Sonitus Acoustics Kicker

104
| APRIL 2015 WWW.RHYTHMMAGAZINE.CO.UK
GEAR REVIEW
T
he Kicker is the brainchild of
Manuel Markovic, drummer,
sound engineer and owner of
Sonitus Acoustics. In essence, a
shaped muffl er that runs the entire length of
the bass drum, Sonitus claims that it gives
dramatic results with even the cheapest
single-ply heads and can also be used with
both ported and unported front heads.
Build
Manuel initially designed the Kicker for his
own personal use but it generated so much
interest he put it into production. Its creation
was a eureka moment for Manuel. Despite
trying over 20 different variations, he found it
impossible to improve on his fi rst prototype;
it is this model that is now being marketed.
Sonitus already produces a variety of
acoustic foam sound absorbers for studio use
and the Kicker is a logical extension of this
frequency-sculpting art. Made from rigid
From £16.95 Acoustic engineering for your bass drum
SONITUS
ACOUSTICS
KICKER
WORDS: ADAM JONES
polyester foam, it takes the form of a
cylinder-long segment detailed with
graduated steps running down from a central
peak. The shaping and density of the foam is
intended to absorb unwanted frequencies,
allowing the desired ones to come to the fore
while also controlling the decay.
Hands On
You’d expect – not unreasonably – that
inserting a chunk of foam into a bass drum
that touches both heads would have a
profound effect on its sound; I’m actually
struck by how subtle the difference is.
Knowing what an equivalent sized pillow
placed head to head would do I’m
anticipating an extremely dry and dampened
response. Instead, the drum still sounds
warm, deep and resonant and not really
dampened a great deal at all. There’s a
defi nite focus to it along with a pronounced
bottom end, but nothing feels forced; it’s
PRICES
Sonitus Acoustics Kicker
Classic: 18", £16.95; 20",
£17.95; 22", £19.95; 24",
£20.95
DIAMETERS
AVAILABLE
1 8 ", 20", 22", 24"
LENGTHS
AVAILABLE
1 4 ", 16", 17", 17½",
18", 20"
MATERIAL USED
Polyester foam
CONTACT
Sonitus Acoustics
01908 304600
www.sonitusacoustics.
eu
Essential spec
VARIETY
There’s a Kicker to fi t just
about every combination
of bass drum diameter
and length
as though a sound engineer has run the
kick’s signal through the mixing desk and
tweaked a few pots in order to accentuate
its natural qualities.
The fact that the Kicker – by design – only
just kisses both heads rather than buries
itself into them almost certainly explains
the relative openness of the sound (and also
why the Kicker comes in so many different
lengths). Whatever the reason, it works.
VERDICT: Light in weight and at fi rst
sight unremarkable, the Kicker is in
fact a calibrated tool that offers an
instant EQ fi x for your bass drum.
It’s cheap, effective and highly
recommended.
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
RATING
RHY240.gear_kicker.indd 104 2/19/15 4:09 PM