Anyone tried a Buttkicker ?

jacove · #1 05-06-2008, 11:38 AM

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has tried the Buttkicker with IEM. I'm thinking about getting one of these for small shows as a way to feel the bass a little more...but does these work or is it just something that looks like it works in theory....

amos · #2 05-09-2008, 02:56 AM

There's a couple folks on this forum who rock a buttkicker, I've heard they work great for keeping stage volume low. You can use one w/ IEMs or a rig or both. It also works standing or sitting which is cool.

JMX · #3 05-09-2008, 03:09 AM

I tried this one and fell in love - it's pricey though (@ 500 €).

http://www.tec-amp.com/index.php?id=121

Over at www.bassic.ch some people built their own model with good results.

http://www.bassic.ch/forum/topic.asp...pleasure,board

Dave Muscato · #4 05-13-2008, 03:22 AM

I use a Buttkicker Concert and Buttkicker Platform for recording. I hook it up to a mic on the kick drum and power it with one channel of a Crown K2. It's so great for locking with the drummer. You just stand on it and it feels like you're standing on the kick drum. I love it!

Bass Boy · #5 05-14-2008, 11:15 AM

Dave,

How large is the platform you stand on? I'm considering one of these for a corporate band I play with (now if I could only convince the drummer- VDrums uber-loud through the monitors

)

McHack · #6 05-14-2008, 11:43 AM

I'll Roshambo ya for one!

Dave Muscato · #7 05-14-2008, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bass Boy

Dave,

How large is the platform you stand on? I'm considering one of these for a corporate band I play with (now if I could only convince the drummer- VDrums uber-loud through the monitors

)

32" x 18" top & bottom, 20" sides (trapezoidal)

I don't use it often when playing live, only for big shows, and then I stick it over by the drummer's hi-hat, and stand on it during bass solos (when I drop the groove to go off on my own, so I can better stay on with him). I mostly use it for sessions when I'm tracking live with a drummer.

I wish it were a little bigger but honestly, it's big enough that when you're standing on it, you can rock back and forth and move a bit and you don't have to worry about it. If you play with a pedalboard, you're probably used to keeping within a few square feet anyway and it's not a problem. I especially like to put one foot up on top of the driver housing, because you can REALLY feel the thump when you do that (kind of like putting your foot against the kick drum head). It feels like you and the drummer are sharing a brain.

You can also run your bass through it, which is a real trip - it's hard to explain - you can actually FEEL the pitches, but it's silent. It's not something you can really "get" if you've never felt it... you can tell if you are out of tune, even though you can't actually hear the notes, because it vibrates your whole body at the correct frequency to what you're playing, and you can also easily tell slap from fingerstyle, etc. It's so much fun!

Bass Boy · #8 05-14-2008, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Muscato

32" x 18" top & bottom, 20" sides (trapezoidal)

I don't use it often when playing live, only for big shows, and then I stick it over by the drummer's hi-hat, and stand on it during bass solos (when I drop the groove to go off on my own, so I can better stay on with him). I mostly use it for sessions when I'm tracking live with a drummer.

I wish it were a little bigger but honestly, it's big enough that when you're standing on it, you can rock back and forth and move a bit and you don't have to worry about it. If you play with a pedalboard, you're probably used to keeping within a few square feet anyway and it's not a problem. I especially like to put one foot up on top of the driver housing, because you can REALLY feel the thump when you do that (kind of like putting your foot against the kick drum head). It feels like you and the drummer are sharing a brain.

Bass Boy:Cool, I need to convince one of the drummers I play with that we need to try this thing.

You can also run your bass through it, which is a real trip - it's hard to explain - you can actually FEEL the pitches, but it's silent. It's not something you can really "get" if you've never felt it... you can tell if you are out of tune, even though you can't actually hear the notes, because it vibrates your whole body at the correct frequency to what you're playing, and you can also easily tell slap from fingerstyle, etc. It's so much fun!

I can dig. I play double bass and it's the same thing when you can't hear yourself
but feel the vibrations of the bass on your body.

