Another stand thread

[El Lobo]

Re-reading this thread, I saw that El Lobo had ordered the Hamilton stand and had planned to use it at a gig at the end of October. El Lobo - as it is now November, I am wondering if the stand arrived in time for the gig, and if so, what your impressions were of the stability and practicality of this stand?

Yeah, I've been meaning to post. The stand arrived. I tried it out. I've taken it to a couple of gigs, along with 2 other stands so I had options. I still haven't used it at a gig because I preferred to use my table stand -- either because the stage was large and I could take all the real estate I wanted OR I was on the floor in the bar area and it would be too easy for bar patrons to knock the keyboard around on the Stay stand or the Hamilton stand. [Edit: the table stand is the most stable and most protective, but it's very heavy and a bit of a hassle to set up and take down.]

 

What I've learned about the Hamilton stand is that it's still an X stand but with a thing in the middle that allows it to be extended for standing playing but keep the bottom and top of the X wide enough to keep the feet of the stand stable and support the keyboard on top. This leaves room at the bottom for pedals. The downside is that it's just as much trouble to set up and take down as my table and Stay stands, perhaps more trouble. It's heavy and awkward. To set it up you have to loosen the 4 knobs that hold the legs in, extend them all the way out, then tighten the 4 knobs again. You have to make sure the 4 knobs are very tight or the legs move. To take it down and pack it away in the car, you have to loosen the 4 knobs, fold the legs all the way back in, then tighten the 4 knobs again. You have to make sure the knobs are tight or the legs slide out as you're trying to put the stand away. In the end, you have a heavy and clumsy stand that's still an X stand. I'll keep it as I know there will be gig situations where I will prefer it. But it did not turn out to be the ease-of-use stand I was hoping it would be.

[zxcvbnm098]

I ordered THIS STAND. It looks like a stand that can be customized if I can't get top keyboard close enough to bottom keyboard. I gave up my dream to create a wooden tier like I'm doing for my M-audio 61es/mojo61. The length with DP is 54" and I realized it wouldn't fit easily in my car with my boards/amps.

 

I like the design of stand and that it is not a monolith (apex,) a z stand, or a table top model.

 

If it doesn't work it goes back for refund.

 

That's a dead ringer for a QuikLok stand I have. I've been trying to get the kit for a second tier for mine (WS550) which seem to have been discontinued. This would be a replacement that is about the same price as just the second tier....great find!

[AnotherScott]

What I've learned about the Hamilton stand is that it's still an X stand but with a thing in the middle that allows it to be extended for standing playing but keep the bottom and top of the X wide enough to keep the feet of the stand stable and support the keyboard on top. This leaves room at the bottom for pedals. The downside is that it's just as much trouble to set up and take down as my table and Stay stands, perhaps more trouble. It's heavy and awkward. To set it up you have to loosen the 4 knobs that hold the legs in, extend them all the way out, then tighten the 4 knobs again. You have to make sure the 4 knobs are very tight or the legs move. To take it down and pack it away in the car, you have to loosen the 4 knobs, fold the legs all the way back in, then tighten the 4 knobs again. You have to make sure the knobs are tight or the legs slide out as you're trying to put the stand away. In the end, you have a heavy and clumsy stand that's still an X stand.

It does at least solve the X-stand problem that, the taller you set it, the less wide (and so possibly also less stable) it becomes.

 

If something moves in one piece (doesn't need you to attach or unattach anything), that's a nice benefit over many other stands, where pieces can get lost/misplaced/forgotten and/or additional time is required for assembly/diassembly. So compared to that, loosening/tightening 4 knobs doesn't sound bad. Too bad, though, about the "it's heavy" part.

 

As I've mentioned before, for a single-keyboard stand, I like this inexpensive Knox stand.It's almost as light as the K&M 18880, and has better height adjustment facility. Set-up/breakdown is just loosening and re-tightening 2 knobs. And it's cheap! But it's single tier. The K&M is still my preference for 2 (or 3) board combos.

 

At a recent gig I borrowed my buddy's copy of a Stay stand (you heard that right, it's a knock-off of the Stay by some no-name company). It has 3 tiers and is made of aluminum, it basically is the stay stand in every way but name. Not the sturdy Tower one, but the thinner one.

 

I was impressed. I was doing a one-keyboard show and this thing is super-light and easy to put together.

