Though I mostly play guitar these days, I began my musical journey playing drums. I wasn't particularly good but could pound out a timely beat and bring on the noise when needed. One of the downsides of bin bashing was hauling kit around. Full kits are awkward to carry and take up lots of space in the van. The Drum Roller has been designed to help.
Essentially a full kit flight case on wheels, Tim Burnham's Drum Roller was made to carry a full kit to gigs by public transport or on foot. Electronic drum kits are highly portable of course, and there are lightweight versions of full kits available, but full-time drummer Burnham wanted to use a full-size acoustic setup.
The Roller itself serves as a 20-inch kick drum, with various compartments housing the rest of the kit. It has room for a rack tom, a floor tom, a snare and heavy duty hardware.
When you arrive at the gig, the toms, snare, and hardware can be unpacked and the travel case flipped on its side so that mounting hardware can be attached to the already-installed mounts. The seat sits atop the box during transit, but it looks like you'll have to carry cymbals and such in a separate bag on your back.
The current prototype has been extensively gigged throughout Australia and proven its road-worthy chops.
Burnham has decided to opt for a flat-pack design that mobile percussionists would assemble themselves like a piece of furniture from Ikea. He's also chosen not to supply a drum kit with the initial production units, but does say that the rolling flight case will accommodate "the majority of standard-sized drum hardware."
This looks like a pretty neat idea, and – judging by the examples in the video below – sounds pretty good too. To get the first hundred rolling off the production line he's turned to Kickstarter. Pledges for a Drum Roller (case only) are pitched at AUD 1,200 (about US$780), and if all goes to plan, shipping is estimated to start in December.
Source: Drum Roller
