The Steel Guitar Forum

I want to be seen over the dancers or standing crowd in front of the stage. I want to eye to eye with everyone else without looking up. I remember JD Maness playing at the Palomino in N Hollywood with a bar stool and a riser under the steel with a cutout for the stool. But it was a house gig and the riser was not travel friendly. I use a ROC n SOC drum hydraulic throne that will raise 8"-10" and the steel legs will extend also. I just need something big enough to support my volume and wah pedals and foot for my steel pedals and be secure enough to accommodate less than ideal stages, flatbed trailers, asphalt, etc. Like I need something else heavy to haul around. Any ideas?

Steve Gall wrote:I just need something big enough to support my volume and wah pedals and foot for my steel pedals . . . . .

How about your ego?

Seriously, though, I don't mind it when I do occasionally gig on steel - for one thing, my eyes are usually locked on the fretboard; when they're not, I prefer to connect with the other musicians. Folks close enough to the stage can see the steel fine, but I don't play large enough rooms, or to large enough crowds, where this would ever be a problem.

A drum riser in the back may do the trick.

Not sure about the ego remark. Maybe this is coming out all wrong. This is more of a technical thing and not a Randy Newman song. I do sing a lot of lead vocals while playing, and I am blessed to play in some very packed venues, many with no stage at all, and I try to connect with the audience. It's easy to get lost visually to the crowd when your so low to the ground. And we do a lot of communicating during songs as we jam out a lot and prep for what's next up. A lot of non pedal players stand. From Don Warden with Porter Wagoner, who was among my first influences, through Andy Gibson with Hank III who is very expressive with his stage moves.

2 x 2 frame
5/8 4 x 4 plywood
1/2" water pipe legs 1' long
Carpet

Light weight easy to handle, I have sat on one for over 30 years.

I now have a
2 x 12 frame
3/4 4 x 4 plywood
Carpet and two lady wrestlers to help move it.

I "commandeered" a small, circular riser with 10" folding legs from a PBS video studio we did a taping in. It was carpeted, just exactly the right size, and most importantly round. I just flipped it up on it's side and rolled it with very little effort.

Took up less real estate than a square platform, fit in the vehicles, turned corners on a dime, and nobody had to help me move it.

Made one of these a while ago, but it was a drum kit riser. They were popular in the 70's and I wish I still had a picture. Only took one sheet of 3/4 plywood.

Top was as wide as the drum set (in your case, the steel legs), and four or five feet long. There was a lip around the edge so the bass drum couldn't slide off. No carpet back then, it was just painted black.

The base was made from six pieces of plywood 8" wide that slid together at each end like cardboard dividers. There were "tongues" on the sides of the base boards that went into holes in the top. Your weight on the top helped hold it together.

Here ya go,,,,,

John has the best idea. I've seen him play in those shoes.

John Billings wrote:Here ya go,,,,,

Now there's a man with Style!

JB

Try these guys:

http://www.intellistage.com/videos/vidplayer.php


http://www.intellistage.com/?page=prodd ... y=1&cat=15

They have a lot of different portable types and can custom build.

Your seat...

Richard Starkey wrote:I'm tired of being the shortest musician on stage

Ringo said, "yeah, yeah, yeah," with them JB boots I can see more dancers!

Let's not be silly. It's hard to find the serious responses in a post full of funny images.

Concert venues usually have risers available for backline musicians. I built my own once for a house band gig. I never had to move it, though.

I think the best solution is the IntelliStage platform or something similar. It has to fit in your vehicle, so measure carefully before you order. Their 1x1 meter, 40 cm high camera platform looks pretty good to me, but it's heavy.

Our drummer has been using a DIY riser for years. I'm sure you could construct something similar. Basically, he set his gear up to determine the minimum "footprint" he needed, then cut that shape out of plywood and hinged it for easy carry. The original legs were sheetrock mud buckets, but he's since built a series of plywood squares that pack up like nesting dolls. It works well, and the height of the mud buckets was just the right amount to bring his seated position up to the same level as the standing musicians.