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My first X-stand failure


timwat

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Okay, so I don't personally own an X-stand. Seen the YouTubes, heard the horror stories, so I gig either a K&M Baby Spider Pro or a WS550. Have a couple of Ultimate V Stands and an A-Frame I don't gig anymore.

 

Get to church this morning with the Kronos 73, hey, they already have a double-braced X-stand set up and waiting for me. It's one of these:

 

Musician's Friend linkOn-Stage Double Braced X

 

Rather than run back out to the car, okay, I'll just set the Kronos on this...and clonk - the thing drops like an ironing board. Luckily, I'm already sitting down so I manage to grab the Kronos in my lap. It doesn't hit the ground, no damage, no scratches.

 

Ends up whoever was kind enough to set it up for me neglected to fully engage the "clutch lever" mechanism.

 

My fault - should have checked it first. But it just reminded me of so many anti-X-stand threads in our little family discussions....

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Ends up whoever was kind enough to set it up for me neglected to fully engage the "clutch lever" mechanism.

 

My fault - should have checked it first. But it just reminded me of so many anti-X-stand threads in our little family discussions....

 

Reminds me of the time that BluesKeys and I went out to eat before a Joey D concert at Duke.

 

I came back from washing my hands and the food was on the table...

 

Went to put a little catsup/ketchup on my fries and, as I always do, shook the bottle a little just to get a good mix. It was just one bottle, so the mix was mono - not stereo. ;)

 

Sure 'nuf, Jimmy had gotten hold of that catsup/ketchup bottle before me and was nice enough to leave the cap loose.

 

You can imagine what happened next... and how I smelled all during the concert.

 

For those with a memory, this is the same concert where we went to an after-party with Joey D until 4 in the morning that same night...

 

Me. Smelling like catsup/ketchup. :facepalm:

 

Tom

 

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo
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I had that same x-stand and it failed on me once. I was playing "Whole Lot of Shakin Goin On" and during the middle of the solo the keyboard (SP4-7) went crash to the floor. So I finished the solo with it on the floor and me on one knee. The audience loved it! Good thing that Kurz was built like a tank. Not a scratch on it. I replaced the stand with a Z-stand and gave the x-stand away when I sold the Kurz and bought my SV1.

Boards: Kurzweil SP-6, Roland FA-08, VR-09, DeepMind 12

Modules: Korg Radias, Roland D-05, Bk7-m & Sonic Cell

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Wow - I have that same stand. Although it's an X-Stand, I keep coming back to it. Never had a failure in many hundred gigs.

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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A safety strap is a simple solution. I've got a 20 year old double braced stand that failed one because it wasn't set up correctly. The spring loaded pin wasn't fully engaged.

 

My big issue with them is pedal space and leg room.

 

--wmp
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I had that stand for at least 5 years prior without a failure. Its not like it was something common. I made a safety strap for it and provided it with the stand. I have a bench seat with the x stand type legs and it collapsed once a family friend. In that case the rails had worked loose because the wood base is only 1/4 inch! So the wood screws holding the rails fell out. That is a much more poorly designed setup than the keyboard stand.

Boards: Kurzweil SP-6, Roland FA-08, VR-09, DeepMind 12

Modules: Korg Radias, Roland D-05, Bk7-m & Sonic Cell

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I concur with the strap solution. I havea a cheap-o $20 xstand that I use on occassion. I fashioned a strap from an old shoulder strap from some other bag. Even with the clutch open, you can't get the stand to collapse. Though, it doesn't really help with the bouncing.
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Nothing wrong with X-stands - usually user error! :)

 

+1,000,000 :idea:

 

Clearly user, or in the OP's case, installer error. Back in the days when tape was the only medium for recording, I learned well the instruction: " Clean user head gap "

 

While X-Stands are not my first choice, they usually end up as my default choice - due to stage space. Funny, I moved to the wide-open west and the stages got smaller ;)

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In the classic rock band I'm in, I use 2 of the same on-stage stands and (knock on wood) haven't had either to fail yet. I make sure that when I lock them into position that I press down on the arms before setting my boards or adding the second tiers on either of them. No guarantee that it won't fail further into a show but at least I'm giving it a chance to fail before that can happen. Theoretically, the second tiers should at least prevent a fast collapse from happening.

 

In the country band I'm in I use the lighter duty version of the stand that doesn't have the clutch, as I only use an older Yamaha DGX-520 piano. It wobbles but the stage isn't level. That also applies for the rock band setup. If the stage isn't level, not much I can do but try to position them the best I can.

John Cassetty

 

"there is no dark side of the moon, really. As a matter of fact it's all dark"

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I'll just set the Kronos on this...and clonk - the thing drops like an ironing board. Luckily, I'm already sitting down so I manage to grab the Kronos in my lap. It doesn't hit the ground, no damage, no scratches.

 

Thank God for that!

