A candidate for an electric, height-adjustable stand for sitting and standing

[MathOfInsects]

The targeted ads that resulted from me clicking on a certain power supply fed me this stand-up desk frame (only) that electronically adjusts in height from 26 - 52" high and 42-64" wide. It's only as portable as that 26X42 minimum configuration, but I thought this could make a nifty live rig for some folks. They do say it only takes 5 minutes to assemble, so it's possible you could just construct it and deconstruct with each use if you wanted.

A paddle-shifter raises and lowers the stand. No second tier included, of course, since it's not intended to be a keyboard stand, but for $299 (EDIT: Looks like they just bumped it to $329) I thought it could be a pretty cool option, and not terribly hard to add another tier to, once you're hauling this anyway.

[timwat]

I use an electronic standing desk from Autonomous in my home office. It's not too different from the unit in the picture.

 

But the frame itself is pretty darn heavy - of course, for fixed office use, you want it as stable as possible (especially when at it's fully extended maximum height).

 

That being said, it would be difficult for me to consider schlepping this thing to gigs for set up / tear down. I couldn't find a unit weight specified at the website noted (only the max weight capacity). But the one I bought from Autonomous is listed as having a 67 pound shipping weight. 

 

That makes my Gibraltar stand seem like a paperweight by comparison.

 

If they could adapt the frame for lighter overall weight and construction for keyboard use - or repurpose the motors - that could yield interesting possibilities!

[FatFingers]

I have two electric stands from Roadworx, which is an in-house brand of Thomann’s.  Made specifically for keyboards, they are probably more adjustable and adaptable than most motorized desk stands (I also procured one of the latter for my computer stuff).   Thomann also sells stand extensions for upper tier options - I was using three tiers at one point.  They do weigh a ton and I couldn’t think anyone would want to lug these out to a gig.  Current price is $283 for the stand, $37 for one pair of extensions.  From what I dimly recall, shipping from Germany was $69 but that’s express UPS air, which arrived only 3 days later. 

[RichieP_MechE]

Cool idea but too fiddly for a live rig I think (unless you can travel with it fully assembled). It takes 18 socket head screw to assemble the frame - even if you left it partially assembled, good luck finding one of those little screws if you drop one on a dark stage. And as others have alluded to, it probably weighs a ton (though I can't find a weight listed for it in any of the documentation)

 

[Konnector]

The Roadworx electric stands (without tier extensions) weighs 22kgs (48.4 lbs) so it's a brute to pack around, but a pretty cool idea if you like to switch between sitting and standing.

[Stokely]

I'm considering one of these for a studio desk--not because I really want to stand, but just because it can get taller.  In my case I'd probably go with a hand crank since it's simpler and one less thing to break.

Interesting idea for live though!  

My old Z stand  as well as my current Omega Pro make it pretty easy to change heights.  Bonus points as they are equally stable at all heights (unlike x stands) and also get tall enough for taller players (again unlike x stands).

[Sergievsky]

On 1/26/2022 at 8:29 AM, FatFingers said:

I have two electric stands from Roadworx, which is an in-house brand of Thomann’s.  Made specifically for keyboards, they are probably more adjustable and adaptable than most motorized desk stands (I also procured one of the latter for my computer stuff).   Thomann also sells stand extensions for upper tier options - I was using three tiers at one point.  They do weigh a ton and I couldn’t think anyone would want to lug these out to a gig.  Current price is $283 for the stand, $37 for one pair of extensions.  From what I dimly recall, shipping from Germany was $69 but that’s express UPS air, which arrived only 3 days later. 

How are these working out for you, almost 2yrs later? Any mechanical/reliability issues?

[FatFingers]

9 hours ago, Sergievsky said:

How are these working out for you, almost 2yrs later? Any mechanical/reliability issues?

Both stands have been trouble-free.  The stand that is currently carrying two boards doesn't hesitate to move my 55 lb Kurzweil on the upper tier together with a 29 lb Genos on the lower tier. There is a bit of flexibility that I sometimes notice if I'm playing the keys hard, but part of that is due to the fact that they are sitting on a padded wall-to-wall carpet which I'm reluctant to remove.  I still wouldn't want to move these often, but they wouldn't be difficult to disassemble if I ever sell the house.

