On-Stage

The On-Stage Stands KT7800+ is a height-adjustable keyboard bench that is perfect for many applications, even outside of the keyboard bench world. It has a nice, wide, large deluxe 3 inch black cushion, which can provide great comfort for many hours of play. It also has a spring-loaded double dead-bolt locking mechanism that keeps the bench locked into place. There are four different height settings, which can range to standard lower benches, to higher benches that can be used at standing keyboard heights. In fact, right now I use my bench on my main keyboard at the same height that I use it for standing, so the bench is relatively high, but still very comfortable and usable. It doesn’t tilt or feel wobbly or unstable at all. The On-Stage Stands KT7800+ has a weight capacity of 360 lbs, and the bench seat has a size of 12.5” by 23.5”. The height of the bench, in its center position, is about 20 inches high, and the metal construction of the bench is all welded. No cheap plastic supports anywhere. The feet are removable rubber cylinders, common with On-Stage Stands equipment. I’ve had a few minor problems with this bench, and one of them include the locking pins for the height adjustment. If you are not careful, you can untighten the pins too much, and the whole mechanism can come completely out of the bench, and you can lose some parts. At first, I thought this was a manufacturing error, and I returned the bench, but I later realized that it’s just part of the design. So do not untighten the pins too much. The second problem I’ve had, is that the bench is not super-durable. Do not throw it around the stage and expect it to hold up, because the metal will bend. But overall, this is a wonderful, comfortable keyboard bench, if you need one with your digital piano setup. You can’t go wrong!

The KS7150 Keyboard Stand, by On-Stage stands, is a unique keyboard stand that has many appealing features. It is adjustable in height and in width, and is great for heavier and larger keyboards. What I really like about it, is how fine the height adjustment can be set. With my older x-style keyboard stand, it was either too high or too low, with no adjustment possible in the middle. That is not the case with the KS7150. However, this stand doesn't quite get low enough for playing while sitting on a bench; I would recommend this stand if you mainly using on a stage while standing. Another great feature of this stand, is that it never loses its memory of any of the adjustments when it is transported. Simply fold it up, and fold it out when needed, and it will always be at the same height and width as was set. This makes it very easy to move my keyboard from one location to another, although the overall stand is a bit bulkier than a standard x-style stand. It does have plenty of holes in the frame, so it's easy to grip while opened or folded. Another unique advantage of this style of stand, is that there is so much space for floor pedals and other devices beneath the keyboard. Without any supporting pieces in the middle section, you can fit a lot of equipment under the stand. However, the stand can get a bit wobbly if the legs are not set correctly, and even when they are, there is still some play and movement on the stand. For me, it is not significant or noticeable, but it certainly is not as super solid as a regular x-stand. Overall, this a great, unique stand, if you find that the x-style stand is not working out for you.

The On-Stage Stands SMS7650 is a studio microphone boom stand. It is the cheapest of the large overhead studio booms, for a reason. That is not to say it is bad; it is simply that one gets what one pays for with quality, and despite the fact that is is the cheapest of the studio booms from all the large stand companies, at a healthy $120, it is still a quality piece of equipment that you can't really go wrong with the On-Stage Stands SMS7650. This stand comes with a relatively heavy hex base with an option to attach three included casters. This is incredibly useful; the stand is enormously heavy compared to smaller stands, obviously, and lifting it up to move it is next to impossible, especially since you may have a very expensive microphone mounted on it. The casters are quite a pain to attach though. The boom stand itself is quite solid, although it does tend to droop when fully extended. An issue I find with the stand as with other solid stands is that the boom adjusts in increments. This is because the locking mechanism is two knobs with grooves like gears; when they are loosened, they can move freely, but when tightened, they tessellate and stack on each other, making it impossible for them to move. Unfortunately, these "gears" only occur every so often, so that means that no matter how much you tighten, you'll see the boom adjust in approximately half-foot increments. This is mitigated by the adjustable end on the arm. The adjustable counter-weight is also a nice touch. OVERALL OPINION All in all, despite the fact that the On-Stage Stands SMS7650 is the cheapest in its class, it is still in its class, meaning that it will without fail hold up even your heaviest microphones well. I wouldn't exactly call it road worthy, however, so I would never pack it anywhere, but if it's sitting in your studio, it will work fine. For $120, I heartily recommend this stand.

