The good-enough amp stand

Bruce Derr · Post by **Bruce Derr** » 13 Sep 2015 8:32 am

I’ve been using my Roland Cube 80x for most gigs for the last couple of years. I like to raise it up and tilt it a bit, so I decided to make a little amp stand out of thin plywood. I had an idea for how to make one that would break down flat for easy transport. So I took my amp and a utility knife out to the garage to experiment with some corrugated cardboard. I figured if a cardboard prototype could hold my amp, the eventual wooden version ought to be strong enough.

So there I am on the floor of the garage cutting out pieces for a prototype, and it was a little uncomfortable kneeling on the cement floor, so I looked around for something to sit on. I spied a little folding step stool I had bought for my wife Blair a couple of years ago. I grabbed it and sat on it... and then I realized that I was sitting on my new amp stand.

The stool is just tall enough, and even better, when I tried it up-side-down, I found that the cutouts on the bottom edges form a cradle that allows the Cube to sit at an angle. It’s sturdy and reasonably stable, and I like the way it folds flat by itself when picked up.

Blair probably wouldn’t have minded if I had appropriated hers, but I bought my own at a nearby dollar store for $7.50. I think I’ll ask Blair to help me make a cover for the Cube with a front pocket for the stool.

Bruce Derr · Post by **Bruce Derr** » 13 Sep 2015 8:38 am

This is the one I bought for $7.50, before I removed the labels.

Bruce Derr · Post by **Bruce Derr** » 13 Sep 2015 8:40 am

The cheapskate in me likes this sort of thing.

Larry Carlson · Post by **Larry Carlson** » 13 Sep 2015 8:59 am

That is interesting.
What is really dumb is that we have two of those little stools we have been carrying around in our motorhome for at least 5 years.
It never occurred to me to use them in that way. Maybe my old sclerotic brain isn't that flexible any longer.

I will be out the the rv garage today sometime absconding one of them and put it to good use.

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 13 Sep 2015 12:29 pm

You're a genius, Bruce! A mad genius, but a genius nevertheless!

(Ummm...was that dollar store by the Lee traffic circle. Think I need to pay them a visit!)

Bruce Derr · Post by **Bruce Derr** » 13 Sep 2015 12:51 pm

Dan, yep, that's the one, next to DD. Sometimes it seems like dollar stores and Dunkin' Donuts account for about 20% of the retail spaces in NH.

I bought Blair's at the Goodwill in Dover a couple of years ago. They might still have them.

I haven't tried this thing out on the job yet. Maybe I'll bring it to the Silver Spur this weekend. Totally new club for me, haven't even met any of the guys in the band yet... a good time to try out a new, untested piece of equipment, right?

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 13 Sep 2015 12:54 pm

Precisely: then if it blows up in your face you can say, "Some nut on the Steel Guitar Forum said this what work. Geeesh!"

Bruce Derr · Post by **Bruce Derr** » 13 Sep 2015 12:57 pm

Yup, that's what I'd say and I'd be telling the truth!

Bryan Bradfield · Post by **Bryan Bradfield** » 13 Sep 2015 3:27 pm

I'll be looking around for one of those stands. Now, tell us about your beam blocker.

Quentin Hickey · Post by **Quentin Hickey** » 13 Sep 2015 4:04 pm

The good old standard for me!!

Bruce Derr · Post by **Bruce Derr** » 13 Sep 2015 4:46 pm

Bryan, a while back somebody said in a post that a CD does not make a good beam blocker because it is hard. Treble frequencies reflect back to the speaker and cause sonic weirdness of some sort. It sounded plausible so I took out the CDR I had bolted behind my grille and replaced it with a lid from a jar of salsa that I fished out of the recycling bin, wrapped in an old black sock. I washed the lid and the sock before putting them in the amp. I put a hole through the lid and the sock for the screw. (The sock already had a hole in the toe but it didn't line up right.)

Bruce Derr · Post by **Bruce Derr** » 13 Sep 2015 4:56 pm

Quentin, spiffy color on that milk crate!

