playing.
I can see how it would be off balanced and would apply tension to the head. I just stick with bass drum o's or basic reinforcement templates.
 
No kickport but for anyone who says the kickport wasn't there cup of tea, I highly, highly suggest trying a ported Aquarian Regulator. Also note that you need to tighten that thing up more than you would on non-aquarian resonant bass drum head.


Word.........Have had this combo on my last two kits. Super Kick II/Aquarian Regulator. BOOM done !!
 
Completely agree with you Jon. Absurdity is an accurate term here. If you want to kill head sustain on a tom, then they're just fine. They shouldn't affect shell resonance though, but TBH, I'm not even sure of that.

My thoughts - if you port & muffle anyhow, then Kickport in a bass drum reso may be a valid muffling form choice for you.

Exactly. Muffle that all the Kickport is - adding a lot of weight to the front head.
 
I don't like the way they look, way too bulky for me. I've never had any trouble getting enough low end from my kick drum anyway.
 
Word.........Have had this combo on my last two kits. Super Kick II/Aquarian Regulator. BOOM done !!

Yeah someone made a post last week or the week before about that combo killing the tone of the drum or something. To me it is the absolute best combo heads for a bass drum. I always let people know if you run that combo that regulator head needs to be way tighter than slightly above wrinkle.
 
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