Drum riser question

  • Thread starter Thread starter liv_rong
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liv_rong

liv_rong

Knows very little
I am planing on building a platform for my drums to keep them up off the ground in my basement. Occasionally if there is a ton of rain and flooding my basement will get some seepage, nothing crazy but I want my drums up out of that. I was planning on building a frame out of 2x4's and then using 1/2" plywood to cover it, all screwed and glued together. I was going to use small adjustable legs to level it. I wanted to do it in two sections so I can just take out a few screws to remove from the room easily so I can sweep and mop occasionally.

What I am wondering is how this could affect the sound of the drums, mainly the kick, if at all in recording situations, which I will be doing shortly. Do I need to do anything special or just proceed as described above?

Thanks for any help!
 
How often does the flooding happen? If you want longevity of your (keep your kit dry) riser I would suggest treated wood for the build. At least 3/4" plywood for the top. Actually, I would go with two layers of 3/4" ply. Nothing worse for micing a kit that a floppy floor that results in moving of mic placement with drums bouncing more than they already do from their mounts. Leave the riser open at the ends. For recording you will not want a resonating space under you. Or do you? :) That is a trial and error kind of thing...

I have build three stages with drum risers over the years. I can't really determine how much the drum risers effected the sound from a recording standpoint. The room in a live environment is a much different animal.
 
You might also want to check out last month's (January) issue of Sound-on-Sound.
They had an article there on someone building a riser for their electronic drumset.
 
Electronic drums are different from acoustic drums. As Jimmy mentions, the danger of having a resonating 'box' amplifying the drum hits is very possible. Stuffing insulation in it would help, but if it gets wet, you've got to pull it all out and restuff it. Note that you will want a non-slip carpet or rubber mat on top of it.
 
Thanks, guys. All good points, especially the carpet, I wouldnt have thought of that.

As far as leaving the ends open goes, you are losing support and rigidity doing that. Even if you move those supports in then you are theoretically just making a resonant box still, just a smaller one. I was planning on having at least a half inch of space between the ground and the 2x4 as well if that would help any, which theoretically it would.
 
I went ahead and built it today. I built this out of 2x4's with them spaced 10" on center. The size is approx 84"x64". I added rubber feet on the bottom to keep it off the ground and also a couple of adjustable legs so I was able to level it out. Plywood is 3/4" tongue and groove and glued and screwed to the 2x4's. I lucked out and got the carpet as a remnant from the local carpet store for $40. It is by no means luxury but I am pleased with it.

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This seems to me the most relevant thread for my question. I built a 2x4 Riser from my drums but I also want to do something extra with it. What if where the kick drum sits a cut a rectangle hole just large enough to cradle the kick drum, underneath would be an avenue the resonate sound of the kick could travel to a side exit much like a speaker port.
I would add an additional mic at that port and correct any phase issues, is this a worthwhile effort?
 
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