The On-Stage Stands 7701B (in black) or 7701C (in chrome) is a very affordable boom stand. It is certainly one of the most popular, coming on top of best selling lists on almost every audio equipment vending site and store conceivable. It is for good reason; the stand can be had for anywhere between around $20 to $30, and offers quite acceptable quality overall. I'll say now that considering the price, you can't really go wrong with the On-Stage Stands 7701. When first handling the boom, you'll find that it is far more sturdy than the generic microphone stands that you may have been picking up from yard sales for years before you got serious. And you'll know that generic stands are absolutely fearsome to use; I would never try mounting anything on them. It's a boom stand. It is simple enough to use, and it has all of the general advantages of having a boom stand over a microphone stand. If you're an instrumentalist, it helps big time if you're playing and singing at the same time. One think to note about the 7701 is that while it's fairly sturdy and will essentially without fail mount a stage dynamic like an SM58 even when the boom is fully extended, it is not heavy enough to hold terribly heavy microphones like the RE20, SM7B, or any of the heavier studio condensers. If you have to use the 7701 to mount an expensive, heavy, fragile, microphone, make sure that the boom arm is extended over one of the tripod legs so there is support under the collective unit's center of gravity. OVERALL OPINION It is actually a fairly stable microphone stand if you've never used anything else. Once you get into the more expensive stands like the DR Pro's and Tama's, you'll never want to go back. But with adjustment and compromise, the On-Stage Stands 7701B or 7701C provides a very affordable alternative for mounting your microphones.

The On-Stage Stands SDS7200B is a small round base microphone stand. It only has a 6" base and the neck is also pretty short. This is designed for use in the studio or on the stage in situations where you might want to put up a microphone not too far off the ground. The main thing that I've used the stand is for recording guitar amplifiers. However, I do have a boom stand that I attach to this stand for more ideal placement, which is not something that it comes with. That's the only thing that I don't really like about the way the stand is originally as it can be hard to get the mic right up on the speaker of an amp without some sort of expandable boom. Don't get me wrong, it can certainly be done, I just like to have as much placement control as possible. The stand is built pretty well, but isn't the type of stand that I could see lasting a real long time as it doesn't have that type of feel. I thought it would be nice to have a small stand around for recording things lower to the ground, but have since realized that it is definitely not a necessity as most good mic stands will be able to reach low to ground without an issue anyway. So while I don't believe that the On-Stage Stands SDS7200B is a necessity for anyone, I also do think that it can be a nice thing to have around. In fact, I leave mine pretty stationary by my guitar stand so that whenever I want to record something it is all set to go and it doesn't get in the way when I'm not using it. The price of the On-Stage Stands SDS7200B is quite cheap, so if you're thinking about getting one, you might as well add it to the collection of stands at this price...

The On-Stage Stands RB7030 Rack Space is a simple 12 space, rack space. It is just about as simple of a rack space/stand as you can get, and is also one of the cheapest. I've currently got one of these in my home studio, and it definitely gets the job done for me. While it isn't the sturdiest rack space out there in the least, it holds everything up fine and with easy access to the connections in the back. Having quick access to the back is a big plus for me, as I often find myself needing to make switches and this isn't always easy if you have a closed back on your rack space. I should also say that I don't have this space filled to capacity, as it only hold in my main pieces of gear. It sits on top of my desk for easy access to it, so I didn't want to put too much weight on it. Even though the RB7030 is built pretty sturdily in general, I definitely would not be surprised if it were to break at some point as it isn't made up as strongly as other rack spaces are out there, and is really just the bare bones. When I bought this I was really looking for as cheap of a rack space as I could find, regardless of the protection that it has around it since I was only looking for something to stay in one place and to not be moved around to much. I have a larger Gator case which I use if I want to transport any sort of rack equipment, as this one definitely isn't suitable for moving around with anything in it. The price is definitely the best selling point with the RB7030 as it makes for a simple yet effective rack space at an extremely low cost. I'd definitely recommend taking a look at this 12 space rack space if you need some simple racking for you studio.

The On-Stage Stands KS7365-EJ is a dual layered keyboard stand, capable of holding up just about any type of keyboard. Like the name of the company states, this is probably best suited for live shows, but I have used it in the studio since I'm not a gigging keyboard player. I used the stand to have two different keyboards up and playable at the same time, making it easy to access both without having to move anywhere. This is great for anyone who has two keyboards that they use simultaneously. For example, I was using this with a Yamaha Motif and a Nord Electro 73, the two of which have some different types of sounds, making it necessary to have the two up together at the same time. While most probably won't need to have this in the studio, this is essential for those who have a few keyboards for live shows. In addition to its basic functional features, the stand is built incredibly well, so you don't have to worry about this being able to hold up even your largest and heaviest keyboards. Having said this, I would probably only use this for digital keyboards as even though it is strong, it might to pushing it to use it with an analog electric piano (although I haven't tried so I can't say so for sure). The price of the On-Stage Stands KS7365-EJ is set right, and is actually the same price as a lot of single keyboard stands out there. Another great feature about the stand is how flexible it is. You've got complete control over the length of the stands, so it can adapt to keyboards of all shapes and sizes. For gigging or in the studio, this On-Stage Stands keyboard stand is a great choice for holding up two keyboards at once...