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Konig and Meyer 18880 Questions


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I must have a dozen different keyboard stands, some of which are 2 and even 3 tier. Invisible, Standtastic, Ultimate Support, QuickLok Monolith, Z stands, X stands, etc. I have been using an Invisible stand lately but it is kind of cumbersome to put together and there isn't enough room between the legs for the pedals that I use.

 

Any K&M 18880 owners that could chime in here would be appreciated. Do the Stacker A and/or Stacker B with adjustable tilt go low enough to have the upper keyboard fairly close to the lower keyboard? And is the stand really stable? I know there shouldn't be any bounce, but what about side to side movement?

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

Wm. David McMahan

I Play, Therefore I Am

 

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I use an 18880 with the first tier attachment to support 2 relatively light keyboards, a Hammond SK1 and either a Korg Vox Continental or a Yamaha YC61. I sit down on most gigs.

 

Like you I've been through more than a few stands looking to get 2 boards close together. This is not only by far the lightest stand available, but is also the best I've found at replicating the experience of a 2-manual Hammond. I did saw off the tier as far up as the angle adjustment, a simple hack saw task. I have the upper keyboard at a slight angle which allows the arms of the tier attachment to just clear the knobs of the lower board, so the gap between the panel edge where it meets the back edge of the keys on the lower keyboard and the bottom edge of the upper keyboard is about 3cm being the depth of the tier arm. The only way I could get the 2 boards closer together would be to have the upper board actually sitting on the lower board with a support at the rear.

 

There is no bounce or vertical movement at all on the upper tier, it's solid.

 

I do have to make sure the feet are pushed to the outer limit given the width the stand is set at to make sure there isn't any side to side movement. It's not as rock solid in that regard as the mixer stand I otherwise use for SK2, which doesn't move at all but weighs rather more and has no tier attachment option. Once it's properly set I find it's fine and it doesn't move side to side when I'm playing, you will want to be putting it on flat ground though.

 

In your situation my only reservation would be possible side to side movement depending on the boards you put on it, how aggressively you play them, and whether you're on flat ground. I used it once with a MODX8 at an outdoor gig set up on grass where I was playing a lot of stride piano and there was enough side to side wobble to annoy me though not enough that I made mistakes, but I have to regard that as a matter of choosing the wrong stand for the job and next time I'd take the mixer stand which is rock solid and height adjustable per leg. More generally I think if I had a 2 keyboard rig with an 88 on the bottom I'd be less confident about side to side movement than with a 73/76.

 

Yes I'd buy it again, but as usual YMMV.

Gig keys: Hammond SKpro, Korg Vox Continental, Crumar Mojo 61, Crumar Mojo Pedals

 

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Here"s a link to a post of mine from the Nord forum that has pictures of my 18880/18881 2-tier setup I use standing. I drilled an extra set of holes to allow the stacker to get closer to the bottom tier and also cut the stacker arms so they didn"t overlap the bottom tier as much. No bounce and I don"t notice any side-to-side movement when playing, although there is a very small amount if I try to cause it.

 

https://www.norduserforum.com/post124259.html#p124259

 

Also in the thread is a neat DIY second tier that Rusty Mike made. There are others who simply turn the stackers backwards and let them settle to the bottom, but that wasn"t secure enough for me.

 

Can"t say enough good things about the 18880. Carry it with a single finger. Setup in less than 10 seconds. Holds my boards where I want them, in the same place, every time, with no adjustment needed after initial setup. Solid and reliable. If anything happened to mine, I"d get another one.

 

Edit: I have a 40lb. weighted 88 on the bottom tier and a 20lb. waterfall 73 on the top and set the legs 18' apart. I believe the heavier the board, the more stable the unit will be and the narrower setup reduces the potential for twisting around the accordion brace. Once the boards are set, I kick both legs outward a bit to create a bit more tension to solidify things further.

Nord Stage 3 HA88, Nord Stage 3 Compact, Casio CT-S1, Radial Key Largo, Westone AM Pro 30, Rolls PM55P, K&M 18880 + 18881, Bose S1 Pro, JBL 305p MKII, Zoom Q2n-4K

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I haven't tried to add a second tier yet and wasn't positive it uses exactly the same base, so that video is helpful.

 

I bought mine for the Moog Voyager. Then I needed a shallower and longer one for the Hammond XK-1c. Stagg to the rescue!

 

Although the Stagg MXS-A1 and K&M stands have different specs, I wouldn't be surprised if they're made at the same factory.

 

I don't think the extension parts are interchangeable and compatible, but if they are, it opens up even more options.

