Best Acoustic and Percussion Stomp Boxes to Boost your Performance

Here’s the most affordable option for this list, the Meinl Foot Jingle Shaker. It’s basically the only one that doesn’t need any amplification. It’s the best option for solo-performers, and for on pronto performances.

It’s a brilliant little instrument that is very easy to use while being immensely effective too when it comes to overall performance. It is essentially a mini-tambourine that is strapped on your foot.

What is a Stomp Box?

A stompbox is a percussion instrument that is made to imitate the sound of a bass drum. It is a small wooden box that is made for the foot, and it is designed for practice. It is a great way to replace your bass drum, especially if you can’t afford it. It works even for other types of drums, and you are just missing a bass drum. You can add a stompbox, and the sound will be complete. 

Why Should You Use a Stomp Box?

A stompbox is a perfect instrument for solo artists who want to replicate a full band’s sound independently. If you don’t have other people in your band or don’t want to buy an extra bass drum, then a stompbox will serve its purpose. It is also an excellent tool for artists of other instruments. For example, a guitar player may want to add a stompbox on their foot to add a different rhythm to their play. They will allow you to have a percussion instrument without the need for a different drummer. 

How Much Do Stomp Boxes Costs?

Stompboxes can go as cheap as $35, or it can become as expensive as $200. The price is indicative of the quality of the stompbox. You’ll find that the more costly types tend to sound better. 

Alternatives to an Acoustic Stomp Box

If you find that the stompbox doesn’t fit the sound that you want or it just doesn’t fit your budget, you may want to consider the following alternatives.

Foot Jingle Shakers

If you want to add a different sound that your foot can easily play, you can try some foot jingle shakers. These are small tambourines that are attached to a strap that can be wrapped around the foot. From here, you can give it a shake as you play another instrument. 

Krix Rhythm Step

This is another instrument that you can easily play with your foot. It is quite similar to the jingle shaker only that it has cymbals attached instead of a tambourine. This produces a different sound and fits other music genres, but it is an excellent alternative to the stompbox if you need a different sound.  

How to Create Your Own DIY Acoustic Stomp Box

Can you create your stompbox at home? You definitely can. One type of stompbox that you can make is the cigar stompbox. It is a simple percussion instrument that you can use with other instruments for a seamless solo performance. 

Here’s how you do it.

Materials:

1 Cigar Box (or any wooden box)

Copper Wires

Soldering iron

Solder

1 Mono Audio Jack (0.25 Inch)

1 Piezoelectric Transducer

One 5-MegOhm Potentiometer

Drill

Hot Glue

Rubber Pad

Step 1: Create the Body of the Stomp Box

First, you must create the body of the stompbox. You can do this by gluing the box and rubber pad together. The size doesn’t matter. But you’ll want it to be sturdy enough so that it can withstand the pressure of your put as you continuously stomp on it. The rubber pad will act as a stopper so that the floor will not get damaged due to your constant stomping.

Step 2: Add the Potentiometer

The Potentiometer will act as the volume controls for your stompbox. This is optional, but it will make your stompbox look and feel more professional. It is optional because you don’t necessarily need to control the volume in your stompbox. But once you do, you’ll be able to have way more control. For this to work, you need a potentiometer that has 5 MegOhms of resistance. You need to put a hole in the cigar box and place the volume knob there. Potentiometers usually come with a nut and a washer so that you can put it securely in place. 

Step 3: Add an Audio Jack

If you want to add a microphone to your stompbox, you will need to add an audio jack. Ideally, you’ll want a ¼ inch jack because it is the standard for most guitar cables. If you’re going to attach it to the cigar box, you may need to put it in a different scrap. Don’t drill it into the box, for it may interfere with the box’s opening and closing mechanism. It is best to attach it to scrap and then glue it to the side later. 

Step 4: Add Some Wiring

Next, you need to attach some wires. You may want to study some wiring systems to have an idea on how you will solder wires into the cigar box. You need to attach the audio jack to the Potentiometer. Then, attach some wiring into the piezoelectric transducer. 

PRO TIP: To prevent wires from touching, you can always add some electrical tape. Be sure that the cables are placed securely, even if the box is moved. 

And you’re done. By doing this project, you’ll have a fully functioning stompbox that you can also attach to a PA system. As mentioned, it will make a typical DIY acoustic stompbox a more professional look and feel. The best part is that you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on it. 

But if you are looking for a more straightforward approach, you can make do with the stompbox in this process’s first step. You can leave the stompbox attached to a rubber pad and use it. Although it cannot be used in professional performances, it is a great tool that you can use for practice. You may want to start with that and then add the wiring and other stuff later.

As you can see, a stompbox is simple to make and can help you produce that bass drum sound without the expensive drum set. If you chose to make this stompbox, be sure to tell us about how it went below. 

