It's always inspiring to connect with our customers. Leon, a generous and talented Japanese engineer, has shared his thoughts on upgrading our music stand to make it the perfect fit for his needs. His innovative ideas might inspire you as well.
Below is the translated version of Leon's blog, and we invite you to click and explore the original article too.
I've been interested in this music stand, KraftGeek, for a while, and I finally got it. Initially, from watching the videos it was introduced in on YouTube, I got the impression that it was mainly for people who use A4 sheet music half-pillars or iPads for POPS. However, I also started to see information suggesting that it might be usable for amateur orchestras, as it can be used for B4 music, so I decided to get it.
This comes in a "Solo Gig" package which includes the music stand itself and a case, and a "Concert Combo" package which includes the other items, such as a holder and light. It is more cost-effective to purchase the "Concert Combo" than to purchase the tablet holder and light later, so I chose the Concert Combo.
Well, you don't really need the light, but it is expensive to buy it separately, and I'm sure double bass players have experienced this, but when you practice in a community center hall or something and the lighting isn't at par for the performance (if it's not 100%), the area behind the double bass can be so dark that you'll want to call out, "Hey, give me a light!" I thought I could use a light, and I had a use for the tablet holder, so I got the all-inclusive package this time.
On my blog, I won't be introducing the obvious things that other people have introduced, so please look at YouTube etc. for the appearance and other things. Apart from that, I will introduce some points that other people have overlooked and some ideas for using it in amateur orchestras etc. The overall quality is not bad. The product is also on the verge of not looking too cheap lol.
Honestly, I think it's quite large and heavy compared to a normal music stand, so I wouldn't recommend it for people who are looking for something as lightweight as possible. By the way, when I play the cello, I put a lot of things in a carry case, and this one fit in just fine.
When it comes to double bass, I carry both the instrument and chair in a large carrier, so I'm thinking of hanging it around the neck like this.
The box that the device comes in is also like a tablet lol
The body seems to be made of aluminum, but it's still heavy and not as heavy as any music stand I've used in the past. lol. See the KraftGeek website for specifications.
It's easier to understand how to assemble it by watching a video on YouTube, so please refer to that for more information. It's very simple, there's no disassembly, and I think it's quicker to assemble and store than a regular music stand. When you spread out the music stand part from the top and bottom, the inside looks like this, but I was impressed by how it's designed to fold up neatly.
It looks like this when fully extended. The legs are thick, so you can securely attach the plate you normally use to place small items. By the way, when the legs are extended, they extend in three directions: to the left and right and backwards, but this cannot be changed. This means that if you want to change the orientation of the music stand as shown in the photo, you will have to hold the music stand itself and turn it. In other words, the axis of the music stand does not rotate. Unlike a normal music stand, it cannot be turned just by hand.
This is actually quite an amazing thing. This is true of the Manhattan music stand that I use. Even though you can freely adjust the height, the music stand part can easily rotate, so although it's easy to turn it, if you don't support the back of the music stand when writing music on it, the music stand part will move back and make it difficult to write.
This extendable leg is a KraftGeek patent, but in orchestras, writing and correcting bowing orders is done frequently, but if you are holding a cello or double bass, it is quite difficult to hold the music stand and write, and changing the bowing order on site is annoying.
Since you can't write or erase with the music on it, you end up putting the instrument next to it and correcting it, but this may solve the problem.
※I will try using it on site for a while and write another article.
I think it is quite excellent that the height can be freely adjusted, but it does not drop on its own and does not rotate, and this is more than half the reason why I got it lol
By the way, there was a YouTuber who was testing the weight by putting something like a dumbbell on the music stand to see how much weight it would not drop, and it dropped smoothly at about 3 kg lol.
I also attach various things to the music stand, so I was worried about it, but it won't be that heavy.
The width of the bottom part of the music stand where you place the sheet music is fixed, but the middle part spreads out horizontally (see photo above).
The height of the top bar can also be adjusted (see photo above for the top), and it can be lowered like this, and the angle can also be changed.
There is a rubber sheet stretched on the front of the part where the sheet music is placed.
For my purposes, the bottom of the sheet of music gets caught on this rubber sheet when turning the pages, so I wonder if it's useful, but I think it might prevent the sheet music from getting all floppy and falling forward.
The angle of the music stand can be adjusted and fixed to any angle using the screw on the neck, but because it only extends from front to back to a certain point, it won't tip over even when you place something heavy like an iPad on it. This is great for people who mainly use an iPad.
With an A4 half-sheet it looks like this, and the clear clips to hold the sheet music in place are useful.
