The Drum Riser

A DIY Project ...

As a few people already know, I made my own drum riser a couple of years back.  

I decided a wanted a drum riser to bring me up to something like the same height as the rest of the band. I would be using it  mainly for small venues (on the assumption that larger venues would have one anyway), so I didn't want to be too tall, too big (the same size as a standard drum mat), too heavy (I'm going to be carrying it myself) or too hard to pack up (it needs to fit in the Mystery Machine).

There are a few out there to buy, generally from staging companies, and none of them came close to my specification above.  The only option - make one!

Now, I'm not going to go through boring details about what wood to use, how to cut it, what sizes they are etc.  If you're thinking about making one yourself I'm sure you can work all that shizzle out.  What follows is just a few pictures to show you how I decided to do it.

The Riser is made from four identical sections, this is the frame required for one section.

Each section is a plywood top, the frame is screwed/glued to the plywood piece-by-piece.

Close up of a frame corner (all corners are the same)

Each of the four sections has two sets of 'legs'.  They push-fit into the frame.

The 'legs' (painted black here) will also stow away on the underside of the frame for transit.

This is one of the four sections standing on its end (being painted stage black).

One of the four sections, standing on it's end, with legs fitted.

The sections are held together with luggage clips.

To prove they it is exactly the same size as a standard drum mat!

I actually stuck the mat down, and then cut along the joins.

 I can do a bit of DIY, but I'm by no means a carpenter.  So if I can do this - anyone can!  :-)