Greetings,
I wanted to share a tip with all of you. I know that you can buy those "Proline" snare drum racks at Guitar Center or online, but they always seemed too expensive and not all that well built to me. I came up with my own rack that is more durable, has more room, and is still cheaper than the Proline racks.
I simply got a metal fire log rack. I got mine at Menard's (A home improvement store similar to Lowe's and Home Depot). These are well made, durable, easy to assemble and supports up to 1000 pounds. I made mine "custom" in the fact that I bought two of these fire log racks, so I could have a second tier. I simply assembled it like normal, and then measured how high I wanted the second set of parallel horizontal bars to be (21" from the bottom worked well for me). I then simply measured and drilled holes into the vertical supports in the correct places. I used the existing screws/nuts that came with the second fire log rack. Once assembled, I covered the metal bars with pipe insulation for padding.
The end result came out great. Much more capacity than those Proline racks, and even having to buy two, it was still cheaper (the racks were $35 each.....those Proline racks go for around $100). It works very well and the snares are held very securely. I have since put a 12" snare on it, and it is also held very securely. The rack itself, when empty, is very sturdy but is still light and easy to move around.
Here is the link to the exact rack I used:
The whole process, from drilling the holes to assembly took about 45 minutes. It was very easy. By the way, I also use one of these metal fire log racks for cymbal storage (using it "factory" with no second tier), using pipe insulation and towels for padding. Works great and holds a TON of cymbals.
I hope you enjoy and get inspired to go and get one/make one for yourself!
V
