how do you transport your KB stand?

[jimmymio]

Hi. I'm looking for tips or suggestions. I'm moving from a one to a 2 KB setup. I can use either an invisible stand or a Quik Lok QL-623. Believe it or not I've used Bungee cords to try and move the Invisible stand and it never works out. I've gone through 2 of their nylon bags but I'm sure they are no longer available. The Quik Lok folds nicely into one piece but i know that the plastic end caps etc, will start to break and fall off.

What do you do?

 

Thanks

JP

[J. Dan]

Honestly, this has been an issue for most stands I've owned. The best by far, IMO was the APEX - everything folded inside and it had a handle. It stood up very well to travel, with the exception of the mic boom being loose and another piece to carry. V-stand was a PITA and the 2nd tier and boom were separate pieces. X stand, the caps and rubber pieces came off. Standtastic, the bag ripped open, rubber end caps came off and were lost and parts of the stand itself got banged/bent up - plus it was bulky and awkward. So far, for transport, APEX is the best followed by X, at least that I've owned.

[Fusker]

I've tried just about everything, but have found with 2 KB's, I like the following (or some version of) for ease of transport and stability.

 

Platform

 

The bottom folds up nice and flat for transportation, and literally takes seconds to set up at the show.

 

Top

[CEB]

I use Quik Lok Monoliths. I remove the tiers and put them in my utility trunk. Then the base stand fold flat and hangs upside down against the wall of the trailer. Easiest stand to use and transport I ever had but its design isn't for everybody.

 

Ignore the picture of dude carrying the stand. It is better to carry it upside down by the solid pipe base so the legs swings toward you. 1) The legs stay put while carrying it plus 2) and the legs eventually get sprung out of whack carrying it like the picture.

 

The base folded;

http://www.quiklok.com/300x300/sku_M_91_Folded.jpg

 

With tiers on:

http://www.dv247.com/assets/products/12039_l.jpg

 

With boards on it:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/CEB2/Monolithsetup.jpg

 

[Michael Wright]

I use the bag for an Apex 48 and just velcro a Profile Z stand together after I take it apart.

[Sven Golly]

Our esteemed forumite eric had a bag custom made to carry his Invisible stand; a search of the forum will probably find the information about where he had this done.

 

I've moved from the QuikLok WS550 w/2nd tier to the OnStage KS7365-EJ Z Stand w/2nd tier, and I have their KSB-6500 stand bag, made of padded nylon that is pretty robust (aside from cheap zipper pulls that both snapped on the first gig ).

 

Doesn't help you with your Invisible or QL stand, but it's what I used, and that's what you asked for.

[kanker.]

I transport my KS7365 by folding the foldable parts, picking it up, and carrying it.

[kfffish]

I have been using the custom bag for my Invisible stand. It is made by the Mooradian Cover Company. This bag is shaped like the stand itself. Because of this it has a snug fit and you won't hear any annoying rattle when you drive. It has a comfortable strap as well as handles. I ordered the size of the pouch so you could fit a fake book in it. The bottom of the bag is reinforced and it is very professional looking.

[eric]

Mooradian is the answer. The have the pattern and have made at least a half dozen.

[Michelle ggurl]

I have the k&m 18880 stand... super lightweight, very sturdy, and the sides slide together to fold pretty flat. very easy to transport. I currently use it for one keyboard, but I'm buying the 2-tier add-on; I briefly considered using two keyboards on a recent gig, set up my Standtastic to test it out and couldn't believe I ever use to haul that thing around. The Standtastic comes in a bag and I never had a problem transporting it, but it's cumbersome to set up and it's heavy ... so I'm selling it for a lighter-weight option that appears to be adjustible enough for my purposes. I didn't want to use an X stand for my second tier ... carry an extra stand, bah.

[NewImprov]

I use an Onstage Z-stand mostly. I remove the 2nd tier arms from the frame, collapse it horizontally as far as it will go, and fold it roughly flat. It's still an awkward shape and size, but it fits in my car, and only takes a minute or 2 to setup/teardown.

 

I've owned an Invisible Stand since the '80's, and, frankly, kinda don't see the mystique that it seems to have around these parts. It's an OK stand, but I don't like the fact that the distance between the top and bottom tier can't really be adjusted, and it places the 2nd tier board too far back for me also. And, even before I were out the carrying bag, it was very awkward to transport. Now, the rare times I take it out of the garage, I bungee the parts together and hope I don't lose anything.

 

Still looking for that perfect keyboard stand, though.

