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Off topic: Needing parts for an A-Frame keyboard stand by Ultimate Support


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OK, I'm desperate.

 

For decades, I've been using an Ultimate Support A-Frame keyboard stand. When I bought it, Ultimate Support gave me a lifetime guarantee. Some time later, a clamp broke (see picture) and they were happy to replace it. Years later, another broke and they said, "We don't make that anymore."

 

I told them, "What about your lifetime guarantee?" They responded, "You can't expect us to keep making a part we don't use anymore." I said, "Then why did you give me a lifetime guarantee."

 

It went nowhere, so I bought a used stand on e-bay just for the clamps. I'm down to the last 3 now. I've had a search up on e-bay and reverb but none have appeared.

 

Are there any more sources I might try?

 

Thanks

 

 

_clamp.jpg

 

 

DSC_7316.jpg

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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8 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

For decades, I've been using an Ultimate Support A-Frame keyboard stand. When I bought it, Ultimate Support gave me a lifetime guarantee. Some time later, a clamp broke (see picture) and they were happy to replace it. Years later, another broke and they said, "We don't make that anymore."

 

Most companies will keep around a stock of replacement parts if things are breakable. The only option I can think of depends on whether there could be a metal substitute. if so, a metal working shop might be able to make a few dozen for you.

 

Other than that, it looks like it might be time for a new keyboard stand.......

 

However, because of that photo, I checked out your web site. I bet your gigs are fun!

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Get a new stand.  Those clamps always crack.  You can never tighten them enough to lock the tubes in place - twice I had a keyboard fall to the ground when a tier was loose.  And to make things worse, they are a polymer product which will get more brittle with age.

 

I have only one Ultimate stand with those clamps and it stays in the studio.  It is no longer an "A frame" configuration.  I rearranged it with two tiers at piano playing level to support my MIDI controller, with no fear of it falling off.

And never buy anything with a "lifetime guarantee".  As was brilliantly demonstrated here, guarantees mean nothing when the company goes out of business or the product is obsolete.

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11 hours ago, Anderton said:

 

Most companies will keep around a stock of replacement parts if things are breakable. The only option I can think of depends on whether there could be a metal substitute. if so, a metal working shop might be able to make a few dozen for you.

 

Other than that, it looks like it might be time for a new keyboard stand.......

 

However, because of that photo, I checked out your web site. I bet your gigs are fun!

Thanks.

 

BTW, our gigs are DEFINITELY fun. We have regular customers who play with us, it's like getting paid to goof off with a bunch of friends.

 

The regulars are like extended family members to us. We know them by name, their favorite song, share our ups with them, sympathize with their downs, and even party with some of them when not on the gig. One guy regularly takes us out on his 40+ foot trawler yacht. Plenty of the tourists from US, Canda and Europe gave us their address with, "If you are ever on vacation around here, please stay with us.". That's touching.

 

We have running gags, play a few silly songs when appropriate, pace them with our songs so they have a great time, celebrate the silly holiday of the day, and have so much fun, the gig is over way too quickly for both us and the audience.

 

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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11 hours ago, The Real MC said:

Get a new stand.  Those clamps always crack.  You can never tighten them enough to lock the tubes in place - twice I had a keyboard fall to the ground when a tier was loose.  And to make things worse, they are a polymer product which will get more brittle with age.

 

I have only one Ultimate stand with those clamps and it stays in the studio.  It is no longer an "A frame" configuration.  I rearranged it with two tiers at piano playing level to support my MIDI controller, with no fear of it falling off.

And never buy anything with a "lifetime guarantee".  As was brilliantly demonstrated here, guarantees mean nothing when the company goes out of business or the product is obsolete.

Thanks.

 

I am steeply invested in this, gear wise. It holds 2 computers, a Korg padKontrol, my WX5 wind controller, and our "Sophisticats" banner.

 

The newer designs seem better for playing keyboards, but it won't do for what I need.

 

As far as the 'lifetime guarantee' is concerned, I learned that it doesn't apply to my lifetime :D

 

I would have bought it with a 5 year guarantee, it's exactly what I needed at the time. I was bringing a keyboard on stage plus the wind synthesizer and a MIDI sequence player back then. That was before 2002 when I went computer.

 

If I knew lifetime was ended, I would have bought a lot of spare parts while they were still in stock.

 

I don't bring the keyboard anymore. Back then the yacht and country clubs liked a lot of standards from "The American Songbook" but as time when on, they died and the newer members like more rock and roll, so I bring a guitar instead.

 

I play sax, wind synth and flute on the gig, and if I'm singing a difficult song for me (I'm an adequate singer, my partner is a great singer) I tap on the padKontrol for hand drum sounds.

