Welcome to BeatBoxMics.com

Back in 1998, some vocal percussionists and beatboxers began experimenting with using multiple microphones simultaneouly for live performances. Freddie Feldman created The Thumper throat microphone to eliminate the need to hold two microphones during a performance (one in front of your mouth and one against your throat).

Why Use Two Mics At Once?
Of course two mics! When you amplify vocal percussion with just one mic, you're expecting that one microphone element to pickup a wide range of frequencies, and then process these frequencies all in the same way. A better way to amplify vocal percussion is to use two separate microphones (one for your mouth and one for your throat) and filter the unwanted frequencies from each. Sound engineers use a device called a "crossover" to separate regions of frequencies and direct them to different sets of speakers. The very low frequencies would be directed to a subwoofer, the mid frequencies to a woofer, and the very high frequencies to a tweeter. With The Thumper or Pounder, we use the same principle, but in reverse.

By using The Thumper or Pounder, you no longer need to EQ one microphone to pickup a full range of frequencies. The Thumper and Pounder are designed to pick up only the lowest frequencies, to mimic a kick-drum sound, and another mic (not included) is EQed to pickup the higher snare drum sounds. Your snare sounds will sound brighter and your kick sounds will sound thumpier. With The Thumper or Pounder, the idea of using a singularly equalized vocal percussion system is a thing of the past.

The Thumper TH75 - Throat Microphone

Overview The Thumper is the first throat microphone designed specifically for music performance. Released in January 2000, The Thumper has been used for vocal percussion, beatboxing, singing bass, or making really cool throat sounds. It will make the difference between a wimpy sound and a sound that will shake your audience to the core! "But I Don't Make Throat Sounds..." Of course you do! Anytime you make a sound that is "voiced" (ie. your vocal chords are involved) there is a sound produced in your throat. PLUS, if you don't do any voiced sounds, The Thumper will still pick up the low frequencies created at your lips. Works great with lip buzz!
		Ordering... INCLUDES CURRENT LEAD TIME PRICE Thumper throat microphone and belt-pack Ships 3 weeks from receipt of payment $400.00 NOW $299.99! Note: Prices are and packages subject to change without notice. All prices do not include a Shipping and Handling charge of $10 (USPS Priority) to locations in the USA. Please contact Freddie Feldman to place an order.

The Thumper TH100 - Throat Microphone (coming in mid-2010)

The new Thumper TH100 is features a completely redesigned digital belt-pack that we're now calling the BeatPack. The new all-digital BeatPack features: Hardware Still works with all existing Thumper collar mics and new Pounder in-ear bone conduction mics. Now all digital: 24-bit/96khz A/D/A and 56-bit double-precision digital audio processor. Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) >98 dB Lithium-Polymer battery, rechargeable via USB. Silent mute button Option to include Bluetooth connectivity, so you configure/control the Thumper via your iPhone or iPod Touch! DSP Software Two cascaded 4th-Order Linkwitz-Riley low-pass filters (-48dB/oct each) with corner-frequency. Dynamic Bass Enhancement: provides boost that varies with input-signal level (using a variable-Q filter, it dynamically adjusts the amount of boost). Automatic Gain Control (AGC) to keep your volume level consistent. Can be custom-programmed for each user, via microSD flash memory card.
		Ordering... INCLUDES CURRENT LEAD TIME PRICE Thumper throat microphone and BeatPack TBA TBA Note: Prices are and packages subject to change without notice. All prices do not include a Shipping and Handling charge of $10 (USPS Priority) to locations in the USA. Please contact Freddie Feldman to place an order.
Overview The Thumper is the first throat microphone designed specifically for music performance. Released in January 2000, The Thumper has been used for vocal percussion, beatboxing, singing bass, or making really cool throat sounds. It will make the difference between a wimpy sound and a sound that will shake your audience to the core! "But I Don't Make Throat Sounds..." Of course you do! Anytime you make a sound that is "voiced" (ie. your vocal chords are involved) there is a sound produced in your throat. PLUS, if you don't do any voiced sounds, The Thumper will still pick up the low frequencies created at your lips. Works great with lip buzz!

