Best Keyboard stand for two controllers close together

[Marzzz]

Coming off the posts for best keyboard stands for standing and sitting, I was wondering what would be the best keyboard stand to get two 76 key MIDI controllers as close together vertically as possible. My bottom keyboard is a VAX77, which has nothing on its top surface, so I could literally place a keyboard directly on top of it, except it is not deep enough.

 

This would be for studio use, so weight/portability is not a factor. Height of the bottom keyboard is at 31", about 3" above standard piano height. I currently have a Quiklock Z stand, and actually drilled holes in the vertical supports of the upper tier to bring it down as close as possible, but there is still a substantial height differential.

 

[Markyboard]

Maybe an A Frame type stand:

Standtastc A-Frame

 

Also I'm not sure if an Apex stand would allow this close a separation but worth a look.

[eric]

I know Invisible stands are not available new and they have created some polarizing camps on this forum, but whenever I'm playing with more than one keyboard, that is my go-to solution. I had mine dialed in so that I could use a Yamaha S90 on the lower tier with a Nord Electro on the upper. The Nord was supported by the stand, but at the same level as the back edge of the Yamaha, so it was laying over the back ~2" and this was incredibly cool and ergnomic.

 

Not sure if there is anything on the market now that will do this, but maybe look for a used Invisible stand.

 

 

[AnotherScott]

K*M 18880 with the 18881 stacker, flipped backwards, will let you get the boards close, in a manner similar to the Invisible stands. You might be able to get the stacker low enough so that it would support your top board's rear end while its front rested on your VAX, or that might require a little modification to the stand.

[J. Dan]

I get my keyboards pretty darn close together with an APEX stand. Only caveat is that you cannot angle the tiers, they are only parallel with the ground. But the only limitation to the distance is the thickness of the tier arm itself supporting the top keyboard, and that's about an inch or so. (see my avatar)

 

You can also get that close with a Standtastic, which does have some angle adjustments as well, although it's in increments and not continuously adjustable.

[JimboKeys]

I use a Generic X-Stand or table stand with something like this:

On-Stage Stands Keyboard X Stand Add On Tier

Discard the cross brace, and remove and discard the front stops.

Set the arms for 90 degrees (i.e. parallel to the bottom board).

Place the bottom board on the stand, insert the tier arms into the stand, and splay them outward so that they rest on the bottom board.

Tighten the arms in this position, and lay the top board on the arms.

 

- Jimbo

 

[J. Dan]

I use a Generic X-Stand or table stand with something like this:

On-Stage Stands Keyboard X Stand Add On Tier

Discard the cross brace, and remove and discard the front stops.

Set the arms for 90 degrees (i.e. parallel to the bottom board).

Place the bottom board on the stand, insert the tier arms into the stand, and splay them outward so that they rest on the bottom board.

Tighten the arms in this position, and lay the top board on the arms.

 

- Jimbo

 

I had a really hard time getting that style close back when I was using an X-stand. At least the one I had. To splay them outward as you describe made the tier too wide for the top keyboard.

[J. Dan]

By the way, I just measured the thickness of the tier arms of my stands. The Apex is exactly 1" (note this is a vintage Apex, don't know if modern versions are the same). My Standtastic is also exactly 1".

 

So what hat means for each is that you have a 1" space from the highest point of the lower keyboard to the bottom of the top keyboard. The shape of the keyboard will dictate the actual distance from key bed to key bed. For instance, on my Korg Triton, there's a couple inches between the top of the keys, and the highest point of the back of the keyboard.

[Ledbetter]

For studio use, the Standtastic cant be beat. Heavy, but more adjustable and more stable than the Apex.

[EscapeRocks]

By the way, I just measured the thickness of the tier arms of my stands. The Apex is exactly 1" (note this is a vintage Apex, don't know if modern versions are the same). My Standtastic is also exactly 1".

 

 

The arms are the same dimensions. I still have my 1987 Apex, and a newer one, and I interchange arms all the time.

[hardware]

Standtastics for me.

All angles on the telescopic arms too.

105s for standing are great,

[Marzzz]

Plenty of great ideas! Not sure if I am a fan of A Frames, but worth a look.

[Ledbetter]

The Standtastic is all steel and much more secure than most A frames. Good luck with your choice.

[J. Dan]

I don't like standtastic for gigging, but for studio it's pretty awesome. I've bashed them plenty in the past, but strictly based on regular gigging. I keep mine set up at home and love it for that,

[Dave Keys]

K&M Spider Pro. As they don't rely on pre-drilled holes, the height adjustments can be very precise - down to the millimetre, so you can have your boards as close or as far apart as you like.

[brenner13]

I've been bar gigging with a Standtastic three-tier for nearly a year now. I think it might be one of the best portable options out there for three boards. If I only need two boards for a show, I have the choice of bottom two for sitting or top two for standing without having to get the allen-wrench out to adjust anything. I like my boards to be as close together as possible, too.