[Jaime Chimuelo]

The Standtastic 3 Tier w/ mic boom goes into a Shotgun style gig bag and slings over my shoulder.

It also gives the appearance of a 50 caliber sniper rifle, well at least that's what Casino Security informed me more than once.

[EscapeRocks]

My AX-90 has its own Sidewinder launcher bag.

[Moonglow]

I have a custom-made carrying bag for my Invisible stand. It follows the same design as the original nylon bag, but made of a much heavier canvas-type material (double reinforced along the bottom). The guy who made it (RIP) used the same nylon rope and plastic locking-thingy from the original bag. It's been going strong for about 20 years.

[MoodyBluesKeys]

I have the OnStage 2-tier Z stand and the OnStage bag for same. However, I don't use it often. I also have the K&M 18880 and 18881 - it folds up (the two tier folds better than the 18880 by itself, because the horizontal brace bar can be mounted on the higher tier, so it doesn't stick out so far below the stand when collapsed. I do use a couple of lightweight short bungee cords to keep it all compressed.

The K&M is the stand I now gig with - much lighter and easier to haul around. Still strong enough, although nowhere near as beefy as the OnStage.

 

[jimmymio]

I've tried just about everything, but have found with 2 KB's, I like the following (or some version of) for ease of transport and stability.

 

Platform

 

The bottom folds up nice and flat for transportation, and literally takes seconds to set up at the show.

 

Top

 

Funny, i've got the same "platform" stand which I use when only playing one board. I put an S90ES on it and i didn't think it would be sturdy enough to add a 2nd tier. So I assume you have to remove the 2nd tier when you transport it?

JP

[jimmymio]

I've owned an Invisible Stand since the '80's, and, frankly, kinda don't see the mystique that it seems to have around these parts. It's an OK stand, but I don't like the fact that the distance between the top and bottom tier can't really be adjusted, and it places the 2nd tier board too far back for me also.

 

Yeah. I hear ya. I usually sit but the 2nd tier is so far back that I feel I need to stand with the invisible.

JP

[SpaceNorman]

I use a Quik-Loc Z726L. When it's time to transport - I remove the 2nd tier support arms (which I store in the bottom compartment of my "Keyboard Miscallenous" case) and then schlepp the rest of it without any further disassembly. I move in a full sized Ford E150 cargo van - so space isn't an issue. It's an bit of an awkward thing to carry - but once you've gotten used to it, it's not bad at all.

[Dave Bryce]

http://www.quiklok.com/300x300/sku_M_91_Folded.jpg

 

With tiers on:

http://www.dv247.com/assets/products/12039_l.jpg

I used to use this...but I've had two tiers break on me...knobs broke, teeth stripped.

 

Just changed back to an AX48.

 

dB

 

[Michelle ggurl]

I also have the K&M 18880 and 18881 - it folds up (the two tier folds better than the 18880 by itself, because the horizontal brace bar can be mounted on the higher tier, so it doesn't stick out so far below the stand when collapsed.

 

Yeah, Jim, you were the one who told me about this stand, and thank you for that! I actually cut the holes on the bar so they are open on one side, and are really notches ... I slide the top mounting bar on and off, rather than leavin it on or having to unthread screws to remove it, and I transport it WITHOUT that bar in. I have two small patches of velcro strip on the top mount bar, and those match up to velcro on the back of my keyboard, ha! I really don't think it's as low-rent a solution as it possibly sounds. But good to know about 18881.

[Tobias Åslund]

I have a few stands - the old x-stands (ProEl EL250 w EL450 2nd tier) is no problem for transport. Then there's the stands I'm currently using - a K&M 18950 and Baby Spider which I move in their dedicated bags. Works great - and they look good too, both on stage and in the black and green gig bags... I can recommend Koenig & Meyer bags - they come in many sizes so you could use them for just about any hardware (not for instruments though- no padding inside) and are of high quality something that cannot be said about the bag that was supplied with the Standtastic - it started to come apart just after a few gigs.

 

Here are a few of the gig bags:

 

http://www.thomann.de/gb/k-m_bags_and_cases.html

Spider and 18950 bags

[mcgoo]

Wow. Must be a slow day at the KC if we're discussing methodology of keyboard stand transportation.

 

Sorry. No insult intended to anyone. Love you guys. Carry on.

[Michael Wright]

Wow. Must be a slow day at the KC if we're discussing methodology of keyboard stand transportation.

 

Sorry. No insult intended to anyone. Love you guys. Carry on.

