For the last fifteen years I have been a sideman, a New York based multi-instrumentalist performing internationally with many artists including Shannon McNally, The Fray and as a member of The Damnwells, recording for Epic Records and Rounder. As of late, I have been longing to put together a solo act. While conceptualizing what I wanted to do with it, I kept thinking back to an amazing performance I witnessed in New York in the mid-90’s. Chris Whitley had just released “Dirt Floor” and was performing at a sold-out C.B.G.B.’s club show to support it. It was just Chris, his resonator guitar and a “stomp box.” It sounded huge, nothing was lacking. Voice, resonator and that huge kick drum sound coming from a little wood box under his right foot, a mike cable snaking out from it into a D.I.
Known in popular lingo as a “Mississippi drum machine,” blues men used the stomp box as a self-accompaniment tool, the earliest example being nothing more than a plywood box with a mike inside. As I started researching various brands available today, there seemed to be some great stomp box builders in Australia and Europe, but I didn’t see many domestic builders. I was very pleased to find out about Kopf Percussion in Waycross, Georgia. I called Steve Head, and he shipped me the ToeKicker, a handcrafted stomp box made right here in the States. He has tuned it for a rich, deep bass, and the signal is sent out through a ¼” jack out in front of the pedal. Nice rubber feet give it a solid grip on the floor when the stomping gets heavy.
I decided to send it straight into my mixing board and record with nothing more that some tweaking on the graphic e.q. Right in the center of the playing surface, there is a definite sweet spot. I was delighted to find a huge, warm low-end percussion thumping through my headphones.
The wood is attractive and the construction is well done. It is finished in a durable and attractive clear coat, and looks to be very rugged. Its lightness testifies to its tuned hand-drum design, and is a good size for the foot to rest on as a platform.
The ToeKicker sounds great! Kopf Percussion recommends a D.I. if you need more gain but I have not needed to use one for recording. An acoustic guitar or bass amplifier work best for live performances, and I have seen players running this type of device into an on-stage subwoofer as well.
My personal setup is my Bonanzinga Weissenborn acoustic steel guitar through some effects and into a Baggs D.I., and the ToeKicker in a separate path to the sound board.
The ToeKicker is the secret ingredient in the huge one-man-band sound. Kopf Percussion has a great product here!
David Chernis
The Damnwells
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