Legs/stands for Surdos

A question was asked ........

Does anyone have recommendations for surdo stands?

We have been using legs on surdos for several years now, and I tend to find Gope to be the most useful make.

The Contemporanea ones are also very good, but I believe they are quite expensive. Both can be loosened and tightened by hand, which is handy when having to set up quickly, as is often the case.

RMV also make quite good legs, but they have to be loosened and tightened with a drum key (a standard drum key, not a surdo key). This is a little bit more fiddley and you have to remember to bring the key (not that anyone on this list would ever forget a tuning key, or sticks, straps, beaters, or anything like that).

All the above have to have the  mounts screwed into the shell of the drum, which is not a difficult task, but take a little bit of measurement and planning, and, of course, a drill.

The other option is the tripod stands which are available from Kalango (www.kalango.de) which consist of a folding tripod, which isn't attached to the drum. These work quite well, but are not really adjustable height-wise, which may cause a problem with certain players.

Finally, I see that some companies (most recently Pearl) are making legs that attach onto the tuning rods, saving the need to drill the shell. These are height-adjustable, but I haven't had a chance to test them, and I don't know of they are available separate to their own brand of surdos - maybe some else knows?

Hope this helps!

Simeon

Check out Meinl's samba range, 14, 16, 18 and 20" drums?

Hi,

We have been using surdo stands ever since we started - we only had one player who could keep time back then, so he had to play both the 1 and 2. Now we are just lazy. I made the stands out of 3 x 1 timber My carpentry skills are basic, but still better than my computer skills, so I had to draw this and then photograph the drawing. You have to get the diameter of each surdo right, and it is important to get the height of the notch right, otherwise the surdo will wobble. You can add a bit of padding to the notch. The two pieces fit together using the notch at the bottom, and this should be as tight as possible- just don't forget to make them opposite hands !

You can buy surdo stands but these cost about £4 each, less if you can get the timber for free. All of ours pack into a single suitcase with room in the middle for more stuff, but if you do that I would advise one with wheels !

I have to say that having the surdos on stands does not do much for the sound. On hard surfaces the sound bounces right back off the floor and it ruins the tone. It sounds a lot better with carpet or grass underneath.

There must be other ways to make them but this is cheap, fairly easy and they pack flat.
regards
Les.

Hi,

I tried this version but it's much too close to the floor.

Mick

Hinged