 

If a venue only calls for two boards and I know I'll be standing, the old Invisible Stand occasionally makes the stage. That offers a nice, tight rig like Eric's photos show. Good luck finding one in decent shape at a reasonable price, though.

[nickd]

Another option is just to use two stands, one for each board - I've done this before with two X stands

[Mighty Ferguson]

K*M 18880 with the 18881 stacker, flipped backwards, will let you get the boards close, in a manner similar to the Invisible stands. You might be able to get the stacker low enough so that it would support your top board's rear end while its front rested on your VAX, or that might require a little modification to the stand.

I did something similar, except I removed the arms from the 18881 and just used the posts. I wrapped some foam around the tops and used them to support the back of the top board, while the front rested on the back of the bottom controller. I just needed to pull the bottom one forward a bit. I marked the stand with tape where the back of the bottom one should be.

[Stokely]

My spider pro would allow for this, though the top board has a set angle on it that you might not like. But one reason to pay 250 for a stand is the ultra-portability and that isn't a factor for you.

 

My old stand, an onstage 2-tier Z, would work probably even better. It has both height and angle adjustments for the top stand. I got mine on sale for 75, really good stand (bulky and hard to transport was the reason I moved on.)

[hardware]

The Standtastic is all steel and much more secure than most A frames. Good luck with your choice.

 

I use Dual 88 note controllers on mine all the time.

Bought 2 @ NAMM 96.

Still havent used my spare.

Wing nuts from Loews and Velcro squares are all I ever needed.

 

I am thinking of getting another smaller stand for these dinky little stages I now find myself in. Id love a single X Stand for those gigs but I cant find one where I can angle the upper arms.

Whats the matter with these manufacturers?

Its not a Pedal Steel...

[ABECK]

I know Invisible stands are not available new and they have created some polarizing camps on this forum, but whenever I'm playing with more than one keyboard, that is my go-to solution.

I appreciate how you can set up your boards on an invisible stand with no overlap. Many 2 tiered solutions force you to overlap significantly. In that overhead pic, you can really see how both boards are totally accessible. Me likey!

[Bobby Simons]

I have a stand similar to this one: QL-642

One day I realized I could eliminate a connecting bar and screw 'wheel' from the second tier brackets and lower that board right down to the bottom keyboard. I was a happy camper.

 

 

[roygBiv]

K*M 18880 with the 18881 stacker, flipped backwards, will let you get the boards close, in a manner similar to the Invisible stands. You might be able to get the stacker low enough so that it would support your top board's rear end while its front rested on your VAX, or that might require a little modification to the stand.

I did something similar, except I removed the ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂarmsÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ from the 18881 and just used the posts. I wrapped some foam around the tops and used them to support the back of the top board, while the front rested on the back of the bottom controller. I just needed to pull the bottom one forward a bit. I marked the stand with tape where the back of the bottom one should be.

 

I do this too, but instead of the using the 18881 posts, I made a wooden thingy that slides into each of the 1880 (idea stolen from Vonnor I think? Or somebody on this forum..)

 

This lets me to rest the front end of my Roland VR09 onto the RD64 (below), with the VR09 back end sitting on the wooden thingy. I designed the wooden thingy (I need an acronym if I keep saying that, how about - woot) so it has a flat space upon which I can put another keyboard, or more often, a wooden shelf upon which I can put my case that holds my mixer/effects/keyboard power supplies/connecting cables.

 

Makes set-ups and tear down super fast. Woot!

 

Heres a picture:

 

https://postimg.org/image/o4h1osw8n/

 

 

From this post last year:

https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2844127/2

 

PS - how"s come I can"t seem to post pictures, and I keep getting these squirrely extra characters when I try to use quotations or apostrophes? Is it because I"m using an iPad? Or just my normal incompetence?

 

[stoken6]

I have a stand similar to this one: QL-642

One day I realized I could eliminate a connecting bar and screw 'wheel' from the second tier brackets and lower that board right down to the bottom keyboard. I was a happy camper.

 

Yeah I've done similar:

 

 

I used Quiklok QLX-3 and simply unscrewed the horizontal arms from the uprights. The uprights support the back of my upstairs board, and my lower controller supports the front. A yard of 1/2in Neoprene along the front edge of the controller holds it nicely in place.

 

I've moved on now to using an Ultimate Apex stand. Controller (Alesis this time) on the longer 18in tribars (arms), Nord resting on the controller and a clamp only: no tribars on the upper clamp. This is the best pic I've got:

 

 

The little white thing is a strip of expanded polystyrene stuck to the upper clamp, to give it a little tilt, matching the tilt on my controller's front panel. I prefer a centre-column stand as I can velcro my Rolls PM351 in easy reach, and I'm now using Set List Maker on my phone for patch selection, velcro-ed to the top of the column.

 

But (there's always a but) I'm struggling with my pedalboard. Because it's resting on the Apex legs it won't stay still. Plus those little square switch pedals aren't as positive-feeling as a proper piano-style sustain. I'm going to try with my Proel KK20 - discontinued by the looks of things, but it's one of these:

 

Together with my old pedalboard:

 

 

I've experienced a bit of a wobble with that Proel stand (rotation around an axis collinear with the centre column, I guess the aviators would call that "yaw") with that stand, but I'll try it. At the moment I'm waiting for my glued velcro to dry...