 

I make my own backing tracks, from scratch, so I can leave the most fun parts to play live (like the imrov solos) and sequence the rhythm and comp parts. It's time-consuming, but worth it in the long run. We sound better than our competition who use karaoke tracks, and since we started in 1985, and until COVID, we were never at a shortage for gigs. In fact, we have to block out weeks for a vacation, or we'd get booked and not have a vacation. (We did that once, looked at the calendar and had only one week in September off.)

 

Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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This might be solved.

 

A friend on the Band-in-a-Box forum suggested this:

 

https://www.fullcompass.com/prod/238119-ultimate-support-11177-unf-150-universal-fitting-each

 

I'll check the measurements with Full Compass, and if it's the same thing, I'll order a dozen or so.

 

I lose about 1 per year or two, but the way the last one broke makes me think they are getting brittle.

 

Thank for everyone's input. The offers for help are greatly appreciated.

 

Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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Full compass put me on hold, then asked for my phone number this morning. They never called back.

 

I e-mailed them to find out the diameter of the clamp to make sure it would fit, and they haven't answered.

 

I don't know what their problem is, I guess I'll try again Monday.

 

In the meantime, I have searches up on Reverb and Ebay.

 

Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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New development.

 

Ultimate Support still makes the part that failed.

 

https://www.ultimatesupport.com/products/unf-150-universal-fitting

 

Perhaps the rep didn't realize that. I e-mailed them, reminded them of my lifetime guarantee, and we'll see what happens.

 

Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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39 minutes ago, Notes_Norton said:

Ultimate Support still makes the part that failed.

 

https://www.ultimatesupport.com/products/unf-150-universal-fitting

 

I clicked on the Buy Now button to see what would happen, and it returned an error.

 

I think it's likely that the correct sentence is "Ultimate Support still has the web page up that describes the part that failed."

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15 hours ago, Anderton said:

Did Full Compass ever contact you?

Yes. I asked the diameter of the clamps, to be sure they will fit, and Full Compass' rep said he would check with Ultimate, and get back to me.

 

Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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15 hours ago, Anderton said:

 

I clicked on the Buy Now button to see what would happen, and it returned an error.

 

I think it's likely that the correct sentence is "Ultimate Support still has the web page up that describes the part that failed."

That's possible. It took a few days for the first response from Ultimate, so I'll wait patiently.

 

I did get a couple from someone on the Band-in-a-Box forum. I returned the favor by sending him some of my BiaB styles.

 

I keep a watch on eBay, but I haven't seen an A-Frame for sale in a long time.

 

Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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Newest development from Ultimate Support.

 

Quote

These Universal collars are currently out of stock in our warehouse. We are hoping to have them back in 4-5 weeks. In regard to the A-Frame Warranty, When the company was purchased in 2005, the liability from the previous owner was not taken. The Limited Lifetime Warranty covers manufacturing defects for the 7 year life cycle of the stand. <...snip...>

So I guess my "lifetime warranty" is worthless, but at least when they come back in stock, I can buy replacements.

 

New rule for businesses: Don't give a lifetime warranty if you don't mean it. While your customer may understand you mean well, when you quit offering the warranty, it'll leave a sour taste in their mouth.

 

For my own products, I offer replacements for as long as I personally am alive. And I tell my customers to make a backup because Hendrix, Joplin, Lennon, and Winehouse all probably expected to get old and gray.

 

When they are back in stock, I'll probably buy a dozen.

 

Notes ♫

 

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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4 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

New rule for businesses: Don't give a lifetime warranty if you don't mean it. While your customer may understand you mean well, when you quit offering the warranty, it'll leave a sour taste in their mouth.

 

The only problem is that the current company is not the one that gave the lifetime warranty. Of course, if the new owners honored all commitments made by the previous owners, that would certainly increase goodwill. (BandLab got huge goodwill by rescuing Cakewalk Sonar and keeping updates free.) But who knows how many commitments were made, and to whom.

 

Look on the bright side: Gibson left all the owners of their high-tech guitars - which weren't cheap - high and dry. Some of that may be due to legal issues in an agreement with Tronical (who made the robot tuners), I don't know. But at the moment, if I want to get one of the tuners fixed on my guitar, it has to go to Germany...and some of the parts, like some original batteries, are no longer available. To their credit, Tronical has done some retrofits for some guitars, but I would assume that drivers for the hex interfaces will never be updated, or made compatible with Apple silicon. Gibson would have to pay the company that wrote the drivers to do so, and I doubt that Gibson would pay money to support guitars they no longer support.

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8 hours ago, Anderton said:

 

The only problem is that the current company is not the one that gave the lifetime warranty. Of course, if the new owners honored all commitments made by the previous owners, that would certainly increase goodwill. (BandLab got huge goodwill by rescuing Cakewalk Sonar and keeping updates free.) But who knows how many commitments were made, and to whom.<...snip...>

I do understand that. The new company didn't make the promise. I also appreciate their honesty.