I've considered the Stay line. It's a little confusing, in that there are models that have come up various sites that don't match anything on Stay's web site (older models, I guess), and also in general they just don't seem highly available here. But I've occasionally wished for something quite high that I could put behind my main keyboard stack, and it looks like some of the Stay models might fit the bill, and also can be pretty light. I'm curious to know who this "Stay copy" company is and what they offer. Though as I mentioned. I'd prefer something where the arms fold into the unit rather than detach. (I was bitten once where I managed to get to a gig with my original Invisble stand, which moves in 4 pieces, and found I'd somehow neglected to bring the crosspiece...) But I might consider a stand like this for specific circumstances. The Knox can actually go quite high, but still a few inches less than what I might want, to put something high above/behind a 2-board stack. Though with the Stay having an angled column, there's also some question as to whether I could bring it close enough behond a 2-board stack without having its column hit the keyboards below. There's also a question as to whethere it's legs would clear the legs for the stand beneath. It looks like the leg arrangement is one of the things that varies a lot among the different Stay stands.

[MathOfInsects]

I have the double-column, two-tier Stay column stand. Upsides are that it's very light and near-instant to set up. And there's intentionally room for pedals between the feet.

 

It looks disproportionately imposing though, like, "I AM MATHOFINSECTS AND HERE IS MY STAND!" And it suffers from the same instability as all column stands. Plus I--not a tall person--am the tallest someone could be and find the keys to be set at anything like a playable height, for stand-up gigs.

 

I actually think their one-board/one-tier version might be a great one-board stand, but honestly, the options for one-board stands are plentiful enough that no one needs to spend the $$ on this over-priced bit of Brazilian rig-grooming.

[stoken6]

As I've mentioned before, for a single-keyboard stand, I like this inexpensive Knox stand.It's almost as light as the K&M 18880, and has better height adjustment facility. Set-up/breakdown is just loosening and re-tightening 2 knobs. And it's cheap! But it's single tier.

If your Knox stand is the same as my Stagg stand (likely, given the widespread badge-engineering of Chinese-manufactured products), then the Gravity KSX2T might be worth considering. Not a vast amount of adjustment (tilt only). I cut down mine to support the rear edge of my upper tier, while the front edge rests on my lower tier board, as documented here: https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/3108466/re-the-stand-construction-thread#Post3108466.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[DJkeys]

I've been using the K&M 'Spider' for about a year now. I really like it! A couple of notes, though; it might not be for everybody.

 

• It works great as a 1-tier stand. Not quite so well with a 2nd tier -- at least, not with the shorter model. There isn't enough room to fold up the top tier, so it kind of sticks out in the bag. Still usable, but offering a '2nd tier option' is a bit of a stretch, unless one leaves it in the studio.
   
  
• The only choices for the 2nd tier are a) flat, like the other tier; or b) at a 15 degree angle down. I personally think that 15 degrees is a little too much. I wish they offered a 10-degree version. I used that setup with my Standtastic stand for years, and it was arguably better than the two close-spaced horizontal keyboards on a B-3.
  

 

Regards,

-BW

 

I just removed the extensions from the upper tier arms, slide up the second sleeve and remove them and stick them in the bag when I break it down.

 

-dj

[AnotherScott]

As I mentioned, I was thinking about getting a tall tower style stand to hold (for example) a third board high and behind a stacked pair. I tried this Harmony Audio stand from Amazon. Price is middling... at $120, not a cheap stand, but not as high as most of the other tower style stands. Probably toward the middle of the scale for weight, too, at about 17 lbs. What I liked is that the legs fold down and then slide up into the bottom, while the arms simply fold straight into the frame... no piece of it ever has to get removed, it simply moves in one piece with no disassembly/reassembly, just raising/lowering pieced and folding/unfolding. It's a two tier stand, but I was only concerned with using the top.

 

At first, it seemed this wouldn't work for me because of the angle, as seen here:

 

 

Basically, I wouldn't be able to get the top/third keyboard close enough to play, because the tower portion wouldn't clear the stand and boards below. I fixed this by propping up the back leg, which made the tower almost straight instead of slanted, allowing me to pull the whole stand much closer to me. It was still perfectly stable, at least with the light keyboard I put on it. Since this was just an experiment to see if I could get it to work, I used what I had at hand... it's propped up here with two reams of paper.

 

 

It worked pretty well. Not surprisingly, especially using it at its max height, it's not as rock stable as other kinds of stands, and I wouldn't want a clonewheel up there, because there's a good amount of side-to-side sway that would be disconcerting for smears and such, but for "regular" straight playing, it was stable enough for its purpose.

