I remember a while back that someone did a comparison with a 57 and the kickpad. He just stuck the 57 up there, and then did test tracks with and without the kickpad, with the same positioning. I honestly didn't hear all
that much difference, but there was some. IMO, its just as easy to just eq it at the board, plugin, or what have you, and get similar results. I haven't actually used one though, so take what you will from this post.