J. Dan Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 We've danced around this subject before, but it hit home for me again this weekend. Had 3 awesome gigs - fri, sat, sun. Sat and sun had makeshift stages. Sun wasn't too bad - one section was wobbly, but overall...good. Sat night, though an AWESOME gig, the stage was horrible. My keys swayed a few inches back and forth and my mic swayed 6 inches, usually opposite the keys. One song with 16ths on the same note, I'd hit 3 different notes as the keys swayed under my finger. Another song, since I couldn't watch the keyboard whilst singing, I had to just abandon the key part and sing. My stuff was walking around everywhere. Ok, I didn't post this to bitch - I have a purpose! I was playing with a dreaded 2-tier X-stand and a boom mic stand. Obviously, a mic stand attachment on the kb stand would be improvement #1. Outside of that, what ar your experiences with the stability of various stands on wobbly stages. Despite the unpopularity of the x stand, given it's wide stance, adjustable rubber feet - 4 contact points far apart - I would have thought it would be more stable than most. Let the games begin. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle ggurl Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 I'm surprised I'm the first to post on this topic, but here goes: * I used to own one of those columnar Apex stands. with the wobbling you are talking about I'm guessing my rig would've spilled all over the floor. I know this because it did that once while I was setting up on just a slightly uneven area. Normally I would be more mindful of the balancing needs/issues with that stand, but I was distracted and remember clearly the scenario. * Up until recently I used a single-tier X stand. I always find I could really make that thing rock when digging into montunos, in particular (keep in mind I play a 41-lb semi-weighted Kurzweil PC2, not too heavy a board nor one requiring a lot of heft to get a key depressed). Now I own a K&M 18880 tabletop-style stand, and it is VASTLY more stable. In fact, I loved the easy setup of the X stand, never had a failure, and that's why I clinged to using one for so long. But when my arm injury issues started haunting me, I looked at my rig and the obvious weak spot was the stand because of its instability (rocking) and lack of adjustment (my new stand adjusts to a lower setting, which is better for me). So based on my experiences I would say the X stand is actually not that stable, comparitively speaking, but that the Apex-style stand (at least the one I had, the original triangular black column) is generally a riskier proposition. Disclaimer: Fortunately, I've never experienced stages as rickety as you describe: the worst I've had to play on to date were "bouncy" stages but not enough movement to qualify as wobbly or to make my gear sway back and forth. Original Latin Jazz CD Baby "I am not certain how original my contribution to music is as I am obviously an amateur." Patti Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 I will try to find the least bouncy section of the stage even if I have to intrude on our sax man's personal space (he sets up next to me) or adopt a wierd angle. I also carry some cardboard with me to place on under one of the legs of my keyboard stand, if needed (this really saved me once at a large outdoor concert). But sometimes there is simply nothing you can do..... "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewImprov Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Yeah, definitely had my share of wobbly stages. But I've been in bands with turntablists for 10 years or so, and they've got it even worse. Lots of clubs think it's a great idea to mount their subs under the stage, really bad idea with a turntable on stage. Turn up the speaker Hop, flop, squawk It's a keeper -Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammondDave Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Your problems will be solved with a WS-550 Never had a serious wobbly stage, but when I was a teen playing in my Deep Purple cover band, we played this outside gig in South Florida. Typical summer afternoon the skies opened up at 2PM into a torrential downpour. The tarps that they had covering us from the elements started to fill up and bubble... Finally, one gave way above my keyboard rig and dumped about five gallons of water onto me. Amazingly, nothing was damaged. Good thing I didn't have my mimi-moog on that gig. '55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non ce futuro Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 not really the subject, but I usually responded to a ship-under-the-storm-stage with a big yell to my bandmates (specially singers and guitar player): don't jump and don't dance!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mogut Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Your problems will be solved with a WS-550 What he said -Greg Motif XS8, MOXF8, Hammond XK1c, Vent Rhodes Mark II 88 suitcase, Yamaha P255 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 I will try to find the least bouncy section of the stage even if I have to intrude on our sax man's personal space (he sets up next to me) or adopt a wierd angle. I also carry some cardboard with me to place on under one of the legs of my keyboard stand, if needed (this really saved me once at a large outdoor concert). But sometimes there is simply nothing you can do..... On the bad one Friday night, it was so small there was no place to move. I set up at an angle on the back corner, and in fact was afraid I was going to step back too far and fall off. Had plenty of room on Sunday and didn't need it because that stage was more solid. A little swaying, but not enough to really bother me. Sat night I almost resorted to trying to find some cables and tie off to something....but what? Thanks for the feedback. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusker Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 I've used X, Z and tabletops in the last year. Tabletop is by far my favorite for stability and the ability to easily fold flat. I recently added a second tier to the tabletop, and keep my Z at home now...just not as easy to transport. Steinway L, Yamaha Motif XS-8, NE3 73, Casio PX-5S, iPad, EV ZLX 12-P ZZ(x2), bunch of PA stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 On the bad one Friday night, it was so small there was no place to move. I set up at an angle on the back corner, and in fact was afraid I was going to step back too far and fall off. I can relate to that... was in a band a couple years ago that played an outdoor gig where we were set up on a trailer. It wasn't wobbly, but quite narrow, and I had to stand perfectly still behind my keyboard the whole time for fear of falling off. When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 On the bad one Friday night, it was so small there was no place to move. I set up at an angle on the back corner, and in fact was afraid I was going to step back too far and fall off. I can relate to that... was in a band a couple years ago that played an outdoor gig where we were set up on a trailer. It wasn't wobbly, but quite narrow, and I had to stand perfectly still behind my keyboard the whole time for fear of falling off. What's funny is there were 2 sections - a raised square section for the drummer, and a wider, but shallow section in front of that for the rest of us. In terms of square feet, the drummer probably had as much as the other 4 of us combined. Before he got there, we were joking that I should set up my keys right in front of him on the drum riser. We set up moving lights on the front corners of the drum stage, set my rack, my guitar, the bass guitar stand, and the monitor rack off stage. And we use IEM's. I can't imagine what would happen if we needed monitors. We have stage size requirements and sample layouts in our rider, but I guess people don't really read it. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonksDream Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Dan - perhaps you shouldn't have removed the 'brown M&Ms' section from the rider. Instrumentation is meaningless - a song either stands on its own merit, or it requires bells and whistles to cover its lack of adequacy, much less quality. - kanker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.