Ultimate Support TS-100B PA Speaker Stand Review

Howdy!

A lot of products sound too good to be true, and when I first heard about the Ultimate Support TS-100B speaker stands that is exactly what I thought. These stands are hyped that they will actually lift your PA speakers up to magical heights with little to no effort. After trying them out, I can say that these things actually work!

I have used and owned Ultimate Support stands before and they have always worked well for me, so I should not be surprised. On first glance, these are fairly typical tripod speaker stands, with 1.5-inch aluminum tubing and a durable black anodized finish. This model adjusts from 40-inches to 79-inches, and the base ends up being about 4 feet across, with a load handling rating of 150 pounds.

If you look a little bit closer, you will find that the clamps are unusual as they are not the usual crummy plastic that most stands use. These are made of metal, which is really handy as these are the parts I have broken most on my speaker stands.

But the real magic is the “Air-powered” unit inside which actually lifts the speaker up for you. It is really quite simple: set the stand up as you normally would at its lowest setting, horse your speaker onto the stand, and turn the release knob (also metal, by the way). If your speaker is under 50 pounds, it will rise all the way up to 6 feet 7 inches all by itself. If your speaker weighs more you will have to give it a little help, but it will be nothing like the good old days when it was your muscles doing all the work. Then crank down the knob and you are good to go. Take down is exactly the opposite: just turn the knob and the speaker will come back down, though if it is under 50 pounds you might have to pull a little bit – again, no big deal, and much safer.

These things are awesome, and I am never buying a cheap speaker stand again!

The Ultimate Support TS-100B is sold in a 2-pack from discerning online suppliers for $150, and this includes the Ultimate Support Limited Lifetime Warranty. Should you need to go higher, there is also the TS-110B (which goes up to a bit over 9 feet), and there is also the TS-110BL with the super innovative leveling leg – I will be writing more about that one later. Check these things out if you get the chance!

Mahalo!

Proline LST2BK Tripod Speaker Stand Review

Aloha!

Today we are looking at one of the workhorse components of my live sound set-up. I have been using a pair of Proline LST2BK tripod speaker stands for over 5 years, and these budget-friendly medium duty stands have been no trouble at all!

I bought these stands at the last minute before a show, and ended up selecting them because they were they were on sale and looked like they would be good enough. They are rated for 150 pounds each (really?), can adjust from heights of 45 to 73 inches, and include an adapter so they can be with speakers that have either 1 3/8” (35mm) or 1 ½” sockets. They are light and pack up small so they are easy to bring along on gigs.

The LST2BK stand has a steel center shaft with an aluminum housing and legs, and everything is connected together by kind of cheap looking plastic joints and hardware. All of the metal is powder-coated black, which goes with everything!

I have used these stands with many different models of powered speakers, including Yamaha DXRs, the ill-fated Mackie Thumps, and my current QSC K12 set-up. All of these speakers have 35mm sockets, and after a few years of moving the unused aluminum 1 ½ inch adapters around my shop, I finally tossed them in the recycling bin. I have not missed them.

Setting up the stands is easy: just extend the legs and lock them down, set the speaker height (preferably using the included locking pins), and crank down the height knob. I lost one of the locking pins a few years back, but the height knob still has sufficient tension to hold the mast in place, even with a 41-pound K12 in place. The stands are more stable than they look, though I usually take it easy on them and adjust the legs so that the mast is setting on the ground, which provides that extra bit of security.

They have worked very well: they have never fallen over, the joints are still tight, and nothing has broken on them; even the black finish has held up well with just a few scratches. I have seen reviews from people that complain that they have lost hardware or broken the plastic pieces, but maybe these are just folks that do not take very good care of their