GUITAR AMP TILT STAND

There are many advantages to using an amp Stand:

The floor absorbs a lot of bass vibrations directly from the amp and can transfer them through walls and ceilings. By raising the amp, you reduce the chance of that, and the absorption or amplification of certain other frequencies. If you live in an apartment, your neighbours are definitely not going to appreciate the sounds of your amp vibrating through the floor and an amp stand will lessen this. Also, the amp stand aims the sound at your ears, (and your audience) so you and they can better hear what you're playing. An additional advantage is that by raising the height of the amplifier and tilting it, you are bringing the controls closer to your hands and making them easier to see. Depending on your amp, this will save having to crouch down or bend over to make adjustments in between songs. I designed this for my Line 6- Spyder V20 amp and it should fit many of the smaller amps out there. If not, it would be a simple matter to reduce or expand it to fit your particular amp.

I made this out of a 1 x 10 x 4’ pine shelf I had on hand although any 1” (actually 3/4”) material will work. You may want to use a finer grained hardwood if you want to stain and varnish it. I used white glue, 1” brad nails, 4- 2” flathead wood screws and 4 domed 1/2” wood plugs to hide the screw heads. I made all cuts with a panel saw and a mitre saw. Pine needs lots of sanding so various grades of sandpaper are required. Also, a good primer and paint will be needed to finish the job, although you may want to stain and varnish instead. I went with black to match the amp. Luckily, I had all the materials and this didn’t cost me a cent, but even if you had to buy everything, it would still be an inexpensive build.

Make a cardboard template. All dimensions are provided in the attached photo. Rip 4” wide strips from your board, then cut 4 - 16” pieces from the strips using the mitre saw. Use the template to trace the shape on each 16” piece. Make the angled cuts with the mitre saw, then cut away the 2” x 8” notch from each piece. You now will have 4 identical pieces which should be sanded until smooth. Also, cut a 2” x 16” piece for the cross-piece. This will be shortened later.

Using glue and brad nails make the 2- X- shaped pieces. Nail on the inside so it doesn’t show. You will have a left and a right, each consisting of an inside and outside leg, which should be opposites. 

 Place each X-leg on the appropriate side of your amp bottom leaving an inset of 1/4”or so, and measure the inside distance between them. This is the length of cross-piece you will need. Shorten the cross- piece to this length. 9, 1/2” for mine. Now is a good time to sand it as well. 

Draw a line from the X-leg top vertex to the X-leg bottom vertex on each piece. (Check photo) Put marks on the line, 1/2” and 1, 1/2” from the top vertex. Drill through with a 3/16” drill bit. On the outside of each X piece, make a shallow hole (over the existing holes) with the 1/2” Forstner bit. This is to allow the wood plugs to hide the screws. 

Hold the cross- piece in place and pre-drill through the existing holes with a 1/8” bit to help start the screws. Use glue and screws to assemble. When it all lines up, glue the wood plugs in place.

After a thorough sanding, I painted all exposed cut edges with a thick primer. When dry, I gave a second coat to the whole thing. Two coats of flat black spray paint finished the job. Some felt stick-on floor protectors on each foot may help isolate any vibrations. It is a sturdy and attractive stand which supports the amp well and now I can see the controls too. Also, with the template, it will be easy to make more for family and friends. Great gift for a guitar player.