Yamaha Airlift Sousaphone Stand...a trial with a Jumbo

[MrBasseyPants]

I just took delivery of a Yamaha Airlift Stadium Sousaphone stand. I already have a Hercules Sousaphone stand for my 40K. The 40K just barely fits on the Hercules , but it does work quite well! However, the King Jumbo just doesn't work with it. Although, the Hercules keeps the horn roughly in playing position (I've never tried it), I didn't necessarily want a stand for the Jumbo to use for playing...I really wanted it for storage.

I know I could make something, but my time and lack of finish carpenters skills would ultimately make me unhappy I thought. Also, since it is very likely that this horn will be out and about in the house...it has to look nice.

Anyway, today's project was to see if it works.....and the result is:



SUCCESS!

It works VERY well. I was easily able to get the center of gravity positioned so the horn is very stable. The overall build quality on the stand is QUITE impressive! It is definitely worth its expense (although if another stand works for your purposes...this may be overkill). I am not sure if this will work with the Conn Jumbo as its two largest branches sit next to each other rather than on top of each other like on the King. It seems like it SHOULD work, but I don't have any way to try it since I only have the King.

Right now, I have one concern though. The U-shaped pieces that hold the top of the body have a little bit of rubber on them. This isn't the problem, but it seems to match the size of the king tubing perfectly. Almost too perfectly. I can't tell if this is an unexpected bonus, or if I just happen to have perfectly placed dents. I obviously don't want to damage the horn putting it on the stand every time. I don't see the metal used in this horn being easily bent, but I am looking at this cautiously.

Next week, I am taking the horn in to get a thorough re-conditioning. This will hopefully eliminate most of the dents, and having it look just fantastic! So, keeping it on the floor was not an option...so I bought this stand. I will make sure that the stand can be used without damaging the horn, and if I need to, I will see about making the U-shaped holders just slightly bigger. Seriously, it's almost like the designers expected a Jumbo to fit in there...it's perfect....but almost too perfect. I worry about the prolonged exposure of the weight of this horn on such a tight fit.

At any rate...this is a great stand, and I plan on taking it with me to some gigs if I need to.

jc

[MrBasseyPants]

Sweet!

How much was the stand?

Do you think you could modify the arms to accept a larger bow?

The stand is about $320

I think you could modify it a couple of ways. If you are good with a grinder, you might be able to grind down the U-shapes a little bit and re-apply the rubber. If you are a skilled metal worker, you might just be able to bend the "tongs" of the U-shapes. You might also be able to craft an adapter of sorts that clamps over the existing U-shapes. if you didn't need it to surround the tubing, but just cradle it....you could easily cut off the tops of the U..

When I take my horn in to Dan, I might ask him what he thinks (he doesn't know this yet).

jc

[Dan Schultz]

Quit messin' around and get one of these...

Every high school in the nation had a half-dozen or so of these things and probably don't use them anymore. They pop up on Ebay once in a while but in the meantime... are probably just sitting in the proverbial 'back rooms'.

With one of these gizmos... you can just pull a chair up next to the horn, swing the neck and bits your direction, and toot away!

[MrBasseyPants]

Quit messin' around and get one of these...

Every high school in the nation had a half-dozen or so of these things and probably don't use them anymore. They pop up on Ebay once in a while but in the meantime... are probably just sitting in the proverbial 'back rooms'.

With one of these gizmos... you can just pull a chair up next to the horn, swing the neck and bits your direction, and toot away!

You know, I've never actually seen one of those in person.....and considering you may be done with my horn before one shows up on eBay...I wanted to make sure I had something. This Yamaha does look sturdier than the old K&M....and given the right configuration....I bet you could make it work as a play stand as well. I don't necessarily NEED to play it on a stand though. ...the Yamaha does look really slick though


jc

[acjcf2]

I remember the High School I attended in Binghamton, NY had a chair/stand that you sat in and played in a concert setting. I'd use it every now and then if I did not feel like playing my assigned Conn 10J or Conn 20J Recording bass.

I've only seen one of the stands where they player sits next to the Sousy to play in an early 1930's talkey movie.

That's a helluva stand jc.

Jim

[MrBasseyPants]

My wife came home last night while I was out...and she saw the stand. However, she wouldn't let the dog near it and was afraid it was going to crash through the windows. It does indeed look precarious....however, I showed her that it is very stable buy pulling on it a bit..... Considering how small of a stand it is compared to the horn....it's very stable. Apparently those drum stand people know what they are doing!

jc

[mdc2d]

I teach High School band, we got an email from a Yamaha rep a few weeks back asking if we wanted a few of these (no cost...I guess trying to get them out to drum up business??), it just said to include quantity. So, being opportunist, we asked for SIX....about a week later the front office called and said that we had some boxes... sure enough SIX of these came...NO COST!!!

They are indeed very well built, looking forward to using these this coming Fall!!

