Drum Riser

Shout It Out

New member
Can I get any help on how t obuild a floating drum riser...My basic idea is to build a 6'x6' platform from 2'x4's and nail them on top of a low wooden frame. on the bottom of the wooden frame I would put 4'' foam blocks to isolate the kit from the floor...Does this idea work at all??/Will it improve the sound of my drums in recordings??
 
I'm no expert on this, but the risers I've seen at www.johnlsayers.com are heavily weighted with sand or something else to keep it from resonating.

There is also an Auralex product (called platfoam or something) that purports to do this.

If you build a hollow box it will sound like a hollow box.

The idea of a drum riser in a studio is to decouple the drum sounds from the floor. My guess is that if you have a floor that's transmitting a lot of vibration, a riser might help.

There's an awful lot of commercial studios (majority? dunno) that don't bother with risers.

Best of luck
 
i thought a drum riser prevent the drums from sounding dead. Ive heard that drums on carpet just suck the life out of them. So the riser is kind of preventative.
 
well isolating the drums fro mthe existing floor will give the drums more life, I jsut dont know if my construction plans would work in doing that. Last studio I recorded in used a drum riser and it sounded very nice.
 
Its the same principle as mounting soffit enclosed speakers on a stand of MASS.

Build a frame of 2x4/6 Cover bottom with 3/4"OSB

Mount these or 1/2" x 2"x2" Duro 60 neoprene pads at 2' intervals
http://www.kineticsnoise.com/hvac/kip.html

Lay on floor at desired location.

Lay a sheet of 6mil poly sheeting over top allowing 1 ft overhang at perimeter.

Fill will KILN DRIED sand. Screed off excess with a board longer than frame size.

Cover with another layer of 6mil poly

Lay 3/4" OSB or plywood on top and fasten to frame with screws. Voila!
 
Rick's giving you a good way to do it; but one LIFE-THREATENING question hasn't been answered (or even asked) yet - what kind of floor will this be placed on? See, an 8x8 foot "sand box" built from 2x6 will hold almost exactly 1 cubic YARD of sand, which weighs approximately 3000 pounds - divide that by 64 sq. ft. and you'd be adding just under 47 pounds of weight for every square foot of floor surface under the riser.

The majority of "normal" construction is NOT designed for this much EXTRA weight, and may repay your efforts by squashing whoever is below you, or at least adding a few feet of "free" headroom to your space.

So before you do the sandbox thing, we need to know EXACTLY what kind of construction you have; which floor you're on, what it's made of, how thick, the longest unsupported span, etc... Steve
 
Hey Steve, thanks for covering that. The older I get, the more I assume people have common sense. Usually I DO warn them, but...you know those honey do's.. they seem to cut short anything I'm doing anymore. Hmmmm, even MY studio :rolleyes: :D
 
Hey Rick, no prob; us old farts gotta stick together, grouchy or not :=))

The platfoam (or similar) method can help, just not as much as using serious mass (above warnings still in effect) - here's a lighter weight (and less effective) way

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3771&sid=d955ed78f186dba087aa11d47dd225f1

Depending on how MUCH help you need, this can work both to isolate a few dB AND to tighten up the sound, and it'll work in just about ANY location... Steve
 
Shout It Out said:
basement floor tile on conrete so nio major issues on weight at all.

No, none at all. Except for transporting one and a half tons of sand from your driveway down to the basement :D

I would just slap some plywood on the floor with the rubber underneath to isolate it a bit but I'm very lazy. Save the worlds greatest riser for when you have a commercial facility.
 
So I basically have no supplies, but here is what i have. I have a 2'x3' sheet of rubber about 1/2'' thick. I have a few wood blocks and a 6'x8' platform. My plan is to attach a rubber piece to the bottom of the piece of wood and lay them on the ground. Then I will lay the playform on top. Should I be worrying about resonating now??

Any adivce on how I could make it any better with the materials i have?? or any cheap ideas under 50$ that i could incorporateint othe riser?
 
What's your platform made of? If it's just plywood or MDF, it'll resonate. If you don't wanna do sand (takes a pretty well-sealed box) you can damp your platform somewhat by putting enough insulation between boards so your platform just touches the boards; then screw it down to the boards, put your drums on it, and see how it works. (I can't guarantee how WELL this will work, but I will say that it will be LESS resonant than WITHOUT the insulation compressed under the platform)... Steve
 
Shock absorber surface

Shout it out,
It's all in the surface of rubber you will put under. The more effective is to get it to press down between 1/3 and 1/2 of its original thickness (static deflexion), when you are sitting at your drum. Mike (excuse my canadian english!)
 
How about if i carpeted the bottom side. I'll be using 3/8'' playwood. If i carpeted the bottom side, this would leve the top as hard wood. Insulation is doable, but if carpet works, it would be much easier, what do ya think??

and thanks for the help so far.
 
3/8" plywood is nowhere NEAR thick enough; for one thing, it will flex with just the weight of a drum kit unless your framing is maybe 8 inches apart or so; also, that thickness will resonate at even higher frequency; it's all about MASS, and you don't have much.

Sorry, sonic, but he's not talking about a continuous sheet of rubber; if so, the riser would only be 2' x 3', the size of the piece of rubber. You'd be lucky to get a set of BONGOS to fit on that. Also, with full coverage even soft FOAM wouldn't compress to 50% with only the weight of a drum kit and person, much less neoprene...

Shout, if that's all the thicker platform you have you're not gonna get much good out of building a riser; there's not enough strength in that plywood without having frames REALLY close together, and even so it would ring quite a bit - this would make your sound WORSE by adding tuned resonant notes to the mix.

Adding carpet UNDER this thin ply, if it's actually a sandwich consisting of the original floor/carpet/ply, shouldn't HURT the acoustics but it won't HELP either. Also, if you leave it for long periods you'll grow all sorts of interesting molds, fungi, and critters - carpet needs to BREATHE and be vacuumed to avoid this.

Overall, I don't think you're even close to the right approach yet, sorry... Steve
 
alright, but there must be a better way of recording my drums. They really do need to be isolated for the ground a bit more...I definatly understand how the materials I have won't help much, but is there anything I can do with different materials, beings that I haven't bought anything yet??

ps. thanks for the honesty.
 
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