Stomp Box?

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katysax

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Anyone use a stomp box? I've been playing UBass with my Uke group and thinking of trying a stomp box. The kind that sound sort of like a bass drum.

Well, I have tried a stomp box - I have one of those simple passive units that is essentially a cigar box with a pickup. It is horrible and useless.

I'm thinking of trying a unit with an active pickup though I don't know which one.
 
Stomp box? Not sure I understand what you're asking.

"Stomp box" usually refers to pedal effects units, such as distortion, delay, fuzz, wah wah, etc.

Maybe there is a different name for this "cigar box with a pickup" thing?
 
Thanks for that, like OregonJim I was innocent of any knowledge of such a beast. Now I may have to provide a home for one?
 
That is COOL, but I think I'm many decades from playing one rhythm and stomping the back beat simultaneously. I grew up a big Rush fan and those guys did a lot of stuff like that (guitars and keyboards at same time).

But I'm still itchin' for one of the those Slaperoo Noodles I posted about in my NAMM message.
 
I went to a blues bar in Memphis and I seen a two man blues band. One of them player harmonica and had a homemade box to stomp on. It was a wooden crate that had, what I believe, was glass pop bottles in it. Full of standing bottles. When he tapped his foot on it, it rattled. It was pretty cool. He couldn't "stomp" on it because the glass would break, but it was loud enough with a steady tap.
 
I think the best one I ever heard in person was at a concert by Big Jim Allen at Uke Republic in Atlanta. He played it with his uke in his solo act. It had a very deep bass sound and a great thump, just like a good kick bass. I asked him about it after the show. It was a commercial box made by Porch Board (Porch Bass) and cost about $300. He was running it through his amp to a sub woofer. There are many YouTube vids on how to make your own, but a lot of them don't sound as good.

Here is a link to Sawlon demonstrating one, but the powerful bass doesn't come through as well on YouTube as it did in person.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HibwVdMp6m0

I think the one I saw Big Jim using was the third type in this review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKEbkbu6P-I
 
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Here's a link to that two man band I seen in Memphis. I was wrong when I said it was the harmonica guy. But the box I seen was bigger than this one they are using and I'm fairly certain it had bottles. I seen them in like 1996.

I'm sure you can find some instructions for a cajon type box you can use with feet.

http://youtu.be/VNONIvaAu4c
 
I use a Logarhythm Travelog stompbox made by Logjam.
http://www.logjam.net/
Passive, extremely well put together. However, you really need a PA with some bottom end to get a good sound, a small amp just won't be able to push enough air in those frequencies. On stage through a big PA, with the bass boosted and treble turned down, it can sound remarkably like a bass drum.

Logarhythm.jpg

Full disclosure: I am an endorsee.
 
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Hi thee to Cigar Box Nation!

There are instructions on how to make stomp boxes with or without a piezo pickup. If you have a piezo pickup in a stomp box, all you have to do is tap your foot in time. There are also a few clever home made stomp box designs that have "jingles" made out of beer bottle caps, and other special effects from rattles, springs, etc. built into the designs. There are even a few made out of guitar bodies, lol...

They're pretty cheap and easy to build.
 
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I should clarify that I've got a stomp box that I bought a few years ago. It is just a box with a pickup and a jack. It does not work very well. It needs a hard kick with a hard shoe. If I got another one I want to be sure that it will actually work and will be sensitive to my soft sole shoes.
 
eBay is a good source for these things as there are quite a few home enthusiasts who make and sell them. I bought one for around 25UKP a few years ago and had great fun with it. An eBay search for either "stomp box" or "foot drum" should yield some results.
 
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