[sam6599643]

The K&M 18800 is reallly good:

https://www.k-m.de/en/products/keyboard-stands/keyboard-tables/18800-table-style-keyboard-stand-omega-e-black

 

[MathOfInsects]

5 hours ago, sam6599643 said:

The K&M 18800 is reallly good:

https://www.k-m.de/en/products/keyboard-stands/keyboard-tables/18800-table-style-keyboard-stand-omega-e-black

 

For $1600 I can hire four guys to hold my keys at whatever I height I want and then carry them to the car when I'm done. And then wash and wax the car. WITH THE UNDERCOAT. 

[o0Ampy0o]

What would you do if there was a power outage and one of these heavy electric sitting/standing stands was stuck in the standing position?

[MathOfInsects]

28 minutes ago, o0Ampy0o said:

What would you do if there was a power outage and one of these heavy electric sitting/standing stands was stuck in the standing position?

Well, one thing you wouldn't be doing is playing your electronic keyboards.  

[sam6599643]

On 9/11/2023 at 12:49 AM, o0Ampy0o said:

What would you do if there was a power outage and one of these heavy electric sitting/standing stands was stuck in the standing position?

 

I would think that it was no problem, since the spec for the thread is «A candidate for an electric, height-adjustable stand for sitting and standing», as opposed to a «A candidate for an MANUAL, height-adjustable stand for sitting and standing».

 

[Sergievsky]

On 9/10/2023 at 5:48 AM, FatFingers said:

Both stands have been trouble-free.  The stand that is currently carrying two boards doesn't hesitate to move my 55 lb Kurzweil on the upper tier together with a 29 lb Genos on the lower tier. There is a bit of flexibility that I sometimes notice if I'm playing the keys hard, but part of that is due to the fact that they are sitting on a padded wall-to-wall carpet which I'm reluctant to remove.  I still wouldn't want to move these often, but they wouldn't be difficult to disassemble if I ever sell the house.

Sorry one more question if you would be so kind, but did you get or could you tell if you can install any type of extension arms like those from K&M where you can attach things like mics or iPad holder? I use an iPad for scores on gigs, and it would probably need to move up & down along with the keys if I use a motorized stand. There doesn’t seem to be any specific ones offered by roadworx/Thomann, but it seems like it’s possible to adapt some of the other brand’s offerings, just a matter of finding the right screw/nut maybe?

[FatFingers]

The only attachments I bought were the second/third tier holders, and I haven’t attempted to attach anything else to the stand that might move up or down in tandem with the keyboards.  I’m not at home at the moment and can’t recall for certain, but I believe it wouldn’t be difficult to rig up something.  My second/third tier holders consisted of tubular metal uprights having a square cross section, perhaps 2 cm X 2 cm, and if you were planning to use those holders to support a second keyboard I think you could clamp an arm that extends horizontally from one of those arms using a U-bolt or similar arrangement. If you aren’t using the second/third tier holders, then you’d likely attach something to the horizontal structure that holds your single keyboard.  It would be great if Thomann expanded this line for holding such items as you mention, but I haven’t heard anything that might suspect it could happen.

[eric]

Fascinating thread! I use one of the Costco motorized stand/sit desks in my home office area. I acquired it at the start of the pandemic and it has served me well.

 

This all reminds me of a keyboard stand that was on the market probably 10 years ago that was motorized and built like a tank (with the weight to match). I actually wrote a review of this for Keyboard Magazine back in the day. My old man memory is failing me and I can't find anything about it online. I'll have to look through my collection of magazines to find it. I seem to recall it being fairly expensive (over $1k) though the company had some smaller versions for less money. They were targeting the use case where multiple players might like to have different stand height while sharing the same stand (e.g. churches, schools). I used it for dramatic effect on a few gigs and it was pretty fun! I can't picture transporting something like that on a regular basis.

[Sergievsky]

Just wanna bring this back up & say that the Roadworx was really awesome on my last show. Being able to adjust the height was such a big plus, as I was able to sit & stand whenever the mood suits me w/o compromising my playing position. Plus, when the provided seat proved too uncomfortable, the replacement throne of different height was not a problem.