Flotechnic Design Kicktronic Reviews 5

The Kicktronic is a metal electronics box that produces an analog bass drum sound when you tap it with your foot. I've been playing bass for 14 years and I recently decided to record and produce my own music.

I purchased the unit online for about $150.

http://www.flotechnic.com/

I wasn't sure if this would end up on the shelf with a lot of the effects pedals I've purchased in the past, but so far that's not the case. Having a bass drum that I can play along with my bass guitar is a really neat concept and it makes playing the bass a lot more fun. It also fills in the sound when there isn't a drummer around. Although I sometimes play it out of my little Line 6 practice amp, and it sounds quite decent, I get the true deep bass drum pounding sound when I play it through my Fender Bassman 250 (15' speaker).

Although the batteries seem to last a while (I haven't had to change them yet), I wouldn't mind the option for an AC adapter, which the unit doesn't have. It also took a bit of time to get the right playing technique down. I had to try a few pairs of shoes to find the ones that triggered best, and I had to make sure to not change the position of my foot too much or the sensitivity would change. Once I got a hang of it, it was not a problem though.

The construction of the unit is very good. The metal box is very solid and can definitely take a good beating. From what I can tell, the other components, such as the battery holder, switch and jack, seem to be good quality as well.

I am overall very pleased with this product. I would recommend it to any musician wanting self accompaniment without the unnatural feel or fussy programming of a drum machine.

Kris Morgan rated this unit 5 on 2010-03-06.

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