Review of the Hercules Tuba Performer Stand

[Uncle Markie]

I believe this product is fairly new to the market - and a welcome piece of equipment for tuba players. It is the Hercules Tuba Performer Stand Model DS553B.
I have had other stands - the TubAssist (no longer available), the DEG tuba stand, etc. The build quality on this stand is superior. It comes with a thickly-clad-in-vinyl cradle that threads securely onto the post. More importantly, the extension tube and fold down legs have no wobble or sloppiness in them. My King and Martin (30 lbs!) rest in this stand without rocking. The point of these stands is to free you up to concentrate on making music instead of wrestling with your axe. This stand is a bit heavier than the others and that seems to translate to stability and less player fatigue. The hardware seems to be a grade above the rest too. Given its heft I would not carry this thing in the bell of my horn.
The stand comes with a "flat" insert for those who do not prefer the cradle.
The cradle and the insert both feature a hole in the bottom for those of us with "ballbusters" on the bottom bow of our horns - Besson, Boosey & Hawkes, etc. No slot for old German horns with those "rudders" however.
The only shortcoming I found with this product - so far - is that my King tended to slip in the cradle. I made an easy (and cheap) fix with a piece of bicycle inner tube contact cemented to the inside of the cradle for a better traction.
I got mine from Ray Noguera at Laconia Music; the DEG stand goes in the closet as a back up I probably won't need. If you need photos try http://www.herculesstands.com" target="_blank
Full disclosure - I'm posting because I'm really happy with this product - I have no connection to Hercules other than as a happy paying customer.
Uncle Markie says check it out.

[David Richoux]

Looking at the pictures, the tuba stand seems OK, but the Sousaphone stand needs a much wider stance for the tripod IMO. It looks like it would be very unstable unless the bell is in exactly the right position and the rack is at just the right angle. http://www.herculesstands.com/band/DS551B.html

[Wes Krygsman]

For traction with my tubas, I use a cell phone "Sticky Pad" which is actually made to hold cell phones on dashboards, but it works quite well for tubas on your lap or even on a tuba stand. The best part is that they last quite long and when they lose their stickiness, you wash it and let it dry and it's like new. A well known tuba player in a major symphony uses these as well.

This one is the thickest/longest lasting:
http://www.amazon.com/HandStands-Jelly- ... sticky+pad

but there are others that are cheaper and thinner that work too, but don't last as long.

[WC8KCY]

Looking at the pictures, the tuba stand seems OK, but the Sousaphone stand needs a much wider stance for the tripod IMO. It looks like it would be very unstable unless the bell is in exactly the right position and the rack is at just the right angle. http://www.herculesstands.com/band/DS551B.html

David, I have this sousaphone stand and there's no issues at all with stability. When it's time for a tuba stand, I'll likely go with another Hercules.

[tubasaz]

I once tried a K&M Sousaphone stand with my Conn 20K Suza. The stand was not suitable - it appeared to be too weak and unstable to carry 20K. Maybe Hercules stand would do the job.. Thanks for a tip. I also use a Protec gig-bag - it seems to do its job when some soft foam is added.

[TubaSteve]

Nice review! I am often surprised that more tuba players do not use a stand. I currently have a DEG stand that I purchased when I had tendon damage to my wrist and I was afraid I would drop my horn, and also give my wrist a rest. I found that I loved the stand and found it was so much easier than balancing the thing on my legs or chair. The stand allows you to be able to grab the music on terrible page turns with out having to worry about holding the horn. It keeps the mouth piece in exactly the correct level and I can adjust it to any chair I have. I play a lot of outside gigs in the summer, and have to deal with wind blowing your music and other things. It is nice to have the stand to hold the horn when you need one hand to do page turns with the plastic on your stand. Every once and a while I show up at rehearsal with a different car or horn, and realize that I forgot the stand. Makes for a different night without it.

Steve

[Travis99079]

I use one of these regularly with a PT-6. It's a bit big for a smaller guy like me and I usually just have some good ol' cabinet-liner on my leg when I use a 186. If I had to nitpick, there are a few things that are somewhat bothersome.

For me, when the three legs are closed, there are these square plastic joints that have pretty sharp corners. These joints attach the legs to the bottom of the actual stand. More than once I've jabbed myself with these in putting the thing away (probably wouldn't put it in any bell with those).

Having been used by someone before me, the stand also manages to slide itself down toward the ground throughout a rehearsal, regardless of extra-tightening. It isn't really significant, but by the end of and hour or so, it's certainly noticeable that things are not where they started. While this may have been caused by negligence or general wear-and-tear, it's worth noting that I'm unsure how long the stand was in use before this sort of problem developed.

Otherwise, the stand is great. It does what it's supposed to and I enjoy being able to use it.

[opus37]

I have 2 hercules sousa stands. They are very stable and hold either my 28k or one of my helicons. As for a playing stand, in all the groups I play with (currently 4) there is never room enough for a playing stand on stage or during practice. All of the venues have limited space. I suspect that this issue along with the "one more thing to carry" concern has limited the use of a playing stand.