[groove]

Anybody using these yet?
I'm thinking about giving both LOS CABOS and the KICK PORT a try. Any words of wisdom for me.
Pro's, con's

GrOoVe \o/

[ACE.PACE]

+1 i'm also interested in the Kick Port!
Could see a benefit but also could see myself cutting the hole in a brand new Head and ripping it apart on accident lol or rattling around annoyingly

[butter]

I just bought a kickport the other day. Unfortunately, I am receiving it as a Christmas gift, so I have yet to try it, however I have heard amazing things about it. I have come across one review stating that it does not deliver, whereas every other one says it does what it claims.

I tried porting the last reso head I had. I heated a 5" can and melted the hole. It worked relatively well, but after about 5 minutes of playing, the head broke around the hole. I think this was due to the fact that the head was pretty old, but I dunno.
I think as long as you follow the directions included with the product, your head will be fine. Also, there is some kind of securing design to prevent it from rattling or anything.

As for Los Cabos, sticks are sticks. Sure, everyone is partial to one brand, but you can't really compare stick companies like you can drum or cymbal companies. When you get down to it, Promark and Vic Firth are basically the same, as is Vater and Regal Tip and every other brand out there. Some of them have wider selection of woods or tip shapes/tapers/sizes/etc. or come out with stuff like hot-rods or a new type of brush, but wood is wood and almost every hickory stick lasts about the same amount of time. Some companies brag about how their sticks are weighted and matched, who cares? As long as there isn't a huge difference, I doubt it will affect my playing. I don't care what I hit my drums with as long as it doesn't break and feels good enough.

	Pro-Mark Drumsticks Shop for Pro-Mark Drumsticks at Musician's Friend

	Regal Tip Drumsticks Shop for Regal Tip Drumsticks at Musician's Friend

	Vater Drumsticks Shop for Vater Drumsticks at Musician's Friend

	Vic Firth Drumsticks Shop for Vic Firth Drumsticks at Musician's Friend

[HBdrummer1]

If you port your own head it takes patience and a good steady hand if you're going to cut your own. Butter, the hot can thing was a cool idea for getting a nice even hole, but the heat may have made the material hard and brittle around the hole causing the cracks. Craft & gift shops sell circle cutters for crafter's, these do an awesome job.

[LEDFOOT]

I've used a Kickport and love the sound out front. The only thing I don't like is the feel of the beater responce. The beater has a little flutter feel as if I was playing a double after impact as if the air was being pushed back instead of foward threw the port. Of course the second bounce is not heard out front but you can feel it when your playing.I was told buy Kickport( Sammie ) themselfs to lower the pitch of the batter and front head and make sure you have fixed muffiling up against the batter head. I use a PS3 Batter and a PS3 front with 5in hole and a Evans EQ pad for muffiling wich flops down after each slap of the pedal.So I'm undeciced because I love the sound but not the feel. I might just go back to the norm without the Kickport.

	Evans Drumheads Shop for Evans Drumheads at Musician's Friend

[HBdrummer1]

I always use a lot of muffling, just something I have always done. Back in the day I used to run with no resonant heads at all, so heavy muffling was a must and I got so used to it that anything else doesn't feel right. When you port the air escapes from the shell quicker so you don't have the internal pressure pushing your beater back away from the head, that's why you get the slap-back. Muffling and/ or loosening the head will eliminate that, but it does give a different feel and sometimes it takes a lot of tweaking to get a sound and feel that works. Of course not everything works for everyone, but at least you're not afraid to experiment. That's how we all find the right sound and feel that works for us as individuals.

[Pyrochazm]

The Kickport works as advertised, simple as that. It will make your bass drum loud and it will project really well also. The stuido guys seemed to have a love/hate relationship with my kick drum; They loved the way it sounded, but had a bit of a time getting the sound balance correct with the rest of my kit.