[Dan Schultz]

This one has been offered for sale a couple of times (or one like it). I would consider buying it if the chair folded and was easy to transport. It would be nice if something like this would fit INSIDE the custom travel case for my 48K. The 'criss-cross' Hamilton stand will.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solid-sturdy-Hu ... 3cce197cfa

[Dan Schultz]

Here you go, guys. .... one of those 'criss-cross' sousaphone stands!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROCK-SOLID-VINT ... 3a7e8a2503

[Dan Schultz]

Still available...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROCK-SOLID-VINT ... 2276898%26

[MrBasseyPants]

Still available...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROCK-SOLID-VINT ... 2276898%26

Not anymore .....this thing better be good Dan.....real good.....

jc

[Dan Schultz]

Still available...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROCK-SOLID-VINT ... 2276898%26

Not anymore .....this thing better be good Dan.....real good.....

jc

It'll work fine. It will appear that the upper arms are 'on the edge' but it'll work.

[MrBasseyPants]

Another stand? Which one will you be replacing - the Yamaha or Hercules?

I mostly bought it so Dan would shut his yapper

....and realistically having a play stand might work well in some situations, but the airlift makes a great display/storage stand...much better than the Herculese even.

jc

[Dan Schultz]

..... I mostly bought it so Dan would shut his yapper ....

[tofu]

[eupher61]

How heavy is the Airlift? Does it fold up relatively compactly? Is it relatively easy to carry in one hand with the horn in the other?

I'm thinking of it as something to take to jazz band gigs to set my helicon on between sets. I'm always a little nervous about leaving it on the ground in harms way and hanging on to it is a PITA.

the Hercules stand would be a lot easier to haul, and certainly cheaper, for this purpose.

[bigbob]

Do they have anything like that for a large tuba??....BB

[pjv]

What I like about the Hercules is that it doesn't wiggle when I put the sous in it. This is real fine for when I have to make a quick change from sous to another instrument. It also gives a nice secure feeling that the horn won't be in danger whenever careless musicians or technicians are scuttling about. The bad part is that I had to re-weld both the bottom and the top braces because it couldn't deal with the weight of my 40K. Having done that I adjusted the top brace's angle to better accommodate the 40K and the 46K.

The modern K&M stand is useless for anything heavier than a 14K. It not only wiggles all over the place but the bottom screw construction for adjusting the angle of the horn isn't sturdy enough to hold the 40K unless its perfectly balanced. And still, brushing up against the sous is enough to start the stand angle tilting slowly but surely, eventually resulting in it dumping the horn on the ground.

These guys need to use the same technology that they use on drum and cymbal stands. Light, strong, and adjustable.

-Pat

[MrBasseyPants]

What I like about the Hercules is that it doesn't wiggle when I put the sous in it. This is real fine for when I have to make a quick change from sous to another instrument. It also gives a nice secure feeling that the horn won't be in danger whenever careless musicians or technicians are scuttling about. The bad part is that I had to re-weld both the bottom and the top braces because it couldn't deal with the weight of my 40K. Having done that I adjusted the top brace's angle to better accommodate the 40K and the 46K.

The modern K&M stand is useless for anything heavier than a 14K. It not only wiggles all over the place but the bottom screw construction for adjusting the angle of the horn isn't sturdy enough to hold the 40K unless its perfectly balanced. And still, brushing up against the sous is enough to start the stand angle tilting slowly but surely, eventually resulting in it dumping the horn on the ground.

These guys need to use the same technology that they use on drum and cymbal stands. Light, strong, and adjustable.

-Pat

My 40K kind of fits in the Hercules stand. AT least enough to store it in a corner of the room. If I really wanted to makes it better, I'd need to rework it a little. As the 40K seems to be slightly larger than the intended horn this stand was supposed to hold. I tried putting my King Jumbo on the stand, and even without the bell it was obvious that without some serious modification...the Hercules wouldn't cut it.

The airlift is light and easily transportable. It can be configured in many different ways and can be adjusted to get the horn's center of gravity directly over the base of the stand. I've never put my 40K on the stand, but the Jumbo fits very well with all feet on the floor. The Jumbo's tubing is HUGE, so it is a tight fit...with the tubing not fully seated in the branch holder...but it does work very well. It does look unstable, but it isn't. If you were to bump into it, the horn may rotate slightly, but it is rotating about an axis right above the base....which keeps it sturdy.

I'd say it is the best option i have seen for a storage/display/holder type stand. It would make a lousy playing stand, but I don't know how many people would use it as such. It IS expensive....but I think it is worth it.

I bought this vintage stand because Dan swears by them apparently, so I thought I would give it a try.It would be nice to have a playing stand if I ever decided I needed one. .......I'll do a stand "shootout" when I get it and we can compare.


jc

[eupher61]

Those are wonderful stands. All through grade school and HS, that's all I had, fortunately a great old King silver plate and a Conn silver plate at home , with those stands. Never a problem.