 

It did have some issues, and the manufacturer was nicely responsive. It was only a sample of one, so I don't want to make any assumptions about quality control, but it was good that Amazon's returns are painless.

 

If I were to get a stand like this again, I think I might go with the Stay Slim 1100, because it's so light... 5.3 lbs for the 1-tier version. That's only good for boards up to 22 lbs, but that's fine for me, for this purpose. The big problem for me with the Stay was that it's in so many pieces. But I had the idea that it might be a little more painless if, instead of removing the pieces and placing them into pockets in the carry bag, I just velcro'd them to the side of the stand itself. Here's how it assembles: [video:youtube]

 

But for now I'm managing by reconfiguring some of what I already had.

[Mr -G-]

Apart from the two rims of paper not looking too nice on stage ;-) I think that the centre of mass with a kbd on top would be at the edge of the 2 remaining two legs and be extremely unstable.

[Stokely]

I've used a copy of the Stay (some amazon offbrand) that I borrowed from a buddy for a couple gigs. I have a Spider Pro, which is much heavier and bigger, and I don't like it for one keyboard gigs unless I use the bottom tier, which means taking off the top tier (which is a PITA). They both are pretty similar in that they are columnar and have space beneath for pedals.

 

The Stay copy (hereafter just "the Stay") is really well-designed IMO. Very easy to put together, very light, very adjustable. You can take tiers on and off very easily without the hassle of the Spider pro. It is much thinner and lighter than the Spider Pro, yet seems very strong. It has 3 tiers but I have found there's no way I can have keyboards on all three while standing (if I want to actually see the tops of any of them at least).

 

A big downside on that model is the lack of a microphone mount. I love not having to bring a separate stand, I have a K&M boom that fits in my gear case.

 

Because I just ordered an 88 (PC4) I splurged and got the white Omega Pro from K&M for one-keyboard gigs. It was much cheaper from Thomann even considering shipping. I also ordered the two bits I need for a mic adapter, which unfortunately has caused my whole order to wait as one isn't in stock. One reason I got this is that I think it can also work as an under-desk keyboard stand. I have a Z doing this now, I slide the whole thing in and out since I have tile in my office. Like MathofInsects, I am tall and many stands are a problem. I have several X stands and they can't get get tall enough for comfort, I end up playing hunched over a bit.

 

If the Omega pro works out I may order the 2nd tier and use it instead of the Spider. I like the idea of not having that column in front of me. I'm not sure if adding the 2nd tier to the Omega pro will make it harder to fold and transport though (this definitely was the case with my Z.)

[MathOfInsects]

Like MathofInsects, I am tall and many stands are a problem. I have several X stands and they can't get get tall enough for comfort, I end up playing hunched over a bit.

 

I am many things, but tall is not among them, alas.

[DJkeys]

I have had a Baby Spider Pro for 9 years, which has been great. I just bought the K&M 18880 and 18881 stacker along with the On-Stage mic attachment. Once assemble and adjusted, I should be able to just fold it flat without having to remove any parts. Total weight is less than 10 pounds. That will be my new gigging stand-

 

-dj

[zxcvbnm098]

I am many things, but tall is not among them, alas.

 

To quote my late father, who like me and you was also a man of moderate height - "Stature is not measured in inches".

[AnotherScott]

Apart from the two rims of paper not looking too nice on stage ;-) I think that the centre of mass with a kbd on top would be at the edge of the 2 remaining two legs and be extremely unstable.

It didn't seem any less stable in practice. But it was holding a Nord Lead 3, which only weighs 14 lbs, and is a relatively small board overall (49 keys, with a footprint of about 34" wide x 11" deep).

 

The Stay copy (hereafter just "the Stay") is really well-designed IMO....You can take tiers on and off very easily without the hassle of the Spider pro.

One thing I did really like about that Harmony version is that, if you don't want or don't want to use a tier, you don't even have to bother putting it on or off, just leave its arms either folder or unfolded as needed. It's hard to see in my photo above, but the second tier is close to the bottom, its arms are folded upward into the front of the main chassis. To use that tier, you just flip the arms out (and you raise or lower the tier by hand-loosening a knob on the center support piece, sliding the piece up or down in its track, and then re-tightening the knob). It's also nice (as with all stands of the column type) that you have infinite height adjustability (instead of only being able to use heights where holes are), yet also you don't have to worry about getting the two sides "even." Though in the end, my personal preference generally is still to have a stand that supports things from closer to their ends rather than the center. But then, each design has its compromises.

