My New Keyboard Stand - Ain't she pretty!

It took me 7 months to get this color.

Cool looking rig, Al ...

Good luck with it....I saw one in a GC store...its much bigger then I thought compard to my double tier Apex delux....btw what does it weigh?...

Nice!!! What is the brand/model?

Dennis

http://www.ultimatesupport.com/category/Keyboard_Stands__APEX_Series

•Part Name: AX-90R

•Part Number: 16769

•Color: Fire Red

•Set Up Height: 52" (1321 mm)

•Tier Height Range: 19.25" - 47.25" (449 mm - 1200 mm)

•Tier Depth Range: 17.75" - 23.75" (451 mm - 603 mm)

•Tier Angle Adjustability Range Horizontal: 6 degrees, and 12 degrees up - 6, -12, -18, and -24 degrees down

•Weight: 50 lbs. (22.6 kg)

•Folded Length: 59" (1499 mm)

•Base Diameter: 36.5" (927 mm)

•Load Capacity: 150 lbs. (68 kg) per
tier or 300 lbs. (136 kg) total

Super Stand for a Super Keyboard...now get it out of that Florida sun.

Great info there Donny, thanks...I might hunt one out down under

Dennis

That is one sweet rockin' keyboard stand. I would choose the same color. I like it!

Donny, thanks for posting the specs.

I didn't realize it was 50lbs! Yikes, it doesn't seem that heavy. I only lift it on/off the Rock n Roller and into the Car.

You use gravity to set this puppy up; lay it down flat, unzip the case to expose the feet; extend the feet; then pull the handle on the case to vertical and then remove the case. Very easy to manipulate. At first I thought it was huge, but after doing a couple of gigs with it, it is operating smaller if that makes any sense at all. The other great feature is the built in cable channel in the front of the stand facing the player; I hide all my cables in there and there are clever plastic locks that flip to one side to hold the cables in place. I love that. You can see from the photos, the top portion of the rig cabling looks nice and tidy.

I get SO many compliments on it from guests. Even the band loves it! (notice the color of the Bass Guitar in the photo!) I paid $299 from Sweetwater.

My only complaint is they do not sell a boom microphone arm/stand adapter for it.

Why can't keyboard players show some Pizazz?!! (without dressing in sequins)

Al, you are rubbing it in...showing that Florida sunshine...we have snow prediction again up here...


BTW: What are those white extensions coming out of the blue shorts?...

Al, no doubt your band is as talented as it is COLORFUL ... the drums look great too - but do they have that "live, in your face, up front sound?" ...

Fran as much as it pained me to leave NY after living there for 50+ years, I haven't looked back one bit. The weather down here has been glorious this year.

I highly recommend a change of scenery (and temperature) for your mental health. I'm sure this past winter kicked your butts pretty good.

p.s. those are called bony-ass legs and they belong to the guitar player! LOL

Absolutely gorgeous stand Al...very contemporary.

Ian

Here I am, sitting in my office with a space heater running and freezing my butt off and Al posts a photo of a rockin' keyboard stand, palm trees, sunshine, someone wearing shorts and green grass. Al, you really know how to hurt an old man's feelings!

Cheers,

Gary

I first remember being wowed by these Stands at Namm. Reds my favorite color choice too, with the finnish reminesent of those classic era show cars. Warning to glitzy guitars and flashy drumkit setups. The AX90 finally gives us keyboard players a chance to elegantly show off our rig too. Congratulations Al.

One Question: Al, do you use a footpedal(s)/multi-footpedal unit when you play? If so, where do place it/ them and how do keep them from slipping and moving around? My frustration with my older Apex stand has been not being able to find a suitable place underneath the Apex stand to comfortably access the footpedals while standing or prevent them from slipping-moving about, especially because a cable runs out the back of the footpedal unit(s) preventing it from being fixed and secured from moving by the stands legs. - Scott

Howdy Scott,

I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but I have two sustain pedals on the floor in front of the stand about 3-4 inches. They do drift but the stand stops them from moving too far and of course they do go askew because of the cables.

I've been meaning to get some of that non-slip material they use for "under carpeting" and glue it to the bottom of my pedals to stop them from walking. I just haven't gotten around to it.

Try that rubber-ish 'shelf liner' material they sell at hardware and kitchen stores. Cut it to size so the stand is on it and the pedals (but not your shoes, they will tend to tear it up) and pedal creep is OVER!

Hi Al , thanks for sharing the photo very impressive .
I notice that in your setup you have a Roland VK-7M module .
I'm thinking of getting one and hooking it up to my midi accordions via my technics smac 1200 module .
As I would like to get that Hammond sound to play such things as Whiter shade of pale , Green oinions and Time is tight ...etc
I would appreciate any Comments /advice on this subject .


