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Who else loves Invisible brand keyboard stands?


eric

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I'm a regular Invisible stand junkie, so I thought I would put out the good word for anyone who is not familiar with this stand. I'd also love to hear a roll call of other users.

 

I began using Invisible around 1987 and still have my first stand. For sentimental reasons, I continue gigging with it even though I have several others that I have picked up along the way. It's a shame they are out of production because they are the best stands ever made, in my opinion.

 

They are very low profile and support a ton of weight. They allow the keyboards to be very near one another and allow plenty of room underneath for pedals. Then they break down into smaller parts for easy transport. Not to mention they last forever. I am a HUGE fan!

 

I recently picked up some additional accessories and I now have 4 fully functional Invisible stands in my possession. Two are used for home studio purposes and the other two are for gigging and rehearsals. It is nice to have lots of reduncancy because these cannot be purchased new anymore. Not too long ago I left the stand at a gig since the black bag blended in with the stage and I simply missed it. I went through major panic the next day when I realized it was not with me. Fortunately, the soundman had it but I was really worried about losing my favorite stand.

 

Anyone else feel the way I do about these stands? For that matter, does anyone remember them? I think they have been "out of print" for several years now but their heyday was back in the late 80's and early 90's. Check them out on the used market. You won't be disappointed.

 

Regards,

Eric

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Invisible Stands - only the BEST STANDS ever made for synths!

 

I got mine in '88 - along with a ESQ-1 and a big ol' KB300. It was a double-tier unit, so I had the ESQ-1 on the bottom tier and a Roland JX3P on the top. During this time I was still using a Korg Polysix as well, and would place it on a shorter stand beneath the Ensoniq, or set it up opposite the Invisible rig and play a-la Emerson.

 

I wore the Invisible stand out - literally - the weld points holding the lower half came apart (I held them together with gaff tape for about five years).I realized at some point that I had lost the bracing thing (the part that's not the bottom half, not the tiers, the straight metal thing that wraps around the legs and give the stand its tension) and replaced that scientifically with a 1X4 piece of wood (!). When I bought a PC88 in '95, I switched to a Quik-Lock 'x' type stand. It was never the same!

 

My brother-in-law and I built a studio about two years ago, and I dragged the old friend out. My father in law re-welded the bottom half and MADE a new bracing piece. He also painted the Invisible stand black again, so it looks good as new. Right now it holds the ESQ-1 (as always) and the Minimoog (right next to the Rhodes 73).

 

They are GREAT stands. I could use like five more!!!

 

AWESOME!

Weasels ripped my flesh. Rzzzzzzz.
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Got mine in '87 also and it's still going strong. Maybe that's why they went out of business, their product rarely needs replacing. I could use a couple new tension chords though as mine have just about worn out at the bottom. I use my stand for my Roland RD-250 digital piano which weighs about 64 pounds.
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Love mine. It's the second oldest piece of gear I own, and the oldest still in use. My '84 DX7 is in its Shuttle bag (remember them?) in my garage rafters).

 

Bought my first on in '85 (black). The bag has been stitched up multiple times (thanks to two Aunt's)bent in a few places, has had numerous minor replacment parts, including 4 or 5 of those little screw thingy's (their real name escapes me, but I always have an extra one in my bag).

 

Someone advertised one in our company newspaper a couple of years ago and I snagged it so I could have one at practice and one for gigging. This one is chrome and if I ever do the retro 80's thing I'll be certain to bring it out.

 

I've thought about the Standtastic stands. They look interesting, are probably easier to setup, and seem stable, but I have never seen one outside of an advertisement... and I won't purchase something for $175 (or thereabouts) site unseen. Anyone have any experience with the Standtastic stands?

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Had 'em, have one, still love it.

 

I, too, got my first one in '87. It answered a lot of prayers for portability, strength, and rigidity. At one time I had a 3-tier that was customized so I could stack 'boards on the bottom tier.

 

I just got my last one new about 6 months ago from Sam Ash. They were closing them out for $24.95. I don't know if they still have any, but I might just see if they do, and keep it as a spare.

 

Music Industries bought out Invisible, and then simply dropped the line. I called, and they said they have no plans to market them again.

Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4.
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Originally posted by joegerardi:

I just got my last one new about 6 months ago from Sam Ash. They were closing them out for $24.95. I don't know if they still have any, but I might just see if they do, and keep it as a spare.

I was just about to post that they were back in production, I'd just seen them in a catalog, but this is what I must've seen. PatAzz, I just got the Standtastic stand a couple of months ago, and I LOVE it. Much sturdier than my hotrodded Ultimate A-frame that I'd worn out, absolutely no keyboard bounce, and the gig bag zippers down the full length, so you're not trying to feed them in one end of a long bag (my biggest complaint about the Ultimates). I've modded my Standtastic already, screwed a block of wood into the top of one upright with a dowel coming out at an angle, so I can mount my Hotspot monitor; cut down the mic boom attachment so its sleeker and easier to fit in the bag, and replaced the cheezy velcro fore-aft arm attachments (used only in transport) with bolts/wingnuts (I'm a mechanical engineer by degree and tinkerer by heart, can't leave well enough alone!). You won't be sorry, highly recommended! :thu:

Botch

"Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will

www.puddlestone.net

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  • 6 months later...

I do! I just got my first Invisible Stand and I *love* it! By far, the most compact + sturdy two tier stand out there. Woo hoo!

 

I'm psyched to have this stand for New Years! Before I was going to bring 1 board with an X-stand because my Standtastic took up too much room (6 piece band, small stage). Now I can play 2 boards and take up NO MORE ROOM that my single X setup! Unbelievable!

 

* QUESTION * (for other Invisible users)

How do you prevent the keyboards from sliding side to side? The stand I got (used of course) has these little black rubber clips that slide over the metal bar - they are pretty loose and basically just roll back and forth when you move the keyboard. This is especially troublesome for piano glisses or organ smears. I'm looking for something to stick on to the bottom of my boards, like a grippy rubber strip, that would sit on the metal stand and provide some resistance.

 

Any suggestions?

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How do you prevent the keyboards from sliding side to side? The stand I got (used of course) has these little black rubber clips that slide over the metal bar
The little rubber pieces that come with the stand can be secured with Krazy Glue and they will stay there practically forever. I have four of these for my lower tier of the Invisible, which supports my RD600 just fine. The weight of the RD itself is enough to keep it in place with no other intervention, but the rubber guys keep it where it needs to be.

 

For the upper tier, I use velcro wrapped around the metal and accompanying velcro on the underside of my keyboard. My keyboards WILL NOT BUDGE when secured in this fashion. We're talking horn players backing into my rig and other people more or less slamming into it and those keyboards do not move an inch. The Invisible stand keeps them very sturdy and using the above method to hold them in place works like a champ.

 

Regards,

Eric

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How do you prevent the keyboards from sliding side to side? The stand I got (used of course) has these little black rubber clips that slide over the metal bar

wrap electric tape around the metal bar.Then put the clips back. That's what I did when I had my stands.Gave them away when I stopped gigging.At least they're being used now.

I also made extra holes on the main bars so I could lower the stand for sitting position.Also you can have your top keyboard angled, by sticking the bottom end of the metal bar one hole up.You can even make a computer table with it. I made one, but it didn't look good.And I used a single tier stand to hold 2 keyboards.A roland JV80 with the front part on top of a studio88 and the back part supported by the two main bars.The keys from each keyboard were less than five inches apart,and it felt like playing one single instrument.You wouldn't believe how versatile these stands can be. :thu::thu:

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The keys from each keyboard were less than five inches apart,and it felt like playing one single instrument.You wouldn't believe how versatile these stands can be.
Big thumbs up to the Invisible stand's ability to get the keyboards close to one another. I stack my keyboards very close to one another and nothing is hidden due to the way the stand works. Here's a photo of my live rig:

 

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/eslawson/eric_rig_1.JPG

 

Before I was using the Nord Electro, I had a CX3 and could stack my Nord Lead on the top ledge of the CX3 for a "triple-decker" keyboard rig. The Electro will not support it, so I have the Lead off to the side, resting on the edge of my RD600 and supported by an x-stand with some velcro filling in the gaps. With the "L" configuration, I don't play the Lead as often as if it were in front of me, but it is a pretty streamlined look and feel. I don't always carry the Lead to every gig, so I just have the normal double-decker. Works for me!

