- Gibraltar Bass Drum Riser - The Gibraltar Bass Drum Riser is designed to produce better sound as the lift allows the beater to strike the drum head in the correct position. With its lift made of Poly Filled Nylon, this drum riser eliminates the vibration to the foot pedal for better projection.
- Buy the Gibraltar Bass Drum Riser at Drum Center of Portsmouth and browse thousands of unique percussion products tailored for the serious and beginning drummer. Get that drum off the floor!
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IntroductionA bass drum riser proves useful in multiple situations. Most commonly on this website for converting a tom into a small bass drum for the purpose of assembling a small footprint or portable drum kit. There are other uses beyond this though. Many jazz / bop kits with 18″ and even 20″ bass drums have a riser simply to facilitate striking the centre of the head. Bass drum risers are used for larger drums too.
Not for the center hit factor but for getting the bass drum a few inches off the floor to allow the sound to project free-er. This is also an essential, but often overlooked factor with a smaller bass drum. Getting it a few inches off the ground extends the “reach” of the sound coming from a smaller drum.There are a few types of risers available. The most common being a cradle for the entire drum, a lift that attaches to the shell on the batter side, and a lift that attaches to the rim on the batter side. The two latter requiring spurs on the audience facing side.Personally, I enjoy coming up with my own home-made contraptions.
This is not necessarily sensible though, since a good riser can be had for $40 or even less and I end up spending hours making one. My own contraptions often end up looking less than aesthetically pleasing too.I chose to compile this bass drum riser comparison in table form.
Actually Dual table form. One for risers and one for cradles. Hopefully I’ve managed to boil down and present all the relevant data. I also hope you will find this bass drum riser comparison useful in easily determining the best riser for your particular application and budget. However, don’t forget to consider the DIY option. There are a few designs on our page, and plenty more on the Internet to get the creative juices flowing.All prices in US$.
Click any image for a full size view. Bass Drum Riser ComparisonR2D2? Bass Drum Riser Comparison TableBare with me It’s coming. You know how we’ve managed to put those snazzy picture slideshows on some of the pages of this website? Impressive aren’t they? Believe it or not, they are a breeze.
A table however, just a simple grid display of data. I’ve managed three garbled messes so far.
OK, I think I’ve got itBrandModelImageStyleLiftListStreetIncludedCommentsWebsiteDixson'The Lift'Dixson 'The Lift'Batter side Cradle?$66$37Just 'The Lift'No adjustability for shell size or height. No attachment to drumDW9908DW 9908 Bass Drum RiserAttached to shelladjustable$92$55Riser, Mounting screwsAvailable in Black, Gold & Chrome. Adjustable angleGibraltarSC-BDPMGibraltar Bass Drum RiserClamps to hoopAdjustable to 2'$46$25Just the riserFits 18' and 20'MapexAC909Mapex Bass Drum RiserClamps to hoop5.5 cm$29$17Just the riserHorizontally adjustableFits 18'PearlJG16Pearl Jungle JigAttaches to rim with I.S.S.
GeneZ, blujax01, K.O., and Stixnergard2,Thanks for the follow-ups. Since posting, I've been experimenting with a DW 5000 pedal, Gibraltar riser, and an 18 inch bass drum. I see what the key issue is and it's not the riser. I used Stixnergard2's and Drumsagogo711's suggestion about flipping the Gibraltar riser parts around so the pedal mounts closer to the head. This works great and the contact point of the beater is similar to when the pedal is hoop mounted. However, with the drum raised and the pedal this close, the footboard tip hits the hoop! If I could complete the stroke, I'm guessing the chain will hit the hoop too.blujax01: I think your idea of putting an offset in the beater rod may be the simplest solution.
Or, I could remove a link in the pedal's chain so the beater hits with the footboard higher up - not sure I'll like the greater angle though, especially for heel-down playing. Your wife is lovely indeed.Stixnergard2: I've been thinking of ordering a Yamaha Hipgig riser for a 16 inch bass drum I'm putting together. Given the wood hoops on your Fibes, did you have to position the mounting bracket so the pedal is further away from the drum. To avoid the pedal's footboard tip and/or chain hitting the hoop as I'm experiencing with my 18? The bottom line is that if you are using standard bd hoops then the pedal will set further away from the head no matter which lift you use. This allows clearance for the chain/strap drive and sprocket. Gibralter here.
I don't know about you guys, but on my pedal (which happens to be an IC), you can adjust the stationary position of the beater relative to the head, so that the 'throw distance' is the same as if you weren't using the riser. This more than compensates for the slight difference in the physical position of the pedal. I don't know if this feature is exclusive to IC pedals, and it does require me to keep a pedal specifically dedicated to the 18' kick, but it does solve that 'overextension' problem, at least from a playing standpoint. Everyone,Thanks again for all the feedback. This information you've all shared has been really helpful. I'd never have thought getting a beater to hit center would have so many solutions with pros and cons!
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Due to this thread, on the 16 inch bass drum, I've decided to use the Hipgig or Pearl riser, and regular tom hoops instead of upgrading to wood hoops (to allow the pedal to mount closer to the head). Also, major head manufacturers don't make their specialty bass drum heads readily available for 16s so using tom hoops provides access to the largest selection of heads that is available, which is tom heads. Bass drum versus tom heads require different hoops due to the differing head-collar offsets.)For the 18 inch bass drum, low weight, low profile, compact portability, and ease of use are still my major criteria. I'd also like a solution that is easily transferable from drum to drum and from pedal to pedal without need of radically modifying the drum and/or pedal (as is the case with cutting the hoop and/or bending the beater rod). After considering everything, I'm going to try combining xsabers' and sonicD's suggestions by using the Gibraltar riser, raising the front of the drum higher than the back, and adjusting the pedal so the beater hits at the point in the footboard's travel where I expect it to hit. Granted, if this works, I have a special pedal setup, but it's easy to bring that specific pedal or, if I don't have the pedal with me, to adjust another pedal the same way.K.O.: Thanks for recommending the Pearl JG-16. For the 16, I need a built-in riser and I may use the Pearl instead of the Yamaha Hipgig riser.xsabers: Thanks for your summary of the issues and option available.
This put all the information in a single, concise place.Stixnergard2: Your feedback on Hipgig riser with your Fibes bass drum helped me decide not to put wood hoops on my 16. I'm still going to use the Hipgig riser or the Pearl JG-16 that K.O. Thanks for the help.sonicD: Your suggestion to adjust the beater travel in relation to the footboard is one I discounted early on.
Because I've already got my pedal's beater travel adjusted at almost maximum. However, you caused me to examine my pedal again and I see it has more travel adjustment left than I thought. Thus, I'm going to try your suggestion. Thanks for causing me to revisit this.Paul: I've ruled the Danmar riser out due to its bulkiness, however, I appreciate the information you gave while I arrived at this decision. Thanks for your help.