The Pounder P2 - In-Ear Bone Conduction Microphone (coming in mid-2010)

Overview Ditch that Thumper collar and move over to a discreet ear-piece! Stick it in! The Pounder in-ear bone conduction microphone picks up the lowest frequencies you produce, from the vibrations in your head. Really? Sounds In My Head?? Put your fingers in your ears. Now make some kick-drum sounds. Do you hear that? Do you feel the tips of those fingers vibrating? The sound from your throat is vibrating your skull and it travels up your ear canals. The sensitive microphone built into The Pounder picks those sounds up and processes them for use in vocal percussion/beatboxing! If you're not using in-ear monitors on stage, then The Pounder might be the extra beatboxing mic you're looking for! You could even use it with one in-ear monitor in one ear and The Pounder in the other ear. Sounds Pretty Simple We attempted to release The Pounder back in 2001, but the sound quality was pretty weak. Thanks to our new BeatPack architecture, that allows us to craft special DSP programs for our mics, we are able to shape the sound from the in-ear microphone. Think of it like a stealth fighter plane. The angles that make the plane "invisible" make it almost impossible to fly, and computer has to do many complex calculations to keep it up in the air. Similarly, the raw sound that comes out of an in-ear bone conduction microphone is not suitable for live performance, but we've spent many hours programming and testing our DSP to make it sound amazing. How does it work? A bit of processing magic and a lot of experience in how vocal percussionists make their sounds. Hardware Still works with all existing Thumper collar mics and new Pounder in-ear bone conduction mics. Now all digital: 24-bit/96khz A/D/A and 56-bit double-precision digital audio processor. Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) >98 dB Lithium-Polymer battery, rechargeable via USB. Silent mute button Option to include Bluetooth connectivity, so you configure/control the Thumper via your iPhone or iPod Touch! DSP Software Two cascaded 4th-Order Linkwitz-Riley low-pass filters (-48dB/oct each) with corner-frequency. Dynamic Bass Enhancement: provides boost that varies with input-signal level (using a variable-Q filter, it dynamically adjusts the amount of boost). Automatic Gain Control (AGC) to keep your volume level consistent. Can be custom-programmed for each user, via microSD flash memory card.

Ordering... INCLUDES CURRENT LEAD TIME PRICE Pounder in-ear microphone and belt-pack TBA $450.00 NOW $349.99! Note: Prices are and packages subject to change without notice. All prices do not include a Shipping and Handling charge of $10 (USPS Priority) to locations in the USA. Please contact Freddie Feldman to place an order.

