BDL-100 Bass Drum Lift

This lift did perform as promised, although I had to find the correct positioning of it underneath the 18" tom that I was converting to a bass drum. In order for the beater to strike the drum correctly, I had to place the lift about 3" back from the front rim of the drum.Once I found the optimum position, the lift did allow the bass drum pedal to strike properly and it definitely improved the sound.

I recently purchased a Gretsch New Classic Bop Drum kit which is awesome. This kit has an 18" bass drum which is quite small and poses a challenge with a bass drum pedal and how it aligns with the beater side of the drum head. Small bass drums require some sort of gizmo to raise the drum so that the pedal interacts at a point on the head that maximizes tone and projection. When I ordered the kit, I didn't realize that it shipped with it's own bass drum riser - there was nothing in the item description that indicated it would include such a lift. So, I purchased the Dixson bass drum lift after seeing a couple of reviews of this product from the recent NAMM show.It just so happened that the Dixson lift arrived on the same day as my new Gretsch kit (ordered from different vendors). When I opened the Gretsch boxes, I discovered the included lift and then I opened the Dixson lift. It is immediately apparent that there is no comparison. The included Gretsch lift had multiple screws and wing-nuts that to me, seemed certain to mar the finish on my new kit. The Dixson was completely different. It is made of nylon and there is no way it can mar the finish of my drums. Its beauty is in its simplicity. Simple, easy, no instructions necessary. The Dixson includes a strip of velcro on the bottom of the main part of the lift to prevent bass drum creep. Works like a charm as long as your kit is on a rug.In the end, it was a no-brainer: The Dixson is the lift for me. At first I thought $40 was a bit stiff for a hunk of nylon but trust me, if you need a bass drum lift, it simply does not get any easier, cheaper or better than this.Very happy with this product.

I bought this for my Ludwig Questlove kit because the riser that comes with it is unusable with my pedal. I almost returned this Dixson; had the packing slip printed even. But then what? My 16" bass drum sounds like 8" without a riser. OK, that's hyperbole but you know what I mean.The problem was mainly that my Tama Iron Cobra 200 wouldn't lay flat on the floor because of the shiny rubber bottom that covered the empty space in the body of this riser (it looks like something Trinity from The Matrix would accessorize with, maybe as a 50 round mag holder?). But once this part is removed, the pedal lays flat and the riser is usable. I just had to adjust spurs and find the right position for the pedal so that the beater is at a 90° angle to the bass drum head.So great but it seemed kind of empty and fragile with all that space exposed. So I cut up a paint stirring stick from Home Depot into four parts: three to cover the bottom and one as extra bracing (which I had to route out a little using a Dremel with router attachment) for the footplate part. I filled the empty spaces with  3M Bondo All Purpose Putty , stuck on three wooden sticks, and sanded it. Then I epoxyed the fourth piece in place with clamps and sprayed with black paint.Maybe all that wasn't necessary but Dixson has a lot more "integrity" now. It's much heavier, substantial and definitely stronger. If you try this, just FYI the Bondo stuff dries VERY quickly once you stir in the hardener. Just stir it a couple of seconds and stuff it in there.My only other complaint is that the fuzzy Velcro strip attached where the bass drum lays is not at all easy to remove. I wanted to change it for the rubber strip to get a little extra height but it's too hard to remove. And it's not even stuck on there straight (so much for "Made In The USA." Maybe my Dixson was returned like that and just sent back out???). It would've been much better if I was given the OPTION of which strip to stick on there. Finally, I peeled the hooky Velcro part from Trinity's rubber thingy and stuck that on my bass drum so it's easier to find the right place for the pedal.I guess it works pretty well now but hey, what should I expect for $40? Something that works out of the box? Nah, too easy.

I wanted to try to open up the sound of my 20" diameter bass drum, and one way to do that was to lift the drum shell off the floor. When I read about this device, the fact that it would both perform that lift, AND allow me to reposition my bass drum beaters to the center of the drum while maintaining a more 'normal' beater shaft length, AND no longer have to clamp my pedal to the drum rim (and reduce any potential long term marks/damage) all added up to a device that sounded perfect, in theory.The theory translated perfectly to reality! I love this lift! I must admit to being surprised that the item is made of, apparently, vacu-formed plastic, and is hollow and VERY light. I guess I had expected a solid piece of plastic/rubber, but regardless of my expectations, the lift works fabulously well for its intended purpose. I don't play outside my home, and I'm not sure how well it would hold up to long term touring/transport. My biggest concern would be where the pedal mounting 'plate' is molded onto the lift part of the unit; I can easily see that joint breaking if abused, which would render the product useless. But I can't support my concern at this point. It is pricey for what it is, and if you're handy with woodworking tools, you would probably make one yourself. But for those without such talents or equipment, this drum lift is an ideal little accessory!