Drum riser set up

[Haboon]

Hi all

This isn’t about to use one or not.

It’s how the hell to set one up!

Just got my Catalina club jazz. Came with a riser. Never tried one so gonna give it a go.

Should both front and back hoops be the same height off the ground?

This riser is height adjustable……can they slip during a gig?

Do you leave them on when packing up after a gif or put it on each time?

Is it normal to have to move the riser forward and back on the hoop until you find a spot where the pedal doesn’t hit the hoop? I’d assumed that wouldn’t be an issue as some clever engineer would have designed it better.

Any other tips for setting one up would be great thanks.

 

[PorkPieGuy]

Should both front and back hoops be the same height off the ground?

I would do this.

This riser is height adjustable……can they slip during a gig?

I wouldn't think so, but you probably need to practice with it a good while and see.

Do you leave them on when packing up after a gif or put it on each time?

I travel with my kick drum anchors attached on a few of my kicks. They've not given me any problems, but I don't do much (if any) stacking on these particular kicks in the car.

Is it normal to have to move the riser forward and back on the hoop until you find a spot where the pedal doesn’t hit the hoop? I’d assumed that wouldn’t be an issue as some clever engineer would have designed it better.

I would possibly do your best to find the sweet spot and just crank it down where it works best, but maybe not too much at risk of cracking the hoop. I have sticky Velcro on my hoops to pad them where my kick drum attaches on batter-side hoop and also padding on the front of the hoop where my kick drum anchors are. You may need to get something like this if you think it will help.

Any other tips for setting one up would be great thanks.

I think the key here is experimenting and being patient. I've never used a riser, but I hope that this helps!

 

[Haboon]

I would do this.


I wouldn't think so, but you probably need to practice with it a good while and see.



I travel with my kick drum anchors attached on a few of my kicks. They've not given me any problems, but I don't do much (if any) stacking on these particular kicks in the car.



I would possibly do your best to find the sweet spot and just crank it down where it works best, but maybe not too much at risk of cracking the hoop. I have sticky Velcro on my hoops to pad them where my kick drum attaches on batter-side hoop and also padding on the front of the hoop where my kick drum anchors are. You may need to get something like this if you think it will help.



I think the key here is experimenting and being patient. I've never used a riser, but I hope that this helps!

Man thanks so much for taking the time. Yea it helps, always nice to bounce ideas off someone.

Think I’ll just set up kick snare and hats and noodle away like that adjusting as I go like you said.

For the hassle I’m wondering if it’s worth it.
I know that if I reduce beater height I can adjust other parameters on the pedal to get the same / similar feel.

If it’s a sound thing would o even notice the difference in raised or not.

But I’ll drive on and get it setup raised. At least then I can make an educated choice between the teo

 

[PorkPieGuy]

Man thanks so much for taking the time. Yea it helps, always nice to bounce ideas off someone.

Think I’ll just set up kick snare and hats and noodle away like that adjusting as I go like you said.

For the hassle I’m wondering if it’s worth it.
I know that if I reduce beater height I can adjust other parameters on the pedal to get the same / similar feel.

If it’s a sound thing would o even notice the difference in raised or not.

But I’ll drive on and get it setup raised. At least then I can make an educated choice between the teo

Happy to help!

If you have an 18" or smaller kick, I'd say that the riser is probably worth it. If you have a 20" kick or bigger, don't worry about it. Heck, try it without it just to see what you think! I had a bop kit from Sonor that had an 18" kick, and it didn't include a riser, and it sounded just fine (well, to be honest, I don't think a riser would have helped the sound at all).

There are no rules when it comes to drums, how to set them up, or how to play them. Just do what works best for you. Have fun experimenting, and let us know what you think!

 

[Haboon]

Yea last kit was a 20 and never crossed my mind that someone would use a riser.

Interestingly there’s a noticeable difference in sound with riser at full height so beater hits roughly centre and riser at lowest point so it’s above centre. With muffling on the kick it sounds better to me off centre.

But with other instruments playing who knows what’s noticeable

Tbh for weddings I’ll probably not bother with it and keep it simpler. For other ‘fun’ bands I’d use it and keep kick wide open with felt strips for muffling.