Homemade Amp Stand

[kai_ski]

I've been looking around for an amp stand. I've been playing in a lot of tight spaces lately. There are some fancy hardwood stands out there that look incredibly nice, but are presumably very expensive and heavy (5-10 lbs.) I'm not really keen on the "On-Stage" variety of alloy stands either (also heavy, bulky, and includes a lot of pieces.) So I entered the man-space (basement) this afternoon for some drafting and power tools!!!

I used this beach chair plan as an example. Several friends have them and over the years I've used them for camping and lounging, and I think they are a fantastic simple design. Small and compact when folded up and lightweight as well. I simplified it and changed the dimensions to fit my db112. I have a gig on a small stage on Tuesday where I'll be able to test out the new design. I don't have a drill press or table saw, so some of my cuts and pilot holes are a little rough, but overall I think it's pretty cool.

I used 10' of 1 1/2"x3/4" and 4' of 1 1/2"x1/2" oak. I probably should have used pine for the first run, but I knew that I would use this one to failure, so I figured $15 of lumber at the local Home Depot was worth the risk. I'm going to take a page out of atlas stands book and use some heavy duty felt to pad the contact points of the stand.

Folded up dimensions are 24" tall x 12" wide x 1 1/2" thick. It can't weigh much (if any) more than my th500, but I haven't weighed it.










Stay tuned for a gig review this coming week

[JimmyM]

Looks like it points a tad high, but maybe not depending on where you stand. Anyway, spray paint it black and I'm down with it. Looks pro...way better than a milk crate, that's for sure!

[Rodger Bryan]

Thanks for sharing the design idea. I like the look of it and it seems like it would be useful for those venues where space may be tight.

[kai_ski]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Looks like it points a tad high, but maybe not depending on where you stand. Anyway, spray paint it black and I'm down with it. Looks pro...way better than a milk crate, that's for sure!

Thanks. Yeah, the angle will just have to be an experiment. I can easily change it by moving the location of the "seat" lower cross-piece. If I move it north, towards the end of the seat, it will decrease the angle.

Also, the angle was chosen with the idea that I would only use it with one cab. The pictures don't portray that idea very well. I just set it up there because it photographed better.

[JimmyM]

You think it would hold a B-15? I'm guessing roughly about 80 lbs all together with cab and head.

EDIT: It's a beach chair. Never mind I guess it would.

[two fingers]

Sweet looking design! Just one question. Where would your head go, and/or how would it stay in place?

Edit to add: OK, maybe that's two questions.

[kai_ski]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

You think it would hold a B-15? I'm guessing roughly about 80 lbs all together with cab and head.

I think it would. The chairs of the same design hold me at 200+lbs. The db112 weighs 45 lbs and it isn't even flexing under the weight. The hinge is the most vulnerable part. I used the 1 1/2" wide lumber for those pieces, but if you use 2" wide it will have a little more strength.

[kai_ski]

Originally Posted by two fingers

Sweet looking design! Just one question. Where would your head go, and/or how would it stay in place?

Edit to add: OK, maybe that's two questions.

Good questions.

I made the back tall enough that it allows cables to be routed through it. My 12 awg speaker cable is strong enough to support the th500 where it sits right now. My plan is to add a hinge to the top of the stand with a block attached to take the stress off of the cable. The hinge will allow the stand to still pack flat.

My design *was* such that the back should have been flush with the back of the cab, but the angle didn't quite work out to 90* when all was said and done.

[two fingers]

I figured you had a plan. That seems like a good one. Looking forward to the gig review.

[1954bassman]

IMO Clearcoat would look better with your set-up. Nice work, and cleaver design.

[JimmyM]

Come to think of it, with the tweed, maybe it would look better with a natural finish. Maybe 1954's onto something.

[Jim C]

Very clever design and great execution

[kai_ski]

Thanks all.

I think clear satin is definitely the direction I'll go for a finish. Maybe look for a "vintage" looking tint like my AVRI '57 Precision neck. I figure it's a good opportunity to experiment with finishing, which I have even less experience with than woodworking.

[wcoffey81]

for a different design i wonder about using something like hitch pins and a series of holes. you could then adjust the angle for different situations.
or the holes and a length of 1" dowel to make a moveable cross brace

[Jim C]

For easy/cheap finishing consider Minwax wipe on stain and their semi-gloss poly in either aerosol or brush on.

Have others done tweed covering for bass cabs; it looks really good.

[kai_ski]

Originally Posted by wcoffey81

for a different design i wonder about using something like hitch pins and a series of holes. you could then adjust the angle for different situations.

I like this idea. I'm going to investigate it.

[Philonius]

Nice work. I did a similar stand for my Phil Jones Briefcase recently. There is a post w/ pics if you cared enough to do a search. It makes a big difference if you're on a tight stage and have to stand really close to your rig. This one is nice because it folds perfectly flat, mine's a bit fussier to transport.

[JimmyM]

Wish I could build stuff like that. I MIGHT be able to assemble something like that from a cutkit, but even that would be challenging.

[kai_ski]

Originally Posted by Philonius

Nice work. I did a similar stand for my Phil Jones Briefcase recently. There is a post w/ pics if you cared enough to do a search. It makes a big difference if you're on a tight stage and have to stand really close to your rig. This one is nice because it folds perfectly flat, mine's a bit fussier to transport.

That is pretty fancy. No doubt custom built for the PJB. Fits like a glove.

[kai_ski]

I don't think I'm going to change a thing. I have never had such great stage sound without blowing the "crowd" away. You can see in this picture that the headliner's fridge was set up in the back of the stage, so I was only 2-3 feet in front of my cab. I just set the th500 on top with the back feet just in front of the top rail of the stand and the front on the cab. I didn't have time to take any pics of the setup between a quick setup and quicker tear down. Here's a picture from the crowd. You can see the blue light gleam on the Aguilar badge to my left.

The sound man just threw a mic on the cab and that was that. From all reports it sounded fine out front.