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Marzzz]

Right now, I am looking at my Quiklok upper tier components, and think a little but more work with a drill and a hacksaw might get me pretty close...!

[bob_sd]

+1 on Standtastic for studio install. I use the keyboard wall mount kit. Keyboard angles are not continuously adjustable - but the keyboard height is continuously adjustable! Just make sure you attach the wall mounts to studs...

[Joe P]

One approach to consider for exposing the lower board is extending the lower tier toward you, if possible. On a heavy duty On Stage Double X, I used some upper tier arms I had laying around to increase the depth of the lower tier. The spare arms slid inside the front of the bottom tier. I had to drill some holes, cut the arms, put in some small bolts etc.... I gained about 4"-5" which is all I needed. You could probably use copper pipe just as easily or even PVC.

 

I keep the lower board over the center of the of the stand when I'm setting up, and once the upper board is on I can slide the lower one towards me. I was initially concerned that the stand would tip, but that has never been an issue. Rig is NE2 over FA08.

[seratone]

I really like this idea (splaying out the top beams on an X Board) - I have a stand like that arriving tomorrow - cost only 35$ - The distance between the two boards is way too much 12", If I can't splay them out I will - (however - both boards are only 61 keys) - I'm going to try and shorten the 'poles' on the top attachment - perhaps bolt them against each other. I have no welding capabilities.

 

I have an Apex stand - but I'm so tired of my sustain and rotary peddles getting messed up with the 'feet'. - also I'm getting really tired of the "Duran Duran" look - it had it's day.

[mynameisdanno]

With a bottom board like the VAX77, I would definitely be looking at a solution where you can rest the front of your top board directly on the VAX77, and engineer some way to hold up the back end of the top board.

 

For my usual rig I do a slab piano on bottom (e.g. Yamaha P-95 or Kawai ES-110) and a Nord Stage Compact 2 or 3 on top. For the stand, I use an On-Stage KS7150. I made a little "half second tier" as follows:

 

- 7/8" square dowels painted black, which fit into the 2nd tier receivers of the stand. Sometimes I need to use 1" square dowel and have a woodworking buddy cut them down to 7/8" square, but last time I made a set of these I was able to source 7/8" square dowel online.

- a piece of threaded rod run through a hole drilled in each. I think I used 3/8" or 5/16" rod here.

- wing nuts above and below the dowel to hold the rod at the correct height

- a cap nut on the top end of the threaded rod, and stick a rubber crutch tip on top of that with an adhesive of your choosing

- a strip of black gaff tape running the length of the rod and wrapped around it, for cosmetics

 

 

http://slorg.org/kc/ks7150/IMG_0891.jpeg

 

http://slorg.org/kc/ks7150/IMG_0893.jpeg

 

http://slorg.org/kc/ks7150/IMG_0894.jpeg

 

http://slorg.org/kc/ks7150/IMG_0895.jpeg

 

http://slorg.org/kc/ks7150/ks7150mod3.jpg

 

http://slorg.org/kc/ks7150/ks7150mod4.jpg

 

 

A metal shop could probably fabricate something similar, but this gets the job done nicely. The whole thing is very stable, despite how it looks with the Nord cantilevered over the back legs of the stand. I am a fairly animated player but I don't feel like I have to hold back. I have never done this arrangement with the KS7150 set for standing height (if I'm playing two keyboards it usually means I need both my feet free), but I wouldn't hesitate to.

 

I always leave the threaded rod long when I make these, on the thought that I might someday have a taller bottom keyboard and would want to adjust, but I haven't needed to yet. I should probably take a hacksaw to the excess, but it's pretty invisible on stage so I haven't bothered.

 

The threaded rod and wing nuts part of the idea was inspired by Tony Orant who has done a similar trick with the Quik-Lok WS-550 stand, which already has suitable vertical holes in the horizontals. That stand has some knockoffs on the market currently, On-Stage makes a WS8550 (haven't seen it in person yet) and I have seen a similar design under some other brand name in a recent thread on here.

 

 

 

Another thing I like about the KS7150 is that it folds quite flat. I can fit it, plus a folding bench, K&M iPad clip that clamps to the leg of the stand, my little half-tier things, and a roll of gaff tape into a Pelican Air 1615. That's a little expensive for something to carry hardware around in, but I love having all that stuff in a single rolling case I can handle one-handed, and throw in a trailer with a bunch of other band gear while keeping it all looking fairly nice. I've even checked it as baggage a time or two to try and avoid needing to rent anything, it's just under 50lbs in all.

 

http://slorg.org/kc/ks7150/IMG_0889.jpeg

 

http://slorg.org/kc/ks7150/IMG_0890.jpeg

[Doerfler]

Hey Dan, always a blast to see photos of your crib.

 

So much cool vintage gear.