When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray.
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Similar story about an X chair. One night when packing up after a 3 hour gig, I noticed that the tightening knob had loosened to its last thread. One more encore and I would have landed on the stage floor! Always check it before gigs now.

I also had a drunk woman once knock my top board, luckily onto my lap, before the club staff pulled her off stage.

Hammonds:1959 M3,1961 A-101,Vent, 2 Leslies,VB3/Axiom,

Casio WK-7500,Yamaha P50m Module/DGX-300

Gig rig:Casio PX-5S/Roland VR-09/Spacestation V3

http://www.petty-larceny-band.com

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What about an X chair?

 

Our church has one of these. They bought it with a Yamaha digital piano:

 

http://www.sweetwater.com/images/items/350/Bench.jpg

 

I'm afraid to sit on it... it's flimsy and falls backward very easily. :mad:

 

When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray.
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I'll just set the Kronos on this...and clonk - the thing drops like an ironing board. Luckily, I'm already sitting down so I manage to grab the Kronos in my lap. It doesn't hit the ground, no damage, no scratches.

 

Thank God for that!

 

Yeah, I was fortunate. Felt pretty silly, not checking the stand before unpacking and such. Certainly, it was my fault no two ways about that for presuming it was jake.

 

It's just that I've had stands fail before (due to user error - typically being in a rush and not ensuring all the arms or legs are where they're supposed to be). With the x-stand, because of its design, if it fails the results seem to be more dramatic and noisy. Maybe that's unfair, like I said originally I don't own any so I seldom use them.

 

Those X-benches on the other hand, I find them way unstable for the amount of swaying, hopping and such I typically play with. I've fallen a few times with those, not the case now that I've gone to a pricey DW drum throne. I think I just derailed my own thread.

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I've had stands fail before (due to user error - typically being in a rush and not ensuring all the arms or legs are where they're supposed to be).

 

One of our church's X-stands collapsed on me a couple years ago (my only X-stand failure ever). It was my fault for not securing it properly. Fortunately it was supporting a (lightweight) Yamaha PSR keyboard, which I was able to partially catch so it didn't hit the floor with too much velocity. :facepalm:

 

I'm glad it wasn't my Triton on that stand.

 

Those X-benches on the other hand, I find them way unstable for the amount of swaying, hopping and such I typically play with. I've fallen a few times with those

 

Nasty things aren't they? I almost fell backwards with the one at church and never used it again.

 

I normally stand when playing, so there' no real need.

When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray.
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What about an X chair?

 

Our church has one of these. They bought it with a Yamaha digital piano:

 

http://www.sweetwater.com/images/items/350/Bench.jpg

 

I'm afraid to sit on it... it's flimsy and falls backward very easily. :mad:

 

Can't help with the fall backwards part, but I recently modded one for strength and height.

 

http://www.hotrodmotm.com/images/stand/mojoPXstand39.jpg

 

Moe

---

 

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Glad your Kronos came out okay!

 

I had that exact stand fail on me, although I was also using a second tier. The keyboards were a Kurzweil K2600X (bottom) and a Korg Triton Pro (top). I double-checked the stand prior to setting the keyboards on it; the stand failed after about a half-hour of playing. I "caught" the Kurzweil from underneath and sort of lowered everything to the floor, but the Kurzweil still sustained a couple of nice scratches. Upon inspection, an iron component of the locking mechanism inside that round housing/casing thing was shaved off.

 

As I recently said in another thread, there are two types of X-stand users: (1.) Those who have experienced an X-stand failure, and (2.) Those who will experience an X-stand failure. Welcome to the club.

 

 

 

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

- George Bernard Shaw

 

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As I recently said in another thread, there are two types of X-stand users: (1.) Those who have experienced an X-stand failure, and (2.) Those who will experience an X-stand failure. Welcome to the club.

 

 

 

This was the EXACT thing I was thinking as my Kronos is dangling in front of my ankles! Somehow losing my virginity in this area was not at all satisfying.

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Nothing wrong with X-stands - usually user error! :)

 

Sorry, I should have said:

 

1) User error

2) User lack of intelligence. ;)

 

It's always worth reading the spec of the stand to see if it can take the weight...........doh! :/

Yamaha CP70B;Roland XP30/AXSynth/Fantom/FA76/XR;Hammond XK3C SK2; Korg Kronos 73;ProSoloist Rack+; ARP ProSoloist; Mellotron M4000D; GEM Promega2; Hohner Pianet N, Roland V-Grand,Voyager XL, RMI
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And then there's Ironing Board Sam:

 

http://www.indyweek.com/imager/b/magnum/3242614/5919/8s-photo-1-9-13-Ironing-Board-Sam-PHOTO-BY-JIMMY-WILLIAMS.jpg

Live: Yamaha S70XS (#1); Roland Jupiter-80; Mackie 1202VLZ4: IEMs or Traynor K4

Home: Hammond SK Pro 73; Moog Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue; Yamaha S70XS (#2); Wurlitzer 200A

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