It looks kind of cute, like there's someone behind you holding the sheet music from both sides.
I might put some face stickers on the top part sometime.
It's stable even when you place an iPad on it. By the way, the middle part is cut out, so you can charge it through a charging cable.
If you clamp a mobile battery to the tablet holder and attach it to your neck, you can prevent the battery from running out.
In that sense, it's a good idea to have a tablet holder, and since the Solo Gig + Tablet Holder and the Concert Combo are about the same price or cheaper, I think the Concert Combo is the better deal.
Raising the top bar to its maximum height will accommodate B4.
It looks like this when unfolded. The part where the music is placed is about 5cm short on both sides, but when you turn the pages, it might be easier to turn them if it's shorter than the music.
Now, the reason I didn't buy the KraftGeek right away when it came out was not only because of its high price, but also because it only had three bars on the back and felt unreliable. The solution to this is a B4 blackboard.
It's basically cardboard, but it's 2mm thick. You can join two sheets together, place them on KraftGeek, and then write on them. It's quite heavy, but with KraftGeek, that's no big deal.
KraftGeek's music stand has a simple back structure so that it can be folded. It's fine for A4 half-sheet music, but if you just place B4-sized music on it, it feels unreliable and difficult to write on. So I made a back board by combining two of the black boards introduced in the previous article, but if you just place the music stand on it, it might fall off when you move it. So I made it so that it can be fixed in place using a magnetic sheet. Also, a simple black board isn't very stylish, so I stuck my favorite white FELIX sticker on it.
I'll be using the music stand in the hall for the real thing anyway, so it's fine since I'll only be using it for practice.
The KraftGeek music stand has clips on both ends of the middle bar, so there is actually a gap between the board and the music stand when you just place it on top. It's 3mm thick, which is roughly the same as the clips. I cut this to the width of each bar and attached it in six places. Incidentally, even if you attach magnets to this part, it won't affect the folding at all.
On the other hand, a thin steel plate was attached to the blackboard side. This one is 0.7mm thick.
It is attached firmly in place with 6 adhesive points at the top, bottom and center.
I also cut out a part of the Daiso clear folder that I used in the following article and pasted it to the bottom of the blackboard.
It will look like the picture. The right side has been cut shorter intentionally to allow for page turning.
The KraftGeek music stand has clips on both ends of the middle bar, so there is actually a gap between the board and the music stand when you just place it on top. This time, I used a thicker rubber magnet plate, taking into consideration the thickness of these clips.
It's 3mm thick, roughly the same thickness as the clip part. I cut this to the width of each bar and attached it in six places. Incidentally, attaching magnets to this part has no effect on folding.
The reason we do this is that KraftGeek music stands have a fairly thick piece of rubber on the front. I think it's to stop the sheet music from falling forward, but when you turn the pages the bottom of the sheet music gets caught on this rubber and gets in the way.
It's only attached with double-sided tape, so I thought about peeling it off, but I thought it might come in handy, so I added the bottom part by placing it on top of the rubber. This makes it the perfect music stand for my needs.
As for the tablet holder, KraftGeek has provided additional information that it can hold tablets up to 13 inches. In its standard state, I think it's about the same size as a smartphone. It is about 7 centimeters or less.
There are buttons on the left and right sides of the back, and if you press and pull them the standard size will expand.
This is the standard size, approximately 15 cm, and from here the spring clamp is expanded by 3 cm on each side, for a total of approximately 6 cm.
Another reason I bought the KraftGeek was the screw hole on the neck (the same standard as screw holes for cameras, etc.).
This is how you can secure the tablet holder.
Here's why I wanted to use KraftGeek:
This is used to secure a wireless tuner, which is now out of production, and I always secure it to a music stand. Until now I used a clip, but now you can attach it directly and it looks cool.
This tuner was an incredible product that allowed you to wirelessly transmit sound using a pickup attached to the instrument and check it, but it was discontinued, probably because there was little demand for it, and I don't think many people own this wireless tuner, but you could also use it to clamp a regular tuner or smartphone.
Previously, you would clamp the neck of the music stand in this way, but this was difficult to use because regular music stands are thin.
However, there is one situation where the clamp-type adapter I had been using up until now comes in handy.
That is when two people in an orchestra are reading sheet music together, and in that case it needs to be facing either left or right rather than straight ahead, but as the original adapter only has one dimension, up and down, this adapter is useful, so I keep it in the storage case.
The music stand light is also foldable (still has the protective film on it).
There are also screw holes on top of the music stand so you can attach a tablet holder or music light, and with the music light attached it looks like this.
