Drum riser question

Larry

"Uncle Larry"
If you have a concrete basement floor, and you wanted to build a drum riser, would it be best for the drum sound to have the riser isolated from the floor or connected to it? Or would the better tone be no riser and the drumset right on a rug on the floor? Remember this is a concrete floor, that's what this question revolves around. My son seems to think that a concrete floor is a tone sink and isolating a riser from it would make the riser behave like a subwoofer, which he thinks will make a better drum tone.

Thoughts?
 
I agree a riser above would act like a sub-woofer but would make for an awful or un-needed tone. You want to hear the tone of only the drums no?
I don't agree concrete would be a tone sink. That requires it is absorbing some specific wavelengths, when most in fact are reflecting off. I mean that is what is making a concrete room like a garage 'loud'.
 
I agree a riser above would act like a sub-woofer but would make for an awful or un-needed tone. You want to hear the tone of only the drums no?
I don't agree concrete would be a tone sink. That requires it is absorbing some specific wavelengths, when most in fact are reflecting off. I mean that is what is making a concrete room like a garage 'loud'.

I'll state right now that I have no idea. But as far as the un-needed tone...sub frequencies by definition...you don't hear a tone. You feel the bass in your bones a little more. I guess it depends on the room a lot too. He's going to try it 3 ways, no riser, riser on the floor, riser isolated from floor. I told him to record it. I am curious to see if there are any improvements or otherwise to the drum sound.

Like the best speaker stands have points for feet. Why do they do that?

Also, in my studio, I have a drum riser on a rug (then 12 layers of sheet plastic) on a concrete floor. I don't notice any difference as far as sub woofer effect if my drums are on or off the riser. If I isolated it, would I?

And while we're at it, any pros or cons on guitar, bass and keyboard amps either on or off the floor are welcome too.
 
...
And while we're at it, any pros or cons on guitar, bass and keyboard amps either on or off the floor are welcome too.

I'm currently going through this in my "other band" where I'm a guitarist.

Your knees and ankles don't have ears (unless you're a locust, in which case you have awesome limb independence or limb independence issues). That means that you want to get your guitar amp off the ground, and/or tilted back both of which will help to get the sound "up".

Currently I use a milk crate as an amp stand (1x12 combo amp) which helps, but I will be building a stand that tilts the amp backwards.

Last night at a band rehearsal I walked to several feet in front of my amp, and it was just ROARING. Tone and volume from several feet away were both very different to what they had sounded like...to my knees.

The contra-indication is that if your ears are being attacked by the centre of the speaker cone, as may happen if you point the speaker right at your head, the sound may be harsher than you would like.
 
Wood trumps concrete all day, depends on what type of wood though.. Isolate.
 
My son reported an improvement in drum tone and sustain with the tennis balls isolating the riser from the concrete (rug on top) floor. Not a lot, but enough to notice supposedly.
 
Back
Top