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Been doing a lot of brass quintet, brass choir and small jazz ensemble gigs the last couple of months. Many of these require a fair amount of walking from car to playing location.

I have two folding music stands - one is the traditional metal POS that can't support a music folder or stand up to a breeze outside. The other was a gift that compacts into a thick book shape that is about 24 inches long and 8 inches wide. When set up this unit works well except it has a lot of pieces that you have to put together (as well as break down). It takes way too long (10 minutes) to assemble this thing when you're running late and it weighs a lot. It won't fit into my Alteri gig bag and is cumbersome to carry, especially when trying to navigate church doors etc. without banging the horn around.

I could bring a traditional concert stand, but it is a pain to put in the car as well as hard to walk with horn and stand at one time from car to events especially ones involving a lot of stair climbing and door openings.

I would appreciate recomendations for a good lightweight, but fully capable folding music stand. Price not a big issue.

Thanks!

If you can find one, the yamaha stands are great. They are black, fold up very well, and they are very light. You barely even know its there if you strap it to your gig bag.

Konig and Meyer make great folding music stands.

They fold down to small dimensions, and they are all 1 piece. Zero assembly. You just loosen the clutches, un fold, adjust, and tighten. They are very sturdy and stable. I throw my stand into my euph altieri bag--in that long stand slot. It fits easily.

I bought this one:

http://www.wwbw.com/Konig-and-Meyer-Hea ... 1618.music

But, there is also the "Extra Heavy Duty" one... never seen it in person...

http://www.wwbw.com/Konig-and-Meyer-Ext ... 1606.music



I think either of these choices would be great!

K&M makes a heavy duty folding stand that works great. I borrowed one on a gig last night, and it was a pleasure to use. It's on the heavier side, but comes in a gig bag for easy schlepping. I can't find a model number on it, but it's black, and looks just like one of the one piece folding stands that have been around for years, except bigger and thicker.

I own the Yamaha lightweight stand, and it's great, but in different ways. It will only support a medium amount of music without tipping over. The K&M has a larger desk, and looks to me like it would hold alot more without tipping.

For plain sturdiness, it's hard to beat the Manhasset Voyager. The primary difference between this and the regular stand is that the desk has a quick release and the base folds up as a tripod. Otheriwse, it appears to be the same sturdy stand. Manhasset sells a bag wtih it and there's enough room to store your music and even a portable stand lamp.

Whatever brand you buy, make sure it has secondary bracing on the top half of the stand, instead of just stops pressed into the center section. The weight of your music with a folder will quickly wear out a stand that does not have secondary bracing on the top half to keep the ledge from falling down below parallel.

The Manhasset Voyager is a good one. Almost as sturdy as their concert stand. The table is solid but is removable and the legs fold up. There is also a tote bag available for it.



Manhasset Voyager Stand Model #52 ($31.99)
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sea ... /src=01340

Pinnacle has a medium weight folding stand (medium by folding stand standards). It is offered in a few different colors, sells for about $20, collapses and folds up to a compact size, and comes with a bag.
http://www.wwbw.com/Pinnacle-Folding-Mu ... 4434.music

Pinnacle has other models of stands too if you want to look at all of them.

I agree with the recomendations for the Manhasset Voyager and the carrying bag. My tuba-playing and -resting stands will also fit in the bag.

If you really want something smaller, get the heavy-duty K&M stand.

The extra heavy duty music stand in Dean's post is the one I was talking about. His post wasn't up when I was writing mine. I agree that the Manhasset Voyager is a great stand, but not as easily portable (fits just fine into any accessory bag) as the K&M. I'd say that if you are playing quintet jobs with heavy books, or something like that, go with the Manhasset. Short of that, the K&M is fine.

Haven't tried the above mentioned, but they look pretty good. I have a Petersen stand, which might be the one you already have,although it's very sturdy and for me only takes about 1 minute to assemble or break down.

Manhasset Voyager .... hands down. Buy the tote bag, too. Fairly pricy at about $50 for the bag and stand, but for durability and ease of use, you can't beat it. The bag has enough extra space inside for your music folder and Lampcraft Music Light (yeah... you need one of those, too!) You won't regret owning any of it.

I would recommend the Manhasset Voyager or the Wenger Gig stand. The Wenger stand is all in one piece no assebly required it just folds up like a brief case abou the same size as the voyager. Pretty slick.

The Wenger can only be ordered from Wenger. 1-800-4wenger or www.wengercorp.com (or net?).

The Manahsset you can buy at most music stores or over the net.
ken k

I've used the Konig and Meyer extra heavy duty stand for several years. It's indestructable, very stable, and a lot easier to carry than the Manhasset since the tray of the Manhasset doesn't fold.

My wife uses the K&M heavy duty stand, and if you don't need to hold large books for very heavy folders, it works well and is lighter and cheaper than my extra heavy duty stand.

Bill Anderson

I have the K&M stand. Not the biggest one, but one of the midrange jobs. It folds tightly enough that it goes in the tuba bag where the Manhassets won't. It's a one-piece stand, so it doesn't require a bag or extra effort/brainpower to carry around. I've been using it for about three years now, and it holds our quintets' big, heavy 3-ring binders with no problem. Once after a gig, I forgot to put it in the car, and drove off with it laying on the roof. The stand took a tumble to the concrete at about 45 mph. That was two years ago. I still use it, scars and all, no problems.

Avoid stands with big desks that are made entirely of plastic. I've watched plenty of those (different sizes and brands) blow up on gigs. Never fun, never good.

K&M>All other brands

Actually the larger model K&M referred to as "Extra heavy duty" is not their largest one. I use it , and it works great. The really good thing about it is the kinematics of the tripod: you don´t even have to tighten the screw for it to work. (Other brands will collapse if not tightened) I should know because that screw has been missing for about seven years on mine.

The REAL BIG THING is used by German military musicians. It even features a metal latch for the musician to step on, so even Katrina won´t tip it over.

The Desca Folding Music Stand from Baltimore Brass Co. is a great option as well