However, there is one very unfortunate thing. When you turn the page, the sheet music hits the page because the sheet music stand is tilted when you turn the sheet music light, and the B4 size is just barely large enough. Well, I guess they didn't anticipate this.
The solution to this problem is to use an adapter, and I had an adapter like the one in the photo on hand, so I tried using that.
This is enough to raise the height and can also be used as a music light if needed.
The atmosphere here is more stylish.
I got these from Amazon, but basically anything that has one male and one female will do, and in most cases the angle can be changed freely, so you can adjust the angle of the light as well.
I also tried turning on the light in a dark place, but since the original location wasn't that dark I don't think it made a huge difference, but it seems like you can see well enough now and you don't have to ask for a light!
Anyway, isn't it cool that a music stand has a music light that you can quickly pop out and fix in place?
Furthermore, this music light requires three AA batteries, but there is a USB-C charging port so that you can use rechargeable batteries instead of dry batteries.
KraftGeek's answer on this point was vague, but the conclusion is that you cannot charge rechargeable batteries through this port.
I thought that was probably the case, and it's just a guess, but I think the original design was a built-in NiCad type.
However, that would have raised the price, so they must have changed it to a battery type for the time being. However, the port has been modified as part of the mechanical design, so I think they have left it as it is (although perhaps a built-in battery type will come out in the future).
When using it with a double bass, the height of the music stand needs to be raised accordingly, and when loaded with an entire performance's worth of music it becomes quite heavy, which is a bit of a concern with a regular portable music stand, but even when raised it is stable, and of course it is not possible to fix a plate for placing small items at such a height.
There are surprisingly many small accessories that go with musical instruments, so this tray is convenient as you can place your smartphone and other small items on it.
Most music stands have thin axles, but KraftGeek's music stand has thicker axles so it can be attached stably, and as I wrote at the beginning, the music stand does not rotate, and the position of the tray does not change, so when attached to the center of both legs the center of gravity is at the bottom front, which has the added benefit of improving the stability of a music stand that is tilted backwards.
What makes it difficult to use is that the attachment part of this tray is at a right angle, which gets in the way when you try to put it away.
On the other hand, the tray I showed you is attached parallel to the wall, so it doesn't protrude as much. This is my KraftGeek special version.
The KraftGeek products seem to be made of aluminum or plastic and do not stick to magnets, so I cannot use the Kohinoor that I recently purchased.
To achieve this, I attached a thin iron plate to the bottom right so that a magnet could be attached, and Velcro to the bottom left so that a clock could be attached.
When storing it, I put Velcro on the back and store it like this. By the way, this compact metronome that can tell you the time, temperature and humidity, the KORG HB-1, is no longer in production.
In both cases, these parts are on the outside, so they don't affect folding.
With a normal portable music stand, if you attach this much, the legs can wear out and sag, or the neck can flop over to the other side, which can cause all sorts of problems, but this one is very stable.
Speaking of not affecting it, I stuck a sticker on the back of this center part.
It would be interesting to stick something with a longer design, but for now, this part doesn't affect storage so I just wanted to show you how you can make good use of it.
Another idea that came to mind was using it as a tripod.
When used at its maximum height as shown in the photo, it is quite tall and has a screw hole at the top, so you can attach a tablet holder there and use it as a tripod to shoot videos.
At recitals and the like, we use the music stand on the stage, so we don't need our own, so it looks like we'll be able to use the KraftGeek to shoot videos instead of the tripod that we had been carrying separately until now.
Conclusion
A music stand that is by no means perfect, but can be made perfect with a little ingenuity. There are many people in the world who want perfect things, but just as each person is different, there is no such thing as a perfect thing for everyone.
This music stand is no exception, and while it is by no means a perfect music stand on its own, it has enough functions to make it the perfect music stand for you with some ingenuity.
At least there are no parts that need to be fixed with screws, so it can be quickly assembled and can be folded up for portability. The stress of unfolding and storing the music stand has been greatly reduced.
It can also be fitted with a holder for a smartphone and a music light, and is sturdy. It is so stable that it does not wobble even when several cello parts of Beethoven's symphonies are placed on it.
The parts that I am dissatisfied with can be covered with some ingenuity, and in the end, it is human beings who can make such ingenuity, and I think it is up to me whether I can make this music stand perfect for myself.
We hope Leon's creative approach has sparked some ideas for you. At KraftGeek, we believe every musician's needs are unique, and we're always eager to hear how our products are being used to suit your style. If you’ve customized your music stand or have ideas for improvements, we'd love to hear from you! Feel free to share your experiences and suggestions with us—your feedback could help inspire our next design.