 

Actually, back to K&M, I see that mine is tagged 18950, so maybe there is a difference after all, if not supporting extensions.

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Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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I use the 18880 with a 2nd Tier. I have a Casio PX-5s down bottom and a Nord Electro 6D/73 up top.

 

It is stable, it takes seconds to set up, and it's so light I can't believe it every time I pick it up. Every other keyboard stand I've tried (and, like others, I've used many) has had good points, but there's always a "but" statement in there. Too heavy... not stable enough... takes too long to set up.. takes up too much room...no space for pedals/controllers on the floor... I bang my shins...

 

None of that with this stand. Only two very small caveats:

1) Make sure that all screw/knobs are snugged down or you'll lose one in transit.

2) Use a velcro strap to keep the legs together when transporting, and to keep the crossbar from swinging all over the place.

 

It's a little expensive, but worth it.

Muzikteechur is Lonnie, in Kittery, Maine.

 

HS music teacher: Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Chorus, Music Theory, AP Music Theory, History of Rock, Musical Theatre, Piano, Guitar, Drama.

 

 

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The stackers are nice and adjustable and you can get them quite close. I don't like the knobby things at the end of the stackers (designed to prevent your upper-tier keyboards from sliding down and off the stacker) as I find they get in the way, but that's my only criticism of the stackers which are otherwise light, adjustable and robust.

 

I use my 18880 at full height (as I stand to play) with weighted 88 on the bottom and a lightweight 61 on a stacker. I do get a bit of side-to-side shimmy, as mentioned above I kick the feet of the stand out to mitigate this. I suspect if I were playing sitting and/or with lighter keyboards this shimmy would be greatly reduced or eliminated altogether. I don't find this movement disconcerting as it's not extreme and in no way does it feel like it compromises the integrity of the stand from a structural/safety perspective.

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I was using the 18880 for a few years and actually took the stackers apart and just used the bottom portion as supports at the back of my top keyboard (Kronos 61), and rested the front of the Kronos on the back of the bottom keyboard (VR-700). If you have a bottom keyboard that has a flat space, that arrangement will work and they're literally touching, albeit a bit set back behind the controls of the bottom board.
"If you can't dazzle them with dexterity, baffle them with bullshit."
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Do the Stacker A and/or Stacker B with adjustable tilt go low enough to have the upper keyboard fairly close to the lower keyboard?

The big variable here is, what is the height of your bottom keyboard? For particularly low ones, I've thought about attaching identically shaped wood blocks to the top surfaces of the lower board support surfaces... i.e. if you can't bring the 2bd tier arms any lower, you can try bringing the lower keyboard up higher. Unlike stands where the keyboards rest on round surfaces, these square surfaces would allow you to easily build something up if you needed to.

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Do the Stacker A and/or Stacker B with adjustable tilt go low enough to have the upper keyboard fairly close to the lower keyboard?

The big variable here is, what is the height of your bottom keyboard? For particularly low ones, I've thought about attaching identically shaped wood blocks to the top surfaces of the lower board support surfaces... i.e. if you can't bring the 2bd tier arms any lower, you can try bringing the lower keyboard up higher. Unlike stands where the keyboards rest on round surfaces, these square surfaces would allow you to easily build something up if you needed to.

 

Really dig this idea - I've wanted for a long time to flip the stackers and simply rest my Mojo 61 on top of my CP4's flat top, but the CP4 is just too low to do that without cutting the stackers' height by a few inches (which I'm considering). If you or anyone else finds a good sturdy way to add height to the bottom board - with wood blocks, thick foam, plastic, whatever - definitely let me know!

Numa X Piano 73 | Yamaha CP4 | Mojo 61 | Motion Sound KP-612s | Hammond M3

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Just want to clarify that the OP is asking about the 18880 stand. Several responses have been about other K&M table stands which are completely different designs.

Yamaha C2, Yamaha MODX7, Hammond SK1, Hammond XK-5 Heritage Pro System, Korg Kronos 2 61, Yamaha CP4, Kurzweil PC4-7, Nord Stage 3 73, Nord Wave 2, QSC 8.2, Motion Sound KP 210S,  Key Largo, etc…yeah I have too much…

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I use an 18880 modified with my own custom risers for my 2 board sliding upper rig. The cross bar has been replaced with a 2 piece version that spreads the legs out to accommodate a wider pedal board.

 

Instead of the K&M risers I use home made wooden ones that the sliders run on. The scissors mechanism gets bound up a little after years of battering in transport but it remains a pretty solid piece. It has a little side to side rock, which I haven't gotten around to curing with an X brace.

Moe

---

 

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