I am in the process of creating a DIY percussion stompbox. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

I have a 10 3/4" x 15 1/2" wooden office outbox. I am going to screw a 6" x 9 1/8" foot  board to create a sort of a kick stand on the bottom of the box.  I want to add a dugout, bracket or something similar  in which I can easily put in and pull out a tamberine. Also, I will place various nuts, bolts, nails, coins and whatever in a can and create an area to slide this canister into. I also am going to make it easy to add and remove this canister. I will have a thick wooden board to bang the drum onto.

I will mike this up and put it through my spare practice Silvertone guitar amp. 

In addition,  I plan to experiment with putting Velcro on a license plate and attaching it to my shoe and  banging the plate on the bottom board.

Another experiment will be placing the license plates on the bottom board and hitting my pedal on this board. 

This is something my son and I are messing with to have fun.

Has anybody one here ever tried anything like this before? Any comments, suggestions, etc. would be much appreciated.

Very Cool! Love this raw DIY stuff. I have an old suitcase drum and snare set up I actually record with once in a while, not nearly as creative or original as this though, but it thuds.

Chaz

Okay everybody. Here is the for now, the final version until I make changes again...

I added an old 1971 Iowa license plate, which I double taped to the box. This actually creates a more base ended beat while I still run the guitar delay pedal. Also attached is a tamberine, which I atteched a very strong clamp to this contraption. Basically, everything else is the same except I beat on the top of the box with my foot instead of rocking the box back and forth.

The stomp side of this contraption.

The microphone side.

Okay... i have switched things around a bit. I unscrewed and took off the top board of this contraption. While rummaging through recycled newspapers, I came out with the idea of filling up the hole on the bottom with newspapers to help muffle the sound while  screwing a board to the bottom, which turns the inbox into an actual box... asides from the cutout. Anyway, after miking this up with a delay pedal on a rockabilly setting, things sounded much better with a very bass ended sound. I still have the tamborine clamped on the front.  Anyway, i will make another video in a day or so showing the improvements of this stomp box. 

Thank you KK. I will look up the book and thank you for your words of encouragement.

KK Dirty Money & Las Drogas said:

Good luck, this is a great idea. 

I make a bunch of different home-made instruments, from stringed to percussion. 

I recommend poking around the Cigar Box Nation site. There are thousands of do-it-yourselfers on there and they have made many variations of what you intend to make. 

Also, a great book entitled "Hand Made Music Factory" by M. Orr is a wonderful book that shows you step by step how to make a variety of these instruments from reclaimed/recycled materials.

The web has everything you need. 

But your idea sounds great, have at it. You can always modify it after you build and the trial by error begins. Bottom line: great idea = just do it!

Here is an update. I just posted a video on youtube, which will document what needs to be improved upon. 

Anyway, the drumming is not really bass ended. I need to find better padding, maybe carpet or something. The percussion sounds like somebody shooting a shotgun instead of a bass drum. i also need to add more amplification, but that is a neighborly issue.

Anyway, this is a work in progress and any suggestions to help modify this would be greatly appreciated.

Good luck, this is a great idea. 

I make a bunch of different home-made instruments, from stringed to percussion. 

I recommend poking around the Cigar Box Nation site. There are thousands of do-it-yourselfers on there and they have made many variations of what you intend to make. 

Also, a great book entitled "Hand Made Music Factory" by M. Orr is a wonderful book that shows you step by step how to make a variety of these instruments from reclaimed/recycled materials.

The web has everything you need. 

But your idea sounds great, have at it. You can always modify it after you build and the trial by error begins. Bottom line: great idea = just do it!

Actually it is pretty well built as it is an older one.

G. Wood said:

OK, thanks, I'm getting a picture here. Those inboxes are kind of lightweight, no? Hope you don't rock it to pieces too quick.

OK, thanks, I'm getting a picture here. Those inboxes are kind of lightweight, no? Hope you don't rock it to pieces too quick.

Thank you Caryn. I might try glueing a non-slip bathtub pad to the board. Also, good idea about the chain.
caryn lavender said:

They have this stuff that comes in a roll with a sticky backing...it's used for stairs and such to prevent slipping...or how about those stick on rubber things that go on the bottom of a bathtub or shower so you don't slip.

I will also post a video or something after it's complete...

I was also considering using chain against the license plates...like a snare sound.

This is a percussion instrument. I have a 10 3/4 x 15 1/2 piece of wood  (which is screwed to the top of a wooden office inbox) which hangs  5  1/2" over the edge of this box. By pressing at the end of this board, the box makes an up and down motion. The dugout is where I will place the tamberene (which i plan to affix to this device), so I can easily pull it out.   I am thinking about tying a bungee cord to the tamboreen as an alternative. 

I hope I was able to clarify things with this post.

 

G. Wood said:

I don't understand what this kickstand is, or where the bucket goes or what a dugout is. In fact, I don't understand anything about this! What is this thing for? I see a mention of drums, is this a percussion instrument? I don't get it.

They have this stuff that comes in a roll with a sticky backing...it's used for stairs and such to prevent slipping...or how about those stick on rubber things that go on the bottom of a bathtub or shower so you don't slip.

I will also post a video or something after it's complete...

I was also considering using chain against the license plates...like a snare sound.

I don't understand what this kickstand is, or where the bucket goes or what a dugout is. In fact, I don't understand anything about this! What is this thing for? I see a mention of drums, is this a percussion instrument? I don't get it.

Good luck with the "Idaho Drum," Caryn.

Anyway, after assembling the main parts to this contraption, I discovered the slickness of the wood is a problem. Time to find some non-slick rubber and/or maybe add a Velcro strap to go around my shoe. Otherwise, my beat is more uncoordinated.

When I am done, i will put up a YouTube video explaining how I built this and how it runs.

I might steal your license plate idea...it sounds interesting...and I just had to replace the plates on my car, so I already have 2 plates ready to go ;)

Am getting ready to do the same type of thing...I am calling it the Idaho Drum Kit...I don't plan on doing the one man band kind of setup though, because, to tell you the truth, I am not that coordinated...