2nd Tier Stand that height adjusts very low?

[D. Gauss]

Sorta hard to explain, but seems most if not all of the 2nd tied stand add-ons (be it z or x style), have little to no height adjustment, and if they do, the minimum height is still crazy high above the first tier. i.e. you can't make the 2nd level keyboard basically sit right on top of the 1st like a B3.  Anybody know of one that can?

[Delaware Dave]

I have a "proline" X stand where the 2nd tier has a height adjustment so i could theoretically get the two keyboards very close together or very far apart.  I bought it many years ago.

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

I have a Knox stand but I had to "adjust" it with a Sawzall to bring the upper keyboard down closer to the lower one.  I'd like to drop it at least another inch if I could.

 

I think my next plan will be to add some spacers under the lower keyboard to raise it a little.

[D. Gauss]

9 minutes ago, Delaware Dave said:

I have a "proline" X stand where the 2nd tier has a height adjustment so i could theoretically get the two keyboards very close together or very far apart.  I bought it many years ago.

 

i have a proline x with 2nd tier, but mine has no height adjustment and is laughably high. It's like a kitchen pass-through food window between boards. 

 

[D. Gauss]

6 minutes ago, Lou Gehrig Charles said:

I have a Knox stand but I had to "adjust" it with a Sawzall to bring the upper keyboard down closer to the lower one.  I'd like to drop it at least another inch if I could.

 

I think my next plan will be to add some spacers under the lower keyboard to raise it a little.

 

I've managed to jury rig two of the Liquid Stands on wheels Z stands to work (one in front of the other, sorta nesting inside each other), but it is such excess/overkill for the purpose and totally impractical.

[Dave Number Four]

This one: On-Stage KS7365EJ Pro Heavy-Duty... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002F6JH6?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

Can go as low as you want. (I don't use it that low, just put it like that to illustrate).

 

It's not great in the set-up/teardown/carrying department, but I'm getting used to it. And I'd say it is very stable.

[eric]

Look on the used market for an Invisible brand stand. They have been out of production for quite a while, though they do show up on Reverb and eBay etc. This is my all-time favorite stand for having the top keyboard ride right on top of the lower one.

 

This is an older picture of me using one so you can get the idea. I may have one taken from above to show how the upper keyboard sits perfectly to allow access to the lower keyboard...which is an issue with many of the more current stands.

[Floyd Tatum]

When I used to use two keyboards, I came up with a very simple, cost-effective solution for this problem.   Two X-stands.  You set up your lower keyboard on one of them.   Then you slide the second one in close behind the first one, and adjust the height so that the 2nd keyboard is close to the first.   This method has obvious benefits: 1) cost-effective 2) versatile: you can use them this way, or as two separate stands.

Used to work for me!

 

[lsj]

Standtastic two or three tier stands, the very best in my opinion.  the most adjustable stand and rock solid, absolute no rocking.  I could never play a keyboard that is rocking on the stand.

[AnotherScott]

K&M 18880 with the 18881 2nd-tier stacker, facing backwards if you want to allow the front of the top keyboard to rest directly on the rear of the bottom keyboard (with the 18881 then supporting the rear of the board. (This configuration also kind of mimics those old Invisible stands.)

 

When I wanted to get the 18881 lower, originally I either used it at its very lowest position (below the one you'd normally use to even allow you to attach its fastening bolts), or actually had the 18881 modified to allow it to drop even further down (at the expense of eliminating its ability to tilt). I later realized there was a simpler way to get them closer... instead of modifying the stacker to get it lower, stick some little strips of wood to the bottom to get that surface higher. I think this approach can work nicely on any stand that has "square" (rather than circular) arms holding the board.

 

For pictures and more discussion, see...

 

https://forums.musicplayer.com/topic/179378-stand-to-create-b3-feel-from-dp-and-clone/#comment-2856770

 

(that entire thread basically deals with your question)

 

and some more pic and detail at https://forums.musicplayer.com/topic/180208-another-stand-thread/page/3/#comment-2874528

 

 

(the thread covers that and other aspects of stands)

 

 

[Paul Woodward]

Another shout for the 18880/1 🙂

[wineandkeyz]

Not the best picture, but shows my Quik-Lok QL-746 with QLX-3 second tier:

 

[kpl1228]

Seconding a vote for looking hard for a used Invisible Stand. So easy to go from one keyboard to the other. And the thing is just COOL.

