Stand for a straight alto

bobsax

bobsax

I found two threads at SOTW. Everybody was using a cradle type , either bass clarinet/bassoon or the old LA SAx stand or the SAXRAX one that looks a little unstable.
What about something that works like a sop stand?
I was thinking perhaps a trombone stand would work with some extra foam.
Maybe a mike stand with sturdy legs or a stand for a PA.
You'd probably want it as low as possible to prevent tipping.
 
I would think a bass guitar stand might be able to be modified to work. When I had my straight alto I used the LA Sax stand. When I sold the horn I included the stand with it.
 
Wow, no matter what you get it should be heavy enough to withstand a bump and sturdy enough to stop a tilt from becoming a tragedy. Not an easy stand to find me thinks. But I agree and bass clarinet stand would work. Still you'd have to be careful.
 
I first used a baritone sax stand (one that had two wide U-shaped devices at each end of a long bar) and hung my straight JK alto upside down by the bell on one of the U-shaped devices while the body and neck rested on the bar and in the smaller U-shaped end. Awkward? You bet.

Then I bought the LA Sax straight alto stand and that was much better. It all went with the horn when I sold it. Other than the conversation-piece uniqueness of a straight alto, the thing was useless. Oh, it played okay, but what's the point? DAVE
 
Straight alto stands

I made two totally different stands. The one on the left is a modified guitar stand. I made the one on the right from scratch.
 
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Dave Dolson said:
Then I bought the LA Sax straight alto stand and that was much better. It all went with the horn when I sold it.
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One point that should be made is that straight altos are all a little different. Groovekiller, IIRC, has two straight altos: a Keilwerth SX90 and a Buescher and you can see a lot of differences, side-by-side. It's almost that you HAVE to have something custom for your horn.
 
So which do you prefer Randy? I'm thinking that the guitar stand makes more sense, at least from a stability perspective, although the peg would appear to be more convenient, with the slightly lower risk of damaged keys I guess? Depends on how delicate the posts and all are
 
I have often considered trying to convert a "capture" stand for an electric bass (the one where the weight of the neck of the instrument closes the two arms and traps the neck in the stand) into a bass clarinet stand. However, every such stand that I have measured just doesn't have enough space within the "trap" to hold a bass, and I don't have the time to gin up something similar but on a larger scale.

Every bass clarinet stand that supports the horn by both the top and the bottom is too "springy" to suit me. With all the spring left in the K 8 M stand's vertical support, a good bump on the top of the stand could "bounce" the horn free - not a good thing.
 
saxplayer1004 said:
So which do you prefer Randy? I'm thinking that the guitar stand makes more sense, at least from a stability perspective, although the peg would appear to be more convenient, with the slightly lower risk of damaged keys I guess? Depends on how delicate the posts and all are
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Actually, I like the peg better, and It's not too hard to build. Just glue up a wooden box with a sloping top to fit the angle of the bell. Fasten an old broomstick or large dowel securely toward the low side of the sloping top. Then sculpt an insert for the bell around the base of the dowel with anything that's handy - even papier-mache.

Enlarge the top of the peg with anything - a rubber ball, a disk of wood, etc. I covered my peg with felt. The legs are aluminum strips bent in a vise and screwed to the bottom.

Remember the center of gravity is the vertical peg. The legs always look long on the back when it's made right.
 
Groovekiller said:
Actually, I like the peg better, and It's not too hard to build. Just glue up a wooden box with a sloping top to fit the angle of the bell. Fasten an old broomstick or large dowel securely toward the low side of the sloping top. Then sculpt an insert for the bell around the base of the dowel with anything that's handy - even papier-mache.

Enlarge the top of the peg with anything - a rubber ball, a disk of wood, etc. I covered my peg with felt. The legs are aluminum strips bent in a vise and screwed to the bottom.

Remember the center of gravity is the vertical peg. The legs always look long on the back when it's made right.
Click to expand...

Thats a pretty cool stand Randy. I guess that's it on the left in your pic with all your saxes? Your 1928 Buescher straight alto sax - original green enamel is amazing. I guess the Chinese didn't invent the green horn?:emoji_smile:

any more pics of your stand?

--thanks again
---bob
 
bobsax said:
any more pics of your stand?
--thanks again
---bob
Click to expand...

Here goes:
The first stand I made used a cheap guitar stand. I built a "shelf" for the bell by cutting a large "U" shape out of a block of wood and gluing that piece to another rectangular piece of wood. I lined all the parts that touch the saxophone with felt. The shelf slides onto the prongs on the lower part of the guitar stand
 
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Stand number 2

This is the straight alto stand I like best. It is very stable because of the large "footprint" of the legs, and it disassembles into a reasonably small package.
I added the Keilwerth logo simply because I got one cheap from Boosey and Hawkes a while back.
The legs are aluminum strips bent in a vise and bolted to the bottom.
 
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I would love to see how the horn sits on the second example.
 
Well, I needed to play it and had to improvise a last min stand.
An old music manhasset style stand with fold up legs , top removed and a baby swimming floaty at the bottom. A ball with holes would probably be better then the floaty. I'll have to keep my eye out for a something of the right size. A piece of memory foam might work also.?
 
Looks good. If you can spare the stand to make it a permanent straight alto stand, shorten the upright and make a larger diameter top pad. It makes it easier to get the horn on and off the stand. It looks very safe and stable.
 
Thanks GrooveKiller for the good ideas:-D

To shorten it I think I'd need to pull the inner tube out as far as it goes , then hacksaw it to a better length. This would lighten it considerably.
However , with my mechanical skills there would be a risk of ruining it.
In the meantime I'll keep my eye out for something to replace the yellow floaty.
 
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