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Thread: Awesome fold-up stand

  1. #1
    not a donut Kevin Winn's Avatar
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    Default Awesome fold-up stand

    Saw one of these at the Taborgrass session today. This is the mando-sized model (they also have larger ones for guitars) and folds up into a small enough size to slip into a gig bag. This will be on my Christmas list...

    https://cooperstand-pro-instruments-...ducts/pro-mini

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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    A friend has had their guitar stand for a few years now, easy to carry and nicely made.
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  3. #3
    I really look like that soliver's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    Cool!... I like that, thanks for sharing!
    aka: Spencer
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    Lurkist dhergert's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    We've used these for a few years now, have also given them as gifts. Very nice, very compact, relatively secure... Still have to watch to make sure the instrument isn't jostled or bumped. It's still a risk of damage due to falling. Standing an instrument upright is still the #1 reason for peghead breaks of every kind, and for a large number of heel problems too.

    Enjoy it, but be very careful.
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    "Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
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    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    Quote Originally Posted by spud3 View Post
    Saw one of these at the Taborgrass session today...
    I was actually more interested in Taborgrass. I was born and raised in NE Portland before life moved me to the other side of the country. Looks like a nice opportunity to get together.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
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    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
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  6. #6
    not a donut Kevin Winn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton View Post
    I was actually more interested in Taborgrass. I was born and raised in NE Portland before life moved me to the other side of the country. Looks like a nice opportunity to get together.
    Taborgrass is an awesome endeavor. Morning sessions devoted to beginners on all bluegrass instruments, afternoon sessions for returning students and jams all day. It's a great community, and a fantastic way to spread the bluegrass gospel.

    Greg and Linda do the world a great service.

    http://www.taborgrass.com

  7. #7
    Registered User Mandobart's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    I picked up a few of their stands at Wintergrass last year - they are great.

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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    Bought one of the guitar stands several years ago - it will accommodate guitars, mandolins and my GBOM largely due to its stepped bottom rail although it struggles with instruments with straight jack plugs still in.

    I believe that there are cheaper copies available.

  9. #9
    F5G & MD305 Astro's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    Love the fold up design. Fair price. But without support and fixation point up the neck, I would be too afraid someone on stage would accidentally bump it and knock it over. Plus I would like to leave the mando plugged in. I've yet to find the mando stand I want.
    No matter where I go, there I am...Unless I'm running a little late.

  10. #10
    Registered User mandobassman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    That is a nice design. However, I still can't bring myself to use a stand. It's just so much safer in the case.
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  12. #11
    Lurkist dhergert's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    The first time we saw the Cooperstands was at NAMM in Anaheim probably about 10 years ago. They were shown by a representative of the maker on a table in a small booth with instruments in them. Every time someone bumped the table the instruments began vibrating and shifting a lot as the table itself was magnifying the movement. The representative would nervously grab various necks in an effort to prevent a multiple-instrument chain reaction.

    Honestly, we've seen the best and most expensive stands do the same thing at NAMM, no matter the design. If a stand gets bumped hard enough, it's going to come down along with its contents.

    Knowing all this, we were cautiously optimistic about the Cooperstands, especially because of their compact folded design and their low center of gravity approach. We bought 4 of them, intending to use them personally, but actually gave 2 of them away to admiring friends, along with warnings. Since then we've bought a few more because we like them so much, but we're still very cautious about using them.

    We have also purchased some Hercules stands with the grabber neck holder. The design is of course very different, but they are still instrument stands, and really in daily use these aren't much more secure. I've also had the grabber neck holder damage the nuts on a couple of instruments, along with some plastic part degradation and failure.

    Regarding the possibility of an instrument falling, the issue isn't so much the stands themselves, as it is the natural off-balance nature of the instrument versus the energy of someone bumping it. Instrument stands all have their own weak points and since we really care a lot about our instruments, we won't trust them completely. We've almost completely moved to leaving our instruments in their cases when not using them.

    We do a fair amount of music on stage and occasionally for production convenience have placed instruments on stands. But I'm obsessively particular where I'll put the stands and what kind of stand I'll use. For most situations I'll find an out-of-the-way corner where no one else will have any reasonable need to be, and I'll set the stand so the instrument leans into the corner such that it cannot fall. It's not a guarantee but it's at least a little more secure.