Best Regards ...Giovanni

Hi Giovanni,

I've had that Vk8m module for many years now. I just love the tonewheel emulation and the Leslie simulator. I also LOVE having real tactile drawbars. It's great during live performance if I need a little tweak here or there. The D-Beam controller is great for turning the leslie fast/slow at the wave of the hand. People look so quizzical when I do that. The Motif and the T4 cannot match the Vk8m Hammond sounds. I wish they did so I didn't have to bring so much equipment, but hey, its easier than lugging a Hammond/Leslie around.

It's a great investment and I've gotten my money back fourfold.

If you do get the Vk8m, look into getting this upgrade pack from soundside http://www.soundside.de/shop/vk8upgradepack.htm

It adds some great voices (not samples)

Best of luck with your decision!

Regards

Hi Al , Thanks for taking the time and trouble to answer my question on the Roland Vk-7m module .
Yes I agree it is very impressive and compact .

Whilst it goes without saying the "D beam " is a good idea , for my purpose with the midi accordion I would prefer the basic control of slow /fast rotary , and brake to be controlled by simple foot switch operation so as to keep the right hand on the accordion treble keyboard .

I'm waiting to hear if the modification can be carried out successfully .

regards ...giovanni

I haven't tried it, but I'm sure you can use a MIDI pedal to control fast/slow/brake.

Also, you keep calling it a Vk-7m, the model I have is a VK-8m.

Is there a Vk-7m?

Hi Al , sorry for the confusion ...yes you are perfectly correct it is my mistake I mean Vk8-m .

yes the Roland Fc300 midi multipedal pedal is an option but it has a large footprint .
I really want just the basic pedal functions .
the local store in my home town is looking into the modification for me .

regards ..Giovanni

Al, love the stand but more so than that I'm really jealous of the palm trees!! Eventually we'll wind up in Florida, but for the time being we had to postpone our plans.

Hey Steve,

Sorry to hear you had to postpone your plans to move down to the sunshine state. That's too bad; I was looking forward to having a fellow Synthzoner in the area.

Keep me posted on your plans.

Al

Al,

I just looked at that nasty photo again--22-degrees on the back porch this morning with a 15-MPH wind. The pond has frozen over again, and the frogs that were singing their hearts out two weeks ago probably froze to death. If all the body parts hold together for another 18 months, I'll sail down to your neighborhood and see that rig in person. Damned I hate winter!

Gary

You sail to Tampa, you might as well sail on up to Destin afterward!

So far, it looks like I am playing on the harbor this summer, so you might be able to dock right up at my gig! I'll sneak off on the breaks for some of that kickapoo joy juice!

You've got a deal, Diki. Hope to see you then.

Gary

I've got one of those stands in the garage, barely used. It's silver. Make me an offer.
DonM

22 degrees! Yikes. Doesn't sound like you can hold out for 18 months; that includes another winter.

Where in Fla where you planning on putting down roots?

Hi Al,

great looking setup!

Just out of curiosity - what do you mainly use the Motif XS for amongst this rig?

I would assume the T4 to be used for backing style and arrangements and the MoXS for leads? what kind of voices are you most commonly using with the MOXS?

I am just interested as I too am a MoXF user...

Thanks

Nick

No roots Al. I recently purchased a larger sailboat, one that I can live on during the winter months while sailing in the sunny south. I'll be setting my course for south Florida in early October 2012, and with luck I'll make it to Marathon Key by the end of the month. I have a tentative Tiki Bar job there at one of the marinas, an exchange deal where I can perform a couple nights a week in return for free slip rent, water and electricity. I hope to make lots of side trips, sailing down to the Dry Tortugas, maybe over to the Bahamas, then back to Key West and up the west side and slide over to the Panhandle for a couple weeks or so. Diki says I can tie up at the dock where he's playing, mix up some Kickapoo Joy Juice and enjoy the show. Eventually, I'll make my way back to Marathon, probably stay there until the end of March, then sail back north to the Chesapeake's upper reaches where I'll spend the summer months. At last that's the plan for now.

The boat is large enough to live aboard comfortably, has all the amenities, heat, air conditioning, running water, full galley, etc... Plus, there's so much storage space that I have plenty of room to carry my music gear. I'm just hoping that my rapidly aging body parts hold out long enough for me to do this lifelong, dream trip.


This is a shot of the boat at the dock last summer. I think it will be neat to get a photo of the boat during the winter with coconut palms in the background and sailing through turquoise waters.

Cheers,

Gary