 

Huh? Waaa... Oh

[Dave Bryce]

Wow. Must be a slow day at the KC if we're discussing methodology of keyboard stand transportation.

It can be more of an issue than you might think.

 

I bought a K&M 18810 Omega/Stacker combo stand recently, but I can't really use it on gigs because it doesn't break down easily so it's too much of a pain to transport. The AX48, OTOH, breaks down in about 30 seconds.

 

dB

[Michael Wright]

Wow. Must be a slow day at the KC if we're discussing methodology of keyboard stand transportation.

It can be more of an issue than you might think.

 

I bought a K&M 18810 Omega/Stacker combo stand recently, but I can't really use it on gigs because it doesn't break down easily so it's too much of a pain to transport. The AX48, OTOH, breaks down in about 30 seconds.

 

dB

 

I bought another AX48 so I can just pull the required keyboards off of the one in the house and go! I keep my old one in the car.

[CEB]

http://www.quiklok.com/300x300/sku_M_91_Folded.jpg

 

With tiers on:

http://www.dv247.com/assets/products/12039_l.jpg

I used to use this...but I've had two tiers break on me...knobs broke, teeth stripped.

 

Just changed back to an AX48.

 

dB

 

I feel bad about that. I remember when you got the Monolith. I have two of them and so far the my tiers have held up. One stays at home the other one does 85-95 gigs a years.

 

But the plastic trim pieces are worthless. The quality control at Quik Lok seems not be so hot. Both stands came new with issues and need replacement part from Quik Lok. The North American Quik Lok guys were good about getting me parts.

[marino]

Frankly, I have never thought of getting carrying bags for my keyboard stands. I transport them in the trunk of my car, and I tend to see the little scratches that they develop as a fact of life. Now that I think of it, they would probably become too bulky and cumbersome with cases.

 

Now that I'm about to get into multiple keyboards again, I'm thinking about the ergonomics... I'm probably going to use three boards. I have several kinds of stands, including pantograph-style, single x, double x, and a couple of big A-frames from the '80s... If I'll end up having two stacked boards plus a small one on one side, I'll probably use a big double-x, double-tier QuikLok which is showing no sign of wear after 12 years, plus a 'pantograph' on my right side for the MEK.

But should I decide to have three stacked boards, I could very well resurrect one of the A-frames. It's easy enough to set up, and it allows for the boards to be mounted closer together than the double-tier.

 

edit: I'd love an AX-48, but it's non-existent in this part of the world... QuikLok makes an imitation, but it's not nearly as sturdy. Also, quite expensive...

 

 

[Michael Wright]

Frankly, I have never thought of getting carrying bags for my keyboard stands. I transport them in the trunk of my car, and I tend to see the little scratches that they develop as a fact of life. Now that I think of it, they would probably become too bulky and cumbersome with cases.

 

Now that I'm about to get into multiple keyboards again, I'm thinking about the ergonomics... I'm probably going to use three boards. I have several kinds of stands, including pantograph-style, single x, double x, and a couple of big A-frames from the '80s... If I'll end up having two stacked boards plus a small one on one side, I'll probably use a big double-x, double-tier QuikLok which is showing no sign of wear after 12 years, plus a 'pantograph' on my right side for the MEK.

But should I decide to have three stacked boards, I could very well resurrect one of the A-frames. It's easy enough to set up, and it allows for the boards to be mounted closer together than the double-tier.

 

 

The bag I have for the AX48 is pretty light, it just is easier to handle, especially when I put 3 tiers on it. The handle is not centred and is a pain carry. The AX48 has its drawbacks, mainly pedal placement, and difficulty in seeing the screens. I used to use an A frame in the 80's, but recall losing pieces and taking a long time to set-up.

oh sorry you can't source an AX48

[marino]

oh sorry you can't source an AX48

It's all my fault... I've edited my post

I've tried an AX48, or very similar Apex model, in a TV studio once... I thought it felt great. But the only way to get one in Italy is to order it from abroad, which adds to the already steep price. The QuikLok version is decent but it doesn't feel extremely stable.

 

 

[jimmymio]

Frankly, I have never thought of getting carrying bags for my keyboard stands. I transport them in the trunk of my car, and I tend to see the little scratches that they develop as a fact of life. Now that I think of it, they would probably become too bulky and cumbersome with cases.

 

I know what you mean but in my situation, I'm not so concerned about bulky, especially if a stand was flat and stack-able. I roll in my rig on a piano dolly and usually i can get everything except the keyboard stand. So i have to make another trip.

 

JP