Bryan Bradfield · Post by **Bryan Bradfield** » 13 Sep 2015 7:17 pm

Thanks Bruce. I found that original post, and I will be adding some foam to my blocker right away. I've noticed a harshness that I hope to now mitigate.

Howard Steinberg · Post by **Howard Steinberg** » 14 Sep 2015 4:44 am

This will make a great stand for the Steelaire. Because of the large opening in the back
of that amp, the generic, L bracket, type of amp stand is hazardous to the speaker and a general train wreck in waiting. An added benefit would be using it to retreive items from a low bookcase shelf and saving what's lefo of my knees. Thanks for passing this on. The quest to find one begins today.

Chris Boyd · Post by **Chris Boyd** » 14 Sep 2015 7:38 am

Very clever !

Bryan Bradfield · Post by **Bryan Bradfield** » 14 Sep 2015 12:27 pm

I taped 1/2 inch carpet underlay (foam) to the inside surface of my blocker. I'll report later on my subjective opinion as to whether this reduced any harshness.

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 17 Sep 2015 7:17 am

Howard Steinberg wrote:This will make a great stand for the Steelaire. Because of the large opening in the back
of that amp, the generic, L bracket, type of amp stand is hazardous to the speaker and a general train wreck in waiting. An added benefit would be using it to retreive items from a low bookcase shelf and saving what's lefo of my knees. Thanks for passing this on. The quest to find one begins today.

A Steelaire? On a Goodwill stool? HA! Mad genius, indeed!

(Wonder if Amazon's got 'em?)

Great idea.

Howard Steinberg · Post by **Howard Steinberg** » 19 Sep 2015 10:04 am

Maybe not in the tilt back position. Will have to see how that works with this amp. Definitely in the upright position.

John Swain · Post by **John Swain** » 19 Sep 2015 2:19 pm

Bruce, Wal-Mart must have realized these are such desirable amp stands, they're selling them for $17 now!

Bryan Bradfield · Post by **Bryan Bradfield** » 30 Oct 2015 1:45 pm

The Wal-Mart stool that is in Canada is larger, heavier, and has V-shaped openings when turned upside down. It' won't hold the Cube amp in a tilt back position. It's only usable with amp sitting on the flat upright surface.
I got my version like Bruce's at Rona Hardware in Canada.
The foam backing on the beam blocker seems to further reduce speaker harshness. This is a tough call. It is very subjective and of course requires the listener to get centered right on the beam.

Billy Carr · Post by **Billy Carr** » 30 Oct 2015 10:20 pm

Good find there. Think I'd pick up a spray can of black paint for 1.30 at DG and paint it. Door stops are good for tilting amps also. 1.00 for three in a pack at DG works for me usually. Handle that is spring loaded is good also. Has to be mounted correctly for tilting.

Bryan Bradfield · Post by **Bryan Bradfield** » 31 Oct 2015 6:14 am

The stand that I bought is physically identical to Bruce's, but is made of black plastic, so cosmetically I'm happy. It is used to hold my Roland Cube 40, and the stand is very sturdy.
I purchased and tried 2 other foldable stands which looked similarly suitable in the flyer and internet photos, but which were ultimately of different sizes and shapes, and were not nearly as stable.
Concerning painting one of these stands black, I would think strongly about that. The trouble with paint on one of these is that, being foldable, the wear on the paint might be more than expected, and it seems to me that chipping and flaking paint might be more unattractive than the original non-matching colour in good physical condition.

John Booth · Post by **John Booth** » 31 Oct 2015 7:26 am

The black ones sound better

Kevin Mincke · Post by **Kevin Mincke** » 31 Oct 2015 6:33 pm

I want one like Bruce's to be able to flip it over & tilt back! Great idea, thanks for sharing

Peter Harris · Post by **Peter Harris** » 1 Nov 2015 3:35 am

John Booth wrote:The black ones sound better

...AND GO FASTER!!