[AnotherScott]

I think stands today are too heavy. I don't need a stand to hold 250 lbs. My current setup is less than 60 lbs for two keyboards.

K&M 18880 with 18881 stacker gives you two tiers, 9.2 lbs. Three tier (add 18882) comes to 11.5 lbs.

 

The Stay 1100/2 is only 6.4 lbs, but each tier has a maximum load of 22 lbs.

 

Invisible was next stand after the A-frame...My only complaint was top board was limited when trying to get it hovering over bottom, like a dual organ manuals.

I generally prefer the kind of stand where you can rest the front of the second keyboard on the rear of the bottom, so the stand only has to support it from the rear, which can work well for a dual organ manual kind of setup, but only if the low board has a very shallow (or no) control area behind the keys that you need to access. Otherwise, yeah, you have to hover. The Invisible doesn't hover. The K&M 18880+18881 can work either way, depending on whether you turn the second tier arms forward or backward. The Stay approach is for hovering. (As are most 2-tier stands, for that matter, including the A-Frame that started this discussion.)

 

Another alternative which was only mentioned here in passing would be the Standtastic, which again is for "hovering" so is not generally my preferred approach, but as these stands go, it is pretty light and flexible, and more solid in use than the single-tower stands because the boards are supported from their ends. I have a three tier, not as light as those others, but not too bad at 22 lbs. It's a little finicky to set up initially (at least for someone like me who is not at all mechanical), but once you get the hang of it, adjusting it isn't bad. (And if you're always using it for the same boards at the same heights, re-adjusting things isn't so much of an issue anyway.) In fact, thinking back to when I used an A-Frame, I'd say the Standtastic is better in pretty much every way. More flexible in width (permitting a narrower footprint), collapses to move in one piece, and even though I said it could be a little finicky, to me, the A-stand was even more so. All that said, I'll qualify my comments about the Standtastic by saying I've never gigged with one.

 

In the "Dig my rig" thread, I posted about my recent studio setup. Since posting there, I changed the setup against the wall so that it uses the Standtastic, it works well here, pic below. But it's a different approach from the K&M and Invisble stands I'm using to either side, where I keep the boards closer to each other.

 

[Bobadohshe]

I have had the Baby Spider Pro for many years now. It is all aluminum and folds up into a single piece. Excellent design, except they are very expensive now.

 

-dj

 

Boy you got that right - pretty much $500. My Spider is in desperate need of replacement but I am having a tough time thinking of shelling out half a G for a keyboard stand.

 

I'm with you on lightening the load, for this reason I've recently switched to the K&M 18880 with 18881 stacker.

https://www.k-m.de/en/products/keyboard-stands/keyboard-tables/18880-table-style-keyboard-stand-black

 

- lightweight .... 3.19kg

- folds flat for easy transport

- sets up in seconds

- table style (my preference) so no obstruction to pedals/boards etc

- very stable.

 

Very happy with it so far.

 

But you can't adjust the height!!! Total dealbreaker for me. I need to play this thing standing and boards have dramatically varying depths.

 

 

I haven't found a suitable replacement for the Spider pro yet. I use a Montage 7 on top and a CP4 on the bottom and the Spider is great for this. The small form factor of a single column for transportation is absolutely clutch in my load in / load out workflow. Sigh, I might have to shell out the $500; I don't want to.

[jejefunkyman]

Why not the K&M 18820 Omega Pro Black: you can adjust the height, it's foldable in one piece, and it's cheaper than the Spider pro.

 

The only inconvenience is that you have to put an extension on top for a second board, then it's not a one piece stand anymore...

 

I'm thinking about getting one sometime. But why is the Baby Spider Pro so expensive in the US: here in EU, it's "just" 195 EUR

[Stokely]

Check the Thomann US prices for the K&M stands. I ordered the white Omega Pro plus two attachments from there despite the extra shipping--it still comes out much cheaper than any other retailer I found. Same with the Spider Pro and probably the baby spider.

 

As I mentioned above, beware ordering more than 800 dollars and/or anything that was produced in China...you'll be subject to customs inspections and a big import fee respectively. A K&M stand would fall into neither category.

[RichieP_MechE]

But you can't adjust the height!!! Total dealbreaker for me. I need to play this thing standing and boards have dramatically varying depths.

Height of the 18880 is adjustable. It is not quick though, you need a 10 mm wrench to loosen the fasteners at the bottom of the legs and change the height.

[AnotherScott]

I've recently switched to the K&M 18880 with 18881 stacker.

