Do I really need this bass drum pillow? Probably not, but I just had fo have it anyway. My reason for purchasing 'The Kicker', was mostly down to the fact that it has a neat little area to fit a boundary mic, and it's made to measure all kinds of drum sizes. I liked that it muffles both the batter and reso side heads together. I thought it sounded great in the drum. It controls a lot of the overtones, while still maintaining a nice, round tone. It's the right amount of muffle for my 20"kick. You have to remove the head if you want to take it out of the drum, so a blanket wins in that department, but it's a good product. Ideal for recording.