Can I attach a notebook + sheet holder + mic boom arm to an X STAND?

[happyrat1]

As for toddlers and pianos? My advice is that the two don't mix.

I don't allow small children anywhere near my keyboards.

Gary

 

[happyrat1]

Don't forget if your keyboard weighs in at 40 lbs and over you can add impact forces of another 30 to 40 pounds if you play crescendo.

Best to err on the side of caution when ordering according to weight specs on a keyboard stand,

Gary

 

[Dino]

Yes I think that if a Hercules z stand can fail, then the mechanism inside sucks: Probably one of those you mentioned. A pain that one can't see the internals of such suckers.

You know my son was just about under it when it suddenly gave in. I was furious when going to the store you must understand. For scraps those commercial shith*ads (primarily talking about the shop) risked my sons life. I fall short of words.

If you live in an apartment with acorridor and one room apart from the kitchen then how on earth would you avoid toddlers?? Well you could build a false (japanese) wall around it. Then again we are back at not trusting the stand which evidently you dont either

 

[happyrat1]

I'm sorry to hear about your son's predicament.

All I can suggest is to go into the stores and examine the mechanism in detail and test them out with some serious weight before buying any stand.

Like I said, my Onstage double Z is rated for 350 lbs and I have about 80 lbs of keyboards stacked up on it.

I don't have to worry about any young lives, but I'm still very concerned with the safety of $6000 worth of gear.

I'd trust my Onstage with my life if I had to.

Gary

 

[Dino]

Question re X stands.

Have those that failed been the type with friction locks?

I have a Roland Z stand at home which is rock solid, but a pain to disassemble.

I also have a double X stand that I keep at a venue to use there but when I bought this stand I made sure that the locking mechanism was via solid pin with a thumbscrew type of locking mechanism. The stand is pretty robust and I always lean on it to be sure it is locked OK before I put the keyboard on it. Alas I have very limited storage at the venue and it folds into less than half the size of the Z stand in about 5s.

Just a biit concerned after all this talk of stand failures.

Do you know if the Millenium 2010 double x stand is with a friction stop? Thats the one I have and I think it says up to 50 kilos. It has a grey ball like thing at the cross junction of the legs.

 

[happyrat1]

I really trust friction locks the least of all.

Look for marketing words like "locking pins" and "positive locking" if you are in the market for a stand.

50 kilos is approx 110 lbs.

Assuming your keyboard weighs in at 35 lbs or more (88 key hammer action right?) when you start playing with gusto you can double the impact forces or even more.

That brings you pretty damned close to the failure weight in the rating.

You should be looking around for stuff rated at double or better yet triple the weight to give you a margin of safety.

That stand is an accident waiting to happen.

Gary

 

[Dino]

Ok Yes locking pins. Something simple and trustworthy. Like in muscle training machines.

Hell I am more worried about flying but quick at calming myself. What if some mechanic got wasted the day before (or the pilot) and forgot some bolts etc. We don't wanna go there

Often we are living on the edge. Even a tourist trip into the mountains somewhere depends solely on the driving skills of the chauffeur. We often talk about a few inches as the difference between life and death.

Each day we lay our lives into the hands of technology and humans presumed capabilities.

I made such trip a few days ago with my son on a vacation in a very exotic place. We were far up, narrow roads, cars had to stop to allow us to pass. Yet the rate of accidents were lower than on the highway. Those busdrivers are really handpicked we were told. Respect for their skills.

 

[happyrat1]

These are the only keyboard X Stands I own.

The first two images are of the locking bar type. (sometimes called the coffin type) This stand is 20 years old and it's a great stand for a single braced stand. If you see one of these floating around then snap it up.

The second one is a locking pin type I bought from Amazon for my Juno DS61. It's a lightweight 20 lbs keyboard and it's been OK so far. Notice the disk is tack welded to the bar instead of spot welded. Even so, the welds are very small and I wouldn't imagine this to be good for any more than about 35 lb keyboard max.

I can't find a weight rating for this one but it's a very positive locking mechanism and its at least double the weight rating of anything I'll use it for.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B013IFN0CI/

Gary

 

[Dino]

Good info as always. Thanks Gary

 

[happyrat1]

You can still buy a few decent X Stands these days.

https://www.avshop.ca/cases-amp-rac...dyssey-ltbxs-heavy-duty-battle-coffin-x-stand

https://www.avshop.ca/cases-amp-rac...yssey-ltbxs2-heavy-duty-battle-coffin-x-stand

https://www.amazon.ca/Odyssey-LTBXS-X-Stand-Double-Keyboard/dp/B0002JL36O

https://www.amazon.ca/Odyssey-LTBXS2-Two-Tier-X-Stand/dp/B001Q3KT4W/

One of these might work out for you.

Take notice of the weight ratings.