    I have spent a fair amount of years doing musical instrument repairs. Compared to the vast number of people who use instrument stands, the number of peghead and heel breaks from instrument stand falls are relatively few. But they are common enough that most repair people come to expect at least a handful of them each year, and they are always catastrophic for the instrument and the player. And this kind of damage is almost always due to something or someone unexpectedly bumping the instrument stand. So then the question becomes one of statistics -- do we want one of our instruments to be the one?
    -- Don

    "Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
    "It is a lot more fun to make music than it is to argue about it."


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    Registered User Steve Davis's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    If you accidentally step on a Cooperstand the wood will split. Don't ask me how I know.
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    Lurkist dhergert's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    That is, if it's made of wood. Their composite stands are basically the same design. While they are pretty sturdy, I don't expect they would hold up too well to being stood on either.
    -- Don

    "Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
    "It is a lot more fun to make music than it is to argue about it."


    2002 Gibson F-9
    2016 MK LFSTB
    1975 Suzuki taterbug (plus many other noisemakers)
    [About how I tune my mandolins]
    [Our recent arrival]

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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    Instrument stands have their use, I suppose. I saw a bluegrass band in a local tavern once. At half-time, they all placed their instruments in stands on stage. I found it odd and a bit pretentious but mostly, I found it dumb; just asking for trouble.

    In my house, the instrument is either in hand or in a latched case, period.

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    Registered User Mike Arakelian's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    I had one of these stands and like the aesthetics of the design. Like Steve Davis, I too accidentally stepped on the stand, and rendered it useless. Fortunately the stand was empty at the time. The small size makes it a bit risky if you’re in a congested area with a chance of somebody knocking it over. Mine was especially so because I use an arm rest on my mandolin, and with the addition of the arm rest my mandolin did not fit securely in the stand. Great looking and nice fold up size, but I want something sturdier and more secure if I’m going to use a stand. Generally my mandolin stays in the case when not being used.
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    Registered User DougC's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    I use a stand for practicing at home. Rather than setting the instrument in it's case, I can more easily set the mandolin on the stand while I grab a pencil or eraser.

    At concerts I rarely use a stand. (Sometimes it makes sense to use one.) But my fellow musicians know that I watch everything 'like a hawk' even when their instruments are in the un-latched cases.

    I don't talk to fans afterwards either, I'm too busy caring for everyone's instrument. There is disaster lurking at every event.

  19. #17
    Registered User mandocaster's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    Since this thread has drifted a bit into a general discussion on stands, I would like to recommend the ingles violin stand. I remove the little part that is intended to hang a bow and viola (not viola the instrument) it's a mandolin stand. It's a little heavy, but it secures the neck and folds up to fit in your go bag. It's quite stable. If you leave your mando in an open case on the ground it can get stepped on, too.
    https://www.amazon.com/Ingles-Adjust.../dp/B0009RHAT8
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    The cooper stand is very cool and very small. I was nervous using it at home and never took it out to a jam. Looks great - a sweet display stand, but I would only use it if there is no way life could disturb it.

  21. #19
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    Quote Originally Posted by mandocaster View Post
    Since this thread has drifted a bit into a general discussion on stands, I would like to recommend the ingles violin stand...

    They've been discussed here for years. I have one, it's a decent stand but all the stand issues that are out there seem to come into play as well. Easily tripped over on a crowded stage. Well made though and they lock the neck in the stand if you remember to lock it.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

  22. #20
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    I have used a Cooper stand for occasional gigs over the last few years, ideal for my Buchanan mandolin.

  23. #21
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    I wouldn't use mine on stage. There I use one of the tripple Hercules stands with the grabbers. It would take some considable effort to knock one of those over.

  24. #22
    not a donut Kevin Winn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    To be fair, the builder of the Cooper stand states in their product description:

    "Pro-Mini is intended for solo performances, studio, home and display use."

    I've been playing in clubs for decades, and there is no foolproof on-stage stand that allows for quick access, for almost any instrument.

  25. #23
    Registered User Givson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    I use a Peak mandolin stand and like it very much. The stand has an adjustable support for the neck with a locking strap. I would be very nervous about putting a neck-heavy F-style mandolin in a stand without a neck support.

    Here is a link:
    https://www.wwbw.com/Peak-Music-Stan...tm_content=All
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  26. #24
    Registered User Drew Egerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Awesome fold-up stand

    I bought a plastic version of the Cooperstand through Blue Chip Picks quite some time ago. There was a sale offered that made it very cheap. I actually like it quite a bit. It folds up small enough to stick in the pouch on my case cover.
    For the most part I use it at home, but for now I am doing a lot of switching between guitar and mandolin for gigs and have used it out as well.

    I have stepped on the side of it before and it just flexes and keeps on working.
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