 

I don't know how many people with A-Frame stands are left. It would have been goodwill to honor the guarantee.

 

Actually, I'm just glad they are still manufacturing the product. In a month or so, when they are back in stock, I'll purchase enough to keep me happy for a wile. So there is a happy ending after all.

 

It will be less expensive than buying a new stand. Plus, the A-Frame fits my needs perfectly right now, and I spent a lot of time adapting it to my needs. I don't want to spend time adapting a new stand, I'd rather learn a new song or write a new style for Band-in-a-Box.

 

At this point in my life, time is the most scarce resource. But then why am I spending time on the Internet forums? :D:D:D

 

Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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On 3/31/2022 at 9:52 PM, The Real MC said:

And never buy anything with a "lifetime guarantee"

You can buy it, but as Notes said, it's not necessarily your lifetime. It might not even be the life of the company who made it. Admit it, a "lifetime guarantee" is often better than 90-day or one or two years. You'll probably get some "life" out of it. I'd say "don't count on a 'lifetime guarantee' lasting for your lifetime!"

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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8 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

At this point in my life, time is the most scarce resource. But then why am I spending time on the Internet forums? :D:D:D

 

Because it's an excellent use of a scarce resource. It beats TV, that's for sure :)

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2 hours ago, Anderton said:

 

Because it's an excellent use of a scarce resource. It beats TV, that's for sure :)

I haven't watched TV since the mid-1980s.

 

I was gigging on a cruise ship for 3 years (on a 3 weeks with options contract) and at that time, there was no TV on the ship, except for the advertising loops and the movie of the week that played over and over and over again. Following a satellite from a ship was not workable yet for anybody but the military.

 

I got off the ship in 1990, hooked the cable up, and found I wasn't watching it. I had gotten used to doing things, and when sitting and watching some inane TV show, I'd get antsy. Mrs. Notes felt the same way. So I unhooked the cable.

 

(Shortly after that, I started converting our analog backing tracks to Digital using an Atari computer and Master Tracks Pro.)

 

I could have put up an antenna, I had radio frequency electronics in school and trained to be a Cable TV Field Engineer. But I didn't, and when I had the house painted, I took the mast down. In our fringe area, without a tall antenna all anyone can get is a Christian Praise The Lord channel, and it's snowy at that.

 

The last two TV shows I watched, I had to go to my mother-in-laws to see, Johnny Carson's last Tonight Show, and Jay Leno's first Tonight Show.

 

Instead of watching TV: I learned how to write aftermarket styles for Band-in-a-Box, learned how to create a mail-order and later Internet order business selling these, and I have customers in over 100 countries on this planet. I added fake book disks which Mrs. Notes and I team up on. I learned to make my own websites and the HTML coding required for that. I learned how to play wind synthesizer, play lead guitar (at least at a basic rock/blues/country level), and I learned sing (the hardest instrument I've tried so far). Furthermore, I've sequenced 600 backing tracks for my duo, from scratch (I also play drums, bass, flute, and basic keyboards) and they sound much better than the karaoke tracks my competition uses, perhaps that's why we get more gigs. I've read a number of books (mostly non-fiction) and spent a lot of quality time with Mrs. Notes, too.

 

The first ad I took out for my styles was in Electronics Musician Magazine and Craig, you might have been the editor back then (early 1990s)

 

I realize today that TV was an addiction, and thanks to the Cruise Ship gigs, breaking the habit was easy.

 

So today, I'd rather live my life by doing things, instead of living my life vicariously by watching actors pretending to do things.

 

I'm making a living doing music and nothing but music, my wife is my very best friend. We were in bigger bands when we met, but in 1985 we decided to be a duo with backing tracks I make, and we've been booked ever since (except for the COVID plague 1.5 years). I tell our audience, at 37 years, the only band that has lasted longer than us is The Rolling Stones. Then I add, And we still have all the original members.

 

In other words, even though I never made the big time, even though I never got rich, I think I'm living a charmed life.

 

Back on topic:

 

I just got this from Ulitmate support.

 

Quote

We will keep your case open and let you know when we get these back in stock. 

 

So when they are back in stock, I'll probably buy a dozen.

 

Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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On 4/8/2022 at 7:31 PM, Notes_Norton said:

The first ad I took out for my styles was in Electronics Musician Magazine and Craig, you might have been the editor back then (early 1990s)

 

Not in the early 90s! When Mix bought EM, I promised I would stay for 5 years. I didn't stay 1 second longer. I've always been a hired gun, not an organization guy.

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10 hours ago, Anderton said:

 

<...snip...> I've always been a hired gun, not an organization guy.

We think alike in that respect.

 

I had a real job once, it didn't agree with me.

 

Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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