Percussion Stomp Boxes At A Glance

What Precisely Is A Stomp Box

A stomp box is simply a percussion device made of a wooden box that you put beneath the playing foot. The player then taps or stamps on it in a defined rhythm; doing this creates a very similar sound to the sounds you will typically find when you play the bass drum. Mostly used by solo artists and performers, it allows the player to create their rhythmic bass sounds. For instance, if a singer or guitarist is supposed to perform without a full band, they can easily use a stomp box to create the beats and rhythm for their performance. So, if you ever need to get the sounds from a classic drum without buying an actual drum set, a stomp box is the ideal option for you. Many people have even gotten creative with the idea of stomp boxes such that they manually mount a very dynamic microphone inside any wooden box they have close by. That mostly allows them to customize other things like equalizers and amplifiers into their home-made stomp boxes. 

By all means, stomp boxes are one of the most useful productions to come out from the digitization of musical instruments and the advancement of musical technology. 

Who Needs A Stomp box?

If you take a close look at small recording sets or rehearsals, you will find that many musical performers use stomp boxes. From writing music to making melody, it is a must-have for every performer. However, stomp boxes have more popularity with performers who need a fuller bass drum sound in their music or solo artists responsible for their entire act. It is a great addition to sound as it can take a song from being barely there to having full sounds. Improve your skills and technique in playing piano at a faster pace with the Best Weighted Keys Piano.

Stomp boxes have become more popular with guitar players as they use it as foot drums to be a rhythmic accompaniment to their guitar sounds. But you would notice their use in American folk and blues music, as well as anything that requires a bass drum sound to be complete. Even Bob Malone used a Peterman Bigstomp stomp box. In 2010, many up and coming musicians and singers on YouTube and other platforms started using stomp boxes a lot. That was because the 2010-era of stomp boxes had a simple piezo transducer, which is located inside the box. This mechanism allowed users to amplify the bass sound from it using public address systems or amplifiers. Some others even had magnetic sensors that were designed in a way that releases only low-end sounds and frequencies. 

How Much Does a Good Stomp Box Cost? 

One cannot deny that there are some costly stomp boxes, with prices as high as $600. These expensive ones are mostly either custom made or specially handcrafted. However, stomp boxes aren’t too expensive and are mostly affordable. The prices range from $35 to about $200. There is a product available for you, no matter your budget. But keep in mind that higher quality mostly translates to higher prices. 

There are several factors that determine how much a stomp box would cost. It all depends on the features that a stomp box possesses. The depth of the tone of a stomp box is one such factor; the deeper and richer the sound, the more expensive it will be. Also, there are stomp boxes with mics in them; these are more affordable than ones with no mics. Battery-operated ones can also be expected to be cheaper than electric ones. Some others have exceptional acoustics and unique sound effects, with the ability to sound like Cajon drums. Some can even be connected to guitar amps. The choice of these stomp boxes is a factor of the sound and flow intended to be created by the performers using them. The more specialized the features of the box is, the more expensive you can expect it to be. 

Acoustic Stomp Box Options to Consider

If the acoustic stomp boxes you find are out of your reach for any reason, there are quite a number of alternatives, which you can choose from to also promote your bass drum effect. Check out two of such impressive stomp boxes that you can buy:

• Meinl Foot Jingle Shaker: The Jingle Shaker is as cute as it is handy. A very affordable, convenient, and effective instrument is not one you should be passing by. It merely consists of a strap and a mini tambourine. All you need to do is slide the strap onto the top of your foot such that when you tap, the tambourine should be able to make a sound as it faces upward. After this is done, you can conveniently tap your foot in whatsoever rhythm you desire. This foot jingle tambourine is not just an alternative to stomp boxes. You can even use it to complement other instrument sounds. It is light on the ear and very versatile.  So, even if you do not have a regular acoustic performance, you can easily use this in a studio session or performance. It is lightweight and does not take up space. You can easily just tap your foot in rhythm to your sound to create a special jingle effect. 

• The Schlagwerk Krix Rhythm Step: Although it looks just like the Meinl foot jingle shaker, this works differently. It is, however, trickier to fix in. First, it requires that you wear shoes with laces to which this step would be installed. But asides from this, it is pretty simple. This instrument has two small crash cymbals that you fix to a black plastic plank, which measures about a foot long. This plank is fitted into your shoelaces, giving it excellent positioning for the cymbals on it to hang out right in front of the player’s foot.  How easy is this? All you need do is then tap or shake away, helping you create your so desired rhythm.

Conclusion

There are a lot of stompboxes in the market, but it’s best to choose the right one for your music taste, and the right one for your budget. Always remember that the right stompbox can help you and your performance as a whole. Hope this list will fulfill your needs when it comes to choosing the right option. Have fun and rock on! Also, let’s have a look at the Best Small Hands Guitars for players.