[Mighty Motif Max]

The K&M 18950 with second tier, my regular gigging stand, is fully adjustable in height and angle (width depends on the stand itself). I've never had to worry about getting a keyboard low enough with that stand.

[Lou_NC]

I was able to accomplish what you're asking by using a "vintage" Ultimate Support Systems 2-tier A-frame keyboard stand. (These things were very popular in the 80's and I snagged a used one sometime in the 90's, if I recall correctly).

 

I put my Hammond XK-3 on the top, and aligned my Korg DW-8000 to line up almost perfectly as the "lower" keyboard of a dual-manual organ setup. (I basically used the DW-8000 as a MIDI controller only for the lower keyboard of the Hammond in this case).  

 

If memory serves, I had to flip the support arms of the upper keyboard so that the "pins" were on the rear side of the XK-3, and I lined up the rear horizontal bar of the stand to give the XK-3 additional support.  I was very satisfied with the "feel" of this setup, it was very close to a dual-manual organ (at least to me!)  

 

Lou

 

[stoken6]

7 hours ago, D. Gauss said:

make the 2nd level keyboard basically sit right on top of the 1st

Have you thought of making the 2nd keyboard actually sit right on top of the first? Like this:

I started with two extension arms:

Used a pipe cutter to chop the horizontal arm off, leaving just the upright:

And attached them to my accordion-style stand:

The lower board has some neoprene stuck to it to support the upper:

 

The front edge of the upper board sits on top of the neoprene, and the rear edge sits on the chopped-down 2nd tier supports.

 

 

Of course, this does rely on you not needing access to the front panel of the lower board.

 

Cheers, Mike.

IMG_0030 (Small).HEIC

[Noah DC]

Lots of discussion on this topic here: 

 

[stillearning]

I’ve been using a QuikLok M91 Monolith with various keyboards for several decades. It’s easy to adjust the height and angle of a second tier, or even to add a third tier if you buy another second tier and are handy with a welder.

[Justin Havu]

On 2/9/2024 at 9:55 AM, lsj said:

Standtastic two or three tier stands, the very best in my opinion.  the most adjustable stand and rock solid, absolute no rocking.  I could never play a keyboard that is rocking on the stand.

+1 for Standtastic.  Rock solid and can hold quite a bit of weight on the stand.  The footprint is a bit deep, but it keeps the stand from wanting to tip over. 

 

Only issues I have are the screws that adjust the bracket lengths don't like to stay in place, so I have to really tighten them.  Also, when tearing down, make sure to go around and tighten all of the screws/wingnuts, as they tend to come loose, or worse go missing, during transport.  The supplied bag is incredibly low quality.

 

However, once you have the heights of each tier adjusted to your liking, which probably takes the most time, it sets up and tears down in minutes.

[Delaware Dave]

My old proline with height adjustable top tier

[obxa]

Based on the many positive recommendations here, another happy K & M  18880/81  user here. Mainly because the K&M is so light.  Haven't totally been happy with the tier over-hang, so will probably do the  hacksaw hack on the front of tiers that many mention.  Bit pricey, but got it from Thomman; shipped to USA price was much better.  It's my go-to.

 

Worth considering if you don't want to buy into a whole new system:  I sometimes use an On Stage platform with their "deluxe" lesser known 2nd tier.   Actually it's 3 tier.... It's super adjustable and very solid, and will work with platform and X-stands.  This is not the same as that crappy $59 thing they've had forever that puts your keyboards at impossible distance.  These are all over reverb and ebay at cheap prices, which is how I grabbed mine.    Posted this pic a while ago. 

[Tom Williams]

On 2/9/2024 at 9:36 AM, Dave Number Four said:

This one: On-Stage KS7365EJ Pro Heavy-Duty... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002F6JH6?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I have two two-tier onstage Z-stands for that very reason -- it's the only height- and tilt-adjustable second tier I could find.  My PC4-7 sits maybe 3 inches (if that) above my 88-key Nektar controller. 

 

Unlike the Ultimate Support Apex (height adjustable, I admit), the On-Stage also leaves plenty of space for my numerous pedals.

 

It's also solid as a proverbial rock.

 

The only negative is that it takes time to set up and knock down, especially if you take it down to carrying-bag size..