Drum Risers for Recording

[Zircon Skye]

Hi All

 

I posted the following topic in one of the recording forums lately and really did not get much response. So thought I would try the drummers forum and see if there are any thoughts on the effectiveness of using a drum riser in studio. Studio drummers--have you experienced good results using a drum riser for recording as opposed to setting up your kit on the floor?

 

I read comments from Shelly Yakus recently:

 

"It's very hard to find a good sounding drum riser but when you get one, the perspective of drums in the mix is totally different. . . . In the final mix, the drums are in a place that is a better place than being on the floor. I've tried building risers at various times, using the heaviest lumber, but sometimes it just doesn't work well. They are hard to do."

 

Does anybody have experience utilizing and building a drum riser (or instrument riser for guitar amps) for studio use??

 

I previously built a small stage for a room (not a studio) which was four 4' x 6' sections built on 2" x 6" with plywood on top and carpet on each sections. This then made a 8' x 12' (6" high) stage which could easily be taken down.

 

We have a large tracking room (1145 sq ft and 14' ceilings). Have decided to build a drum riser to hopefully improve our drum sound on tape. Does anybody have experience with this. Is one solid structure better? Open front or open back? Something heavier than pine? Pad it? Make it float? Something in pieces like I described would be handy as any thing much bigger gets hard to move -- on the other hand once we put it in it may be a feature and no real reason to want to move it.

 

Who out there uses a drum riser in studio?

 

Thanks to all.

 

Zircon Skye

www.zirconskye.com

[D_dup3]

Never been involved in that approach myself...

ddid he say more specifically [iwhat[/i] the aural quality-difference was?

 

I know bigger rooms tend to allow a better ambience but that's a different thing.

 

It would seem that the difference would have to have something to do with the reflected sound...but what/how?

[joeq]

I have my drums on a riser of sorts- a low platform. I am very happy with the way it sounds.

 

It is constructed of a frame made of plain old 2 x 4s, topped with plywood and covered with carpeting. The carpeting is tucked and stapled under the frame edge and the whole deal "floats" on top of the room carpeting. No nails, bolts, or screws hold it down. Just gravity.

 

Floating the riser decouples it acoustically from the regular floor. The sound would have to go drums> "top" carpet> plywood> 2 x 4> "tucked under" carpet> original floor carpet> floor itself > mic stand> mic. I believe this isolation is what makes the riser an improvement in sound.

 

I set up my mic stands (booms all) on the regular floor reaching into the the booth and they get way less vibration, and thus a cleaner sound.

 

There are commercially made isolation materials for putting drums and guitar amps on. Some are even modular. The Gramma by Auralex is one such product

[ECBRules]

My Iso booth has 2x3's with a thick plywood top, then a layer of carpet with no padding.

 

The sound in the room is good, It is a relatively small room 9X10 feet with one angled wall. The walls have the 1x1 foot foam squares. The rafter ceiling also gives the room a great diffused crisp sound. I spent about 400 bucks on the building materials, and I pretty much left it raw. But what the floor does is this: Below the floor is concrete, so the bass gets between the floor and the concrete and it resonates between the surfaces. I left two sides of the base open, so the floor is kind of the opposite of a bass trap, which is good in my situation, because I needed to balance out the room a lot because of it's size and reduced bass response. When a drummer sets up his kit in the booth, usually one of the first things I hear is "I've never heard my kick sound that good".

 

If I were in a big room, I'd be more concerned about the reflections than the bass though. Adding a riser is only going to make things rattle and get louder.

 

Keny

 

Here's some pitchers (2nd and 3rd pic):

http://www.eastcoastbands.com/facility.html

[Audiobotica]

Bass Traps really help even out the low end response. Also, decoupling the bass drum from the floor really helps focus its sound better. Putting some dense rubber matting like they have in weight rooms under the kick will decouple it nicely. As long as the kick isn't booming bass into the floor, I don't really feel the need for a riser.

 

All the rest is having a rattle free kit and excellent mics positioned well.

 

Yours in Music,

 

Ben Fury

[Zircon Skye]

Thanks guys.

 

I appreciate everyones input. I think we will probably go ahead and build a riser but it may be a couple months. If I have some observations will post them.

 

Zircon Skye

www.zirconskye.com

[Buddytown]

Yea buddy.

[DC]

If I were you, I'd make the top out of birch cabinet grade plywood. It doesn't have voids like building plywood does and would have a much more solid sound. I'd consider putting rigid insulation behind the sides and make them out of peg board. Then you'd have a built in bass trap to catch reflections. You'd have to make the sides at least 2' high though I expect for this to work.

[Audiobotica]

If you want the riser to act as a bass trap, it needs to be perfectly sealed. Break out the clear silicon caulk and put a generous bead on the inside of all the external joins. Slam a layer of ply on the bottom and seal the outside edge of the ply all the way around. Let it dry, then flip it over and presto! Almost no visible silicon and it's sealed tight.

 

If you use pegboard, you're building a Helmholtz resonator which is a different approach. In this case you'll want one side of the riser to be angled so you'll catch a number of different low frequencies instead of just one main one if the edges of the riser are parallel.

 

Here's a great article on Helmholtz resonators.