Randall

LiamCohl · #9 05-15-2008, 04:40 AM

I second the pleasure pad and pump, used both butt kicker and it and if I could afford that for myself right now I would own one, I have yet to hear a better sounding setup than a set of sennheiser hd 650's through a good amp with a chair ontop of the pleasure pad, did a few live to two track recording mixes that way and all turned out very well. when it is just on enough to make you feel the thump a little bit but not be as overwhelmingly powerful as it can go, it is a really cool thing to have. Also, in London, there is a night club where the dance floor is entirely made out of those, they turn them up really high, it is really amazing, I wish my house was like that.

Dave Muscato · #10 05-15-2008, 05:02 AM

Liam, what's the name of the club?

I've had daydreams about that, except on the stage (for me), not the dancefloor... but how cool would it be if both the floor AND the stage were Buttkickered?

Talk about audience interaction!

jaywa · #11 05-15-2008, 07:44 AM

That's a great idea, using a Buttkicker in the studio. I've always hated having the drummer off in a phone booth and only being sonically connected by a set of tinny headphones.

Dave Muscato · #12 05-15-2008, 12:16 PM

Jaywa, yeah, that's exactly why I bought mine. I do a lot of session work, and it's especially useful for fluid meter, funk/groovy/jam stuff (which is mostly what I play).

honestjohnny · #13 05-16-2008, 08:32 AM

so...much...cool...stuff...brain...going...into... overload...curse...you...Talkbass....

Dave Muscato · #14 05-16-2008, 01:54 PM

The downside of the Buttkicker is the cost. Aside from the $180 expense for the unit itself, the mounting board is another $100 or so, and you'll also need a power amp that can get down to 2 ohms with at least 400 watts (1500 max). I use one channel of a Crown K2 for this purpose and it works great, but overall, for a simple kick-drum monitor, you're looking at ~$1k investment.

It's worth it to me, because it allows me to nail bass parts in half the tracking time (in the studio), where I often work with drummers I've never played with before, and have to get to that "locked-in" comfort zone on a very tight schedule. If I didn't do session work, I would never have bought one. YMMV.

AREA · #15 05-16-2008, 02:44 PM

As you can see, i also got the Pleasure Board from Tec-Amp. Really great Tool. Especially with IEM. I won´t miss mine anymore. It can handle 500 Watt/8Ohms and is plugged to one of both Speaker Outs of my Amp.

But its a Point for me where I can go back to, when our Male and female Singer + Guitarist are in Front of the Stage. In other Situations I leave the Board and move also along the Stage.

There is a Possibility, that when you are using such a Board, you won´t move anymore. So don´t do so.

mgmadian · #16 11-21-2008, 10:54 AM

I just used a Buttkicker at a rehearsal last night for the first time -- pretty cool! Wasn't using in-ears since I'm subbing in for this gig, but I was amp-less -- going direct to the board with a floor wedge serving as my monitor.

The Buttkicker helped convey back what I was playing, without cranking the volume... the drummer also had one on his throne, but it wasn't hooked up.

Now I'm wondering about combining a mic input on the kick drum with my direct signal, both of them going into my ButtKicker (... that sounds a little odd... )... probably overkill here since I'm standing right next to the drummer and it's a low-volume gig, but may be useful in other scenarios...

ihateusernames · #17 11-21-2008, 09:19 PM

a regional music store has a bench with a buttkicker type of setup in the seat and headphones for sampling basses. i love it, it's what prompted me to buy a sterling!

The Dave · #18 11-22-2008, 12:07 AM

We have a setup at my church that was made by a local guy and it rocks. My bass and our V-Drum set both hook into a controller with a low filter which ensures that only bass notes and kick drum, and sometimes toms, activate the shakers. I stand on a platform that's slightly larger than the Pleasure Board, and there's a shaker attached to the drummer's throne. It's amazing how much difference it makes when we can both feel eachother. It's also fun to invite people up on stage to stand on my platform or, if they're really lucky, sit on the drum throne. We've had a few people nearly hit the ceiling.