 

But you can't adjust the height!!! Total dealbreaker for me. I need to play this thing standing and boards have dramatically varying depths.

You can adjust the height of the K&M 18880, from roughly 24" to 37". However, it is a pain. It's fine if you're going to do it once and leave it at your preferred height, but it's not something you'd want to do frequently. The stacker has a variety of heights as well, and is a lot easier to change. Though I do wish that it offered lower settings than it does, for getting boards closer to each other (depending on the height of the lower board). I have one set that was modified to go extra low.

 

Leaving it at one preferred height isn't so bad, unless maybe you switch between standing gigs and sitting gigs. After all, you're the same height at every gig. ;-) But I am missing the issue here of boards having dramatically varying depths...?

[DJkeys]

I've recently switched to the K&M 18880 with 18881 stacker.

 

But you can't adjust the height!!! Total dealbreaker for me. I need to play this thing standing and boards have dramatically varying depths.

You can adjust the height of the K&M 18880, from roughly 24" to 37". However, it is a pain. It's fine if you're going to do it once and leave it at your preferred height, but it's not something you'd want to do frequently. The stacker has a variety of heights as well, and is a lot easier to change. Though I do wish that it offered lower settings than it does, for getting boards closer to each other (depending on the height of the lower board). I have one set that was modified to go extra low.

 

Leaving it at one preferred height isn't so bad, unless maybe you switch between standing gigs and sitting gigs. After all, you're the same height at every gig. ;-) But I am missing the issue here of boards having dramatically varying depths...?

 

I did what many others have done and drilled a new set of holes. The second tier is now 6.5 inches (including the thickness of the tier itself) above the first tier with no tilt. I also cut 3 inches from the upper tier arms so that I have clear view of the bottom board. Nord Wave 2 on top, Stage 3 73 on the bottom.

 

-dj

[MathOfInsects]

Why not the K&M 18820 Omega Pro Black: you can adjust the height, it's foldable in one piece, and it's cheaper than the Spider pro.

 

The only inconvenience is that you have to put an extension on top for a second board, then it's not a one piece stand anymore...

 

I'm thinking about getting one sometime. But why is the Baby Spider Pro so expensive in the US: here in EU, it's "just" 195 EUR

 

I have this stand, and though it folds, I do not consider it "foldable." It's a bear to transport, and has no direction you can lay or stand it in that is flat. You can't even put it on a cart comfortably because of the awkward shape when it's folded. It's my best-looking two-tier stand and does the job great once it's set up, but I hate every time I have to consider bringing it somewhere, because it's a space- (both car and head) hog.

 

The best option I've found is to just pull the legs out for transport. But now there are THREE pieces to worry about, and the legs don't get any smaller than they already are. I wish K&M had least allowed the feet to fold in.

 

If I'm completely honest, I only keep using this stand because of how expensive it was. And it does look very nice onstage--very neat and severe and Teutonic. But I swear at it every second I'm not using it.

[jejefunkyman]

OK that's good to know, thanks for sharing your experience lol! Of course for me it's very important for a stand to be easy and quick to setup! If that's not the case with the Omega Pro, then that would be a definitive job stopper... Should be also easy to carry once folded, which doesn't seem to be the case here. OK I have to look for something different then...

[AnotherScott]

I wish K&M had least allowed the feet to fold in.

Yeah, I was really surprised when I saw they didn''t.

[Bobadohshe]

Why not the K&M 18820 Omega Pro Black: you can adjust the height, it's foldable in one piece, and it's cheaper than the Spider pro.

 

The only inconvenience is that you have to put an extension on top for a second board, then it's not a one piece stand anymore...

 

I'm thinking about getting one sometime. But why is the Baby Spider Pro so expensive in the US: here in EU, it's "just" 195 EUR

 

I have this stand, and though it folds, I do not consider it "foldable." It's a bear to transport, and has no direction you can lay or stand it in that is flat. You can't even put it on a cart comfortably because of the awkward shape when it's folded. It's my best-looking two-tier stand and does the job great once it's set up, but I hate every time I have to consider bringing it somewhere, because it's a space- (both car and head) hog.

 

The best option I've found is to just pull the legs out for transport. But now there are THREE pieces to worry about, and the legs don't get any smaller than they already are. I wish K&M had least allowed the feet to fold in.

 

If I'm completely honest, I only keep using this stand because of how expensive it was. And it does look very nice onstage--very neat and severe and Teutonic. But I swear at it every second I'm not using it.