Photos

Videos

Owners

Name	Type of Performer	Group	Location
Justin Adams	Vocal Perc.	The Fault Line	Ithaca, NY
Warren Bloom	Bass	Invisible Men	New York, NY
Stefano Brondi	Vocal Performer	Daltrocanto	New York, NY
Maarten Buyl	Musician	Champ D'Action	Antwerpen, Belgium
Brian Chambers	Vocal Perc.	The Red States	New York, NY
Kevin Child	Vocal Perc.	The Maine Steiners	Orono, ME
Ed Chung	Vocal Perc.	Duwende	New York, NY
Del Coy	Vocal Perc.		Metuchen, NJ
Sean Dargie	Vocal Perc.	All About Buford	Boston, MA
Colin Deuse, Amn USAF	Vocal Perc.		Warren AFB, WY
Bill Ellis	Vocal Perc./Vocal Bass	SideCar Heroes	Portland, ME
Ben Foster	Vocal Perc.	Up Til 2	St. Paul, MN
Steven Foxx	Vocal Perc.	Berklee School of Music	Boston, MA
(group owned)	Vocal Perc.	Fundamentally Sound	Madison,WI
Beatmaster G	Beatboxer		Ibiza, Spain
Marty Gasper	Vocal Perc.	Blue Jupiter	New York, NY
Mikael Hamilton	Vocal Perc.		Orlando, FL
Peter Huang	Vocal Perc.		Singapore
Mike Jankowski	Vocal Perc.	The Bufflo Chips	Buffalo, NY
Ian Koff	Vocal Perc.	Slapdash Graduate	Boston, MA
KSound	Beatboxer	KSound	Birmingham, United Kingdom
Sarah Kuchta	Vocal Perc.	University of Connecticut Chordials	Madison, CT
Mike Lanni	Vocal Perc.	Southside Boys	Geneseo, NY
Oliver Libby	Vocal Perc.	Invisible Men	New York, NY
Jonathon Long	Vocal Perc.	MIT Impulse	Cambridge, MA
Paul Lopes	Vocal Perc.		Providence, RI
Jarryd Lowder	Performance Artist	School of Visual Arts	New York, NY
Rufus Martin	Vocal Perc/Vocal Bass	True This	Orlando, FL
(group owned)	Vocal Perc.	Kettering HS Eleventh Hour	Kettering, OH
Charlie Meininger	Vocal Perc.	Euphonism	Bethesda, MD
Jonathan Minkoff	Vocal Perc.	Altavoz	New York, NY
Chris Nash	Vocal Perc.	Hawkappella	Hartford, CT
Eric Pantano	Vocal Perc.	offBeat Acappella	Madison, WI
Nam Hoon Park	Vocal Perc.	S.J. Tone	Seoul, South Korea
Michael Kosmatka	Vocal Perc.		Sunnyvale, CA
Dovy Paukstys	Vocal Perc.		Provo, UT
Federico Pellegrini	Bass Harmonica		Ferrara, Italy
Raymond Podjasek	Vocal Bass	Illusion	Denver, CO
Chris Roser	Vocal Perc.		Stuttgart, Germany
Adam Rupp	Vocal Perc.	Home Free	North Mankato, MN
Timo Samuelsson	Vocal Perc.	Soundpoint	Lieto, Finland
Chris Saulnier	Vocal Perc.	Fall Se7en	Providence, RI
Don Smith	Vocal Perc.		MN
Travis Smith	Vocal Perc.	All-Night Yahtzee	Tallahassee, FL
David "Stack" Stackhouse	Vocal Perc/Vocal Bass	Five O'Clock Shadow	Boston, MA
Sam Tell	Vocal Perc.	UPenn Pennchants	Philadelphia, PA
Steve Vance	Vocal Perc.	MIT Impulse	Cambridge, MA
Mike Yanchak	Vocal Perc.	DoubleShot!	Pittsburgh, PA
Ushio Yoneda	Vocal Perc.	Pylon	Kobe City, Japan

Thumper/Pounder Timeline

Model Number	Year	Description
Thumper TH100	coming in 2010	The DIGITAL Thumper. Completely redesigned the belt-pack (now called BeatPack) from the ground up.
Pounder P2	coming in 2010	The DIGITAL Pounder. Completely redesigned the belt-pack (now called BeatPack) from the ground up.
Thumper TH75	2007	Removed the power-switch. Unit turns on automatically whenever the output cable is connected.
Thumper TH70	2006	Completely redeveloped collar, sometimes referred to as "The Canadian Collar." Removed unused Mute LED. Advanced low-pass filter changed from 8-pole Butterworth Filter to 8-pole Elliptical Filter, for improved frequency and phase response. Streamlined production process and reduced parts cost significantly. Ships with no carrying case.
Thumper Lite	2003	Added a second concurrent model, The Thumper Lite. This lower-priced, stripped-down model featured a throat mic on the end of a metal strip, that clasped around the neck. Shipped with aluminum carrying case. Discontinued.
Thumper TH65	2002	Removed mute switch due to popping-noise (Mute LED remained, but unused). Removed frequencyselector switch, due to production limitations (and was deemed unnecessary). Shipped with silver aluminum carrying case. Discontinued.
Pounder P1	2001	Never released in-ear bone conduction microphone for vocal percussion.
Thumper TH60	2000	First model with manufactured collar, secured with a plastic clasp. This collar is sometimes referred to as "The German Collar." TH60 shipped with black Pelican carrying case. Discontinued.
Thumper TH20	2000	This is the first time The Thumper was available for purchase. It included a belt-pack and advanced filtering. Collars were hand-made out of lycra-spandex and velcro. Shipped with black Pelican carrying case. Discontinued.
Thumper TH10	1999	The Thumper is born! Freddie Feldman created the first Thumper in 1999 out of frustration with trying to use two handheld mics simultaneously. It was completely hand-built. No beltpack.
Before The Thumper...	< 1998	Vocal Percussionists and Beatboxers used a single handheld mic or sometimes two handheld mics, with one placed against the throat.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: I don't really make throat sounds when I do vocal percussion. Why do I need a Thumper?
A: Of course you make throat sounds! You may think that you make your kick sounds with your lips but you're probably also voicing (vibrating your vocal chords) your kicks as well. If for some reason you really don't voice your kicks, The Thumper can still greatly improve your sound. Any low frequency sound you produce will get picked up, like pops and lip buzz (picks up really well).

