Ever hear about the "PorchBoard"?

mrclean · Post by **mrclean** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 6:02 pm

Ever hear about the "PorchBoard"?

A friend sent me a link to some for sale on Elderly and then I found the site:

http://porchboard.com/index.htm

I cannot believe they get $240 for this...foot tapping thing...the copy writing on the home page is ridiculous.

Anyone ever see one in action?

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 6:29 pm

Lemme say two names for to check on yertube:

John Lee Hooker and Chris Whitley - I think they made theirs.

Gentleman Jim · Post by **Gentleman Jim** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 6:44 pm

I dunno... seems like it might be a fair price for an esoteric piece of gear that solves a real problem. I did sound for a Jon Spencer show a few years back, and getting a good sound for his 'stomping foot' wasn't easy. I'd think that if that's an integral part of your performance it would be worth spending a bit of money to get it right and repeatable.

jgimbel · Post by **jgimbel** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 8:56 pm

So what's in it? Piezo?

blindlimon · Post by **blindlimon** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 9:31 pm

jgimbel wrote:So what's in it? Piezo?

I have to step in (heh) here and say that I have performed many times with someone who uses this porchboard instrument. I'll not mince words: I hate the friggin thing.

Basically, it's a trigger that your foot hits underneath the small wood "top" board. The bass "porch" sound is really no more than a dry bass drum sample that is velocity sensitive.

The "thump" sounds ...well.. it sounds ok, but it doesn't sound like a foot stomping on a floor.

There is a video here of the instrument being used: (this is exactly how it sounds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wYQ8IAWvI0

For a much better sound, I'd suggest duct-taping an SM-57 inside an old wooden coca-cola crate - stomp away. (you even get the natural wood creaks and porch sound, and you just saved yourself a couple of hundred dollars.)

Gentleman Jim · Post by **Gentleman Jim** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 10:45 pm

Does that even make sense? It says on the website "No batteries or additional power sources are required." I just figured it was a passive piezo mounted artfully to the wooden frame. The sound would be somewhat malleable depending on what was applied to the signal.

I don't think it's a sample if the above quote from the website is accurate.

casey campbell · Post by **casey campbell** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:45 am

nope, it's just a piezo under a piece of wood.

calaverasgrandes · Post by **calaverasgrandes** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 1:34 pm

its passive but can drive an active subwoofer?
What is in that thing?

casey campbell · Post by **casey campbell** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:13 pm

it's a piezo with a quarter inch jack/connector. this is then fed into the sound system where it is amplified.

calaverasgrandes · Post by **calaverasgrandes** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 3:04 pm

casey campbell wrote:it's a piezo with a quarter inch jack/connector. this is then fed into the sound system where it is amplified.

"The PorchBoard Bass has sufficient output to drive most powered subwoofers without the use of a preamp. No batteries or additional power sources are required. "

Gentleman Jim · Post by **Gentleman Jim** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 3:18 pm

It's not surprising to me that a passive pickup or contact mic would be able to send a signal strong enough for a powered sub to turn into a thump. Haven't you ever plugged a guitar directly into a power amp? It's not a huge sound, but there is sound.

It's not like the website is saying the porchboard can drive a speaker.

tony_tomlinson · Post by **tony_tomlinson** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 3:25 pm

I made one a few years ago out of a wooden TV tray. I used an active pickup mounted to the bottom. It sounded like a bass drum. In hind site, I should have just used a bass drum.

Lazy Lester uses a tamborine mounted on the end of a wooden contraption that looks like a fire stoker. It's amazingly loud and greasy.

blindlimon · Post by **blindlimon** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:52 pm

Sorry!

you're right - saw the friend's porchboard today and verified (because I was very uncertain) and it's definitely a piezo.

My initial thought that it was a sample comes from the fact that it sounds NOTHING like a foot tapping on a stage/actual porchboard.

It's also common for people using these contraptions to have them pretty out-front in the mix, which makes it sound pretty unrealistic.

Again, very sorry for mis-info on the pickup.

jgimbel · Post by **jgimbel** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 8:09 pm

blindlimon wrote:My initial thought that it was a sample comes from the fact that it sounds NOTHING like a foot tapping on a stage/actual porchboard.

I guess it just depends on what kind of piezo they're using to get their sound. I've got a pretty standard DIY piezo pickup I made from the Radio Shack piezo wired to an XLR, and it's definitely quite a distinct sound, very different from what you hear in the room. I actually just got to use it for real for the first time the other day. I'm recording a friend who has a song on acoustic guitar with tapping (a bit of a ripoff of Khaki King). I wanted to make sure they I was getting every detail of the playing including options, so I taped the piezo to his guitar. Sounds very different from what's in the room. It still needs vocals but here's the track below. It starts out with the piezo, then kicks into the other mics I put up, which sounds very close to how it was in the room. Big contrast!
http://jessegimbel.com/in%20the%20garden.mp3

calaverasgrandes · Post by **calaverasgrandes** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 8:17 pm

Gentleman Jim wrote:It's not surprising to me that a passive pickup or contact mic would be able to send a signal strong enough for a powered sub to turn into a thump. Haven't you ever plugged a guitar directly into a power amp? It's not a huge sound, but there is sound.

It's not like the website is saying the porchboard can drive a speaker.

yeah, even my active instruments dont get better than -20db on a good day.
Piezos are usually crazy impedance. though I suppose a piezo with a transformer on it might get around that.
Wait, I didnt just say that.

ps I can't stop hearing "forkboy" by lard everytime I revisit this thread.

Message Board

Ever hear about the "PorchBoard"?

Ever hear about the "PorchBoard"?

Who is online