 

Regards,

Eric

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(I'll sell you an invisible stand if you like....real cheap!)
DTR, I had one of those.Hate it because people would trip over it every time it didn't have a keyboard on top. Glad you got your avatar.And remember that guy Beotch? He's grounded for saying those things about San Jose.

Hey Eric. Nice rig, man.

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Originally posted by eric:

The Electro will not support it, so I have the Lead off to the side, resting on the edge of my RD600 and supported by an x-stand with some velcro filling in the gaps.

You have your Nord Lead 'resting on the edge' of your RD600 and velcro filling the gaps from a Xstand. Man, Eric, that'd make me way nervous! I mean what if... :(

 

Rick

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You have your Nord Lead 'resting on the edge' of your RD600 and velcro filling the gaps from a Xstand. Man, Eric, that'd make me way nervous! I mean what if...
Rick, thanks for your concern! It does sound a little precarious, but trust me, it is ROCK SOLID. I can slam into the Nord Lead and it does not budge. The velcro really is the key. I would be nervous without the velcro, but as it stands, it cannot move. I even have to fight it a little bit to remove it at the end of the gig.

 

Regards,

Eric

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Well I played my first gig with my Invisible Stand on New Year's Eve...my conversation with my wife on the ride home:

 

"That was your best show ever - you seemed very confident (you know, not hunched over like you usually are) and totally into the music (not forcing intensity like you can sometimes do)."

 

"Did you notice my new stand?"

 

"No. Was that the one Santa got you?"

 

"Yes - it was the only difference in my setup."

 

"So are you going to stop buying keyboard stands now?"

 

"Yes, absolutely. I have found my stand."

 

Too bad they don't make them anymore - I could write their next commercial!

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  • 3 weeks later...
Originally posted by Rick Kreuzer:

Since we're able to help others out. I saw this on eBay and thought I'd pass it along to you Invisible stand lovers. No, it's not my auction. Just FYI....

 

Click Here

 

Rick

You got me all excited (you DOG you!) until I saw it was a single tier...

 

..Joe

Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4.
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And one other thing...

 

THIRTY DOLLARS FOR 'KING SHIPPING????

 

Honestly, half these people are really assholes. I can't tell you how many auctions I blow off because of what they charge for "packing and shipping." A box costs what, 5 dollars? Shipping is probably the same, but even going to 10 bucks, that's a total of $15.00. Asking for $30.00 is a joke.

 

..Joe

Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4.
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Originally posted by joegerardi:

And one other thing...

 

THIRTY DOLLARS FOR 'KING SHIPPING????

..Joe

That's about what I got charged for shipping too, but its not the seller's fault. Apparently the stand is about 25" x 25" x 3", it goes into a "oddball" box class that UPS charges a lot more for; I'm guessing you'd end up paying the same if it were new from a dealer. My seller was shocked at the shipping price and really apologetic.

 

Rick, yes I do have a Standtastic and will keep using it, I'd actually like to put my Nord and a someday-to-be-acquired B-3 clone on the Invisible (L-configuration). I'm currently using a Quiklock x-stand for the Nord but it doesn't reach high enough (I'm 6'5") and its killing my wrists.

Botch

"Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will

www.puddlestone.net

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  • 2 weeks later...
So Invisible stands are back in stores? I need a new stand.
No, they have been out of production for a couple of years. You can still find them on the used market and they are the best. You should get one. Try eBay or Music Go Round.

 

Regards,

Eric

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Well, I got my used Invisible stand and have been playing with it for a week. Great design, very lightweight, and I like the way the two 'boards are kept at nearly the same level.

 

That said, I still prefer my Standtastic, it IS much more solid, and has mic boom (standard) and Hotspot attach points (jury-rigged). The Invisible stand is rather wobbly around the vertical axis, but that's not a problem unless you do a lot of smears/glissandos. The Invisible will work fine to hold up my Nord, and it does set up quicker than the Standtastic. Between the two I'm happy. :):thu:

Botch

"Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will

www.puddlestone.net

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