Q: How does The Thumper differ from those Sound Spots that I've seen a couple of people using?
A: Sound Spots are small acoustical pickups (usually used to amplify acoustical instruments like guitars, violins, cellos, etc). Some people have found that attaching these to your throat can pick up throat sounds. Using this method of taping pickups to your throat is not always an easy one. Sweat can cause problems in keeping the Sound Spots in place. Facial hair and head movement can cause a great deal of excess noise. You also do not get any sort of filtering capability with Sound Spots. Mostly, this means that all sounds you make are going to get picked up, including snares, hihats, and speech. The filter built into The Thumper cuts out the hi frequencies, virtually eliminating those higher pitched sounds. This makes your sound much brighter and much less muddy. There is also a lot less pre-show preparation needed since you can simply strap on a Thumper and go!

Q: What colors are available for the collar on The Thumper?
A: Due to production limitations, we can only offer black Thumper collars at this time. You are welcome to, of course, decorate your collar in any way. I have heard suggestions ranging from adding spikey studs to adding a remote control electric shocker for those times when the VP or Bass gets out of control :-).

Q: After a long show the collar on my Thumper can get pretty sweaty. Can I buy additional collars so that I can rotate through a couple different ones?
A: You sure can! The collars are made out of a sweat-resistant elastic and plastic, but if you happen to require additional backup collars, they available for purchase to existing Thumper system customers.

Q: What's inside the belt-pack anyway and do I really need one to use The Thumper?
A: You definitely do need to use the belt-pack in order to use The Thumper. The circuitry inside includes some very advanced filtering capability as well as a power supply needed to operate the microphone.

Q: I have an older TH60 (Thumper) and I've banged up my belt-pack and bent my mute switch. Can I send you my mic to be repaired?
A: The older model Thumper's had a mute switch, and sometimes it could snap (if bumped hard enough). Contact VOCOMOTION for all repairs. Costs vary depending on the damage and are for parts & labor.

Q: Can you tell me more about the filter in the belt-pack?
A: This is a technical answer, but we'll try to explain it as simply as possible: The filter inside the belt-pack is a low-pass filter. This means that it cuts off all frequencies above a certain "cutoff frequency" (almost). The cutoff frequency in the belt-pack is set to approximately 190Hz. Filters have something called a "rolloff." This is used to described how much much sound above the cutoff frequency will make it through. Common filters used in PA crossovers have a rolloff of -12dB/oct. This means that the volume of the frequencies above the cutoff drops 12 decibels everytime you double the cutoff frequency. The highly-sophisticated filter in the belt-pack has a rolloff of -48dB/oct (TECHIE: 8th-order Butterworth Filter). This rolloff is quite steep and should provide enough filtering for your purposes.

Q: Does The Thumper require a power supply?
A: The Thumper requires the circuitry inside the belt-pack to power the microphone. The circuit has been optimized to extend the life of your battery as long as possible. We highly recommend investing in some Nickel-Metal-Hydride rechargeable batteries and a quick charger, they work really well and the NimH batteries have no memory effect (which was a big problem with older NiCd rechargeables).

Q: Do I need any other equipment in order to use The Thumper?
A: The only other thing you will really NEED is a PA or sound system in order to amplify the sounds coming out of The Thumper. You may also need a direct box, which will allow you to connect he 1/4" connector on the belt-pack to your mixer.

Q: I'm in a large college group (11-16 people) and we don't use a sound system, am I just out of luck?
A: The Thumper can be used to amplify the percussion/bass sounds that are normally covered up by the sound of a large group. Just because the whole group is not using a PA doesn't mean that the percussionist can't be amplified. You can experiment with a small bass amp and use it to raise your volume just enough to be equal to sound of the rest of the group. Be careful not to overpower the unamplified voices though.

Q: The rest of my group is using wireless mics, am I doomed to be wired up forever?
A: Don't fret, you too can go wireless! If you would like to use you're own wireless system with The Thumper, you will need to purchase a wireless system for a guitar. You simply plug the wireless guitar belt-pack into The Thumper belt-pack and you're all set.

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