Gary

 

[Biggles]

Cheers for the images Gary.

The tack welds are a bit on the small side, the Engineer in me says that if the stand were mine that I should drill and fit a secondary pair of bolts to the frame to better secure the quadrant and to be a supplement the welds.

 

[happyrat1]

I agree Biggles. My dad owned a metal fabrication shop before he retired. I know full well how easily a tack weld can fail.

On the other hand, I only use the stand for a 20 lb board and the metal disk that's held in place by them is also fully supported by the metal fulcrum pin that's riveted thru the frame so the tacks are really only meant to prevent rotation on that axis.

Furthermore, the way it's designed any additional bolts I could add would interfere with the normal opening and closing of the stand for storage.

With a 20 lb load and max total of 30 lbs of impact it's unlikely it would fail me under normal use.

If I'd still had access to an arc welder these days I'd take an angle grinder to the paint and tack on a couple more welds, but coulda, shoulda woulda

Gary

 

[happyrat1]

If I were really worried btw, I'd probably just duct tape a crossbar to it in a fixed position and be done with it.

That would be sufficient reinforcement for even the worst case scenario

Gary

 

[CowboyNQ]

Ok so would you say that I can remove them rather far apart the tier 2 arms then bend them towards each other to compensate and use them for holding a laptop?

That's what I do, as you can see from the pic. Of course, I am standing, not sitting, which means the angle that I need to cant the arms inwards is not as great - so it will support more weight. However a modern laptop weighs four fifths of bugger all, so it really shouldn't be an issue, regardless.

And you say those second tier arms don't drop even at an angle?

Nope. Mine are rock solid. I put them on nice and tight. If you saw me on stage, you'd see I'm bouncing up and down on the riser causing all manner of tremors and shocks. And my arms never move a millimetre. The reason they don't move is because the laptop is so light.

 

[CowboyNQ]

Dawned to me to ask if those support pins on the tier 2 that hold the keyboard/laptop will not loose their function when bending the tier 2 arms towards the center? Unless they can also be turned to stay upright? I mean those stoppers that block the keyboard from sliding.

1. No they don't, because they still stick upwards, just at an angle.

2. You don't need them anyway. I sit my laptop well back from those supports so I can see my keyboard's control surfaces properly. It never moves an inch.

3. If you were nervous about all this stuff - I would custom build a centre brace for the second tier, then I would custom build a platform for the laptop to sit on. Both of these factors would increase security or peace of mind. I don't bother with it because I just don't need to. Less stuff to be trucking around the country and getting lost.

The thing you need to remember about supporting a laptop v supporting a keyboard is that the only weight you need to support is the weight of the laptop itself. I assume you're using the laptop as a sound module, so it just sits there. You're not hammering away at the keys.

 

[CowboyNQ]

Dino, I'm going to contribute a more general thought about keyboards and stands here.

No matter what you do, it is IMPOSSIBLE to come up with a keyboard and stand setup that is 100% foolproof and will guarantee zero failure. Ask the builders of the Titanic.

Whilst I've never had a stand even come close to spontaneously failing, I've had instruments dropped on my gear, drunken patrons fall into my stands, stage techs bump into my keyboards. You name it, it's happened over 25+ years of gigging in venues large and small. Some of that stuff simply isn't predictable or preventable.

However you can certainly minimise your risk factors, and there's lots of great advice in this thread.

The general principles I try to apply in relation to stands for playing live are:

1. Can I transport it easily?
2. Can I set it up/pull it down quickly and easily?
3. Is it robust enough to withstand the weight of my equipment?
4. Check the stands before every show to ensure nothing is bent, loose or fatigued
5. Carry a small toolkit with me to do running repairs
6. Make sure EVERYTHING I take on stage is insured

 

[Dino]

Dino, I'm going to contribute a more general thought about keyboards and stands here.

No matter what you do, it is IMPOSSIBLE to come up with a keyboard and stand setup that is 100% foolproof and will guarantee zero failure. Ask the builders of the Titanic.

Whilst I've never had a stand even come close to spontaneously failing, I've had instruments dropped on my gear, drunken patrons fall into my stands, stage techs bump into my keyboards. You name it, it's happened over 25+ years of gigging in venues large and small. Some of that stuff simply isn't predictable or preventable.

However you can certainly minimise your risk factors, and there's lots of great advice in this thread.

The general principles I try to apply in relation to stands for playing live are:

1. Can I transport it easily?
2. Can I set it up/pull it down quickly and easily?
3. Is it robust enough to withstand the weight of my equipment?
4. Check the stands before every show to ensure nothing is bent, loose or fatigued
5. Carry a small toolkit with me to do running repairs
6. Make sure EVERYTHING I take on stage is insured

Thanks for those answers. Yes I think those looking for advice would be covered by now