 

EXACTLY. I spent way too much time at the K&M booth lusting over this amazing stand. In fact I do every NAMM. I stand there on the white carpet of the K&M booth looking at the Omega from every angle and lusting over all the attachments and how slick and sturdy it will be onstage. Then I sigh in exasperation because I know there is no chance I can deal with the headache of loading this thing in and the setup and tear down hundreds of times a year. Almost the perfect stand.

[DJkeys]

Yeah, the Omega is good for studio, but not practical to move around. That is why I waited and got the 18880, it does fold flat, even with the 2nd tier attached and weighs less than 10 pounds-

 

-

 

-dj

[Bobadohshe]

Check the Thomann US prices for the K&M stands. I ordered the white Omega Pro plus two attachments from there despite the extra shipping--it still comes out much cheaper than any other retailer I found. Same with the Spider Pro and probably the baby spider.

 

As I mentioned above, beware ordering more than 800 dollars and/or anything that was produced in China...you'll be subject to customs inspections and a big import fee respectively. A K&M stand would fall into neither category.

 

Holy forking shirtballs I just checked and it's literally half the price. I ordered one and it says it'll be here by Friday!?! Too good to be true? We'll see when I get the confirmation E-mail. No idea how they can somehow have these at half price but you just seemingly solved my problem for now, so thank you.

[AnotherScott]

The stacker has a variety of heights...I have one set that was modified to go extra low.

 

I did what many others have done and drilled a new set of holes. The second tier is now 6.5 inches (including the thickness of the tier itself) above the first tier with no tilt. I also cut 3 inches from the upper tier arms so that I have clear view of the bottom board.

Similarly... I have a 18882 "middle tier" that is "cut short" (actually ends behind my lower tier board, when I use a shallow board) and was also modified to "shave off" the things that let it tilt, allowing for the tier to drop that much lower into its stand opening. And I have a 18881 "top tier" that likewise has that second modification for extra lowering, though not shortened, since I usually just flip it backwards.

[MathOfInsects]

Holy forking shirtballs

 

In other news....great show.

[Stokely]

Check the Thomann US prices for the K&M stands. I ordered the white Omega Pro plus two attachments from there despite the extra shipping--it still comes out much cheaper than any other retailer I found. Same with the Spider Pro and probably the baby spider.

 

As I mentioned above, beware ordering more than 800 dollars and/or anything that was produced in China...you'll be subject to customs inspections and a big import fee respectively. A K&M stand would fall into neither category.

 

Holy forking shirtballs I just checked and it's literally half the price. I ordered one and it says it'll be here by Friday!?! Too good to be true? We'll see when I get the confirmation E-mail. No idea how they can somehow have these at half price but you just seemingly solved my problem for now, so thank you.

 

 

That was pretty much my reaction except the thing I was looking for was a Kurzweil PC4. I found it on there for around 600 less than everyone else...I'm like, what's the catch? Was it the SE? Was it some beat up used PC4? nope, they answered my email back. It's just an insanely low price for it. Not all the keyboards were as low, but the Nord ones were similarly good deals. Unfortunately Thomann can't ship Nord keyboards to the US at all.

 

I actually purchased it along with the Omega Pro and boy was I super excited. Until Thomann helpfully contacted me and said the order was on hold, do I still want to proceed knowing that the PC4 was going to be subject to US import fee(s)? I checked into that, and asked them, and it could have been 25% of the price or more. Not to mention it would get held up in customs...that part I didn't understand though because they said it would get to me in 2 days (???) In any event, it was nice dealing with them, very helpful and I went ahead with the stand purchase. Unfortunately my order is held up because one of the little adapter parts for the mic stand is out of stock...grrrr.

 

I need to find out if the Omega Pro 2nd tier makes it tough to fold up, and/or is hard to attach/take off...that is the case with my Z stand.

[MathOfInsects]

Leaving it at one preferred height isn't so bad, unless maybe you switch between standing gigs and sitting gigs. After all, you're the same height at every gig. ;-)

 

I use lots of heights for gigs. I set up differently for a sitting two-board gig than for a sitting one-board gig, and same for standing two-board gigs vs. one-board gigs. Sometimes, particularly on a one-board gig, I like the board up pretty high, and my throne is set up more like "stool-height." Sometimes I sit down at piano-bench height. When I stand, the same variations exists, plus things might be different depending if I'm wearing boots or chucks, or what I'm expecting to do with pedals (because if I'm standing closer, the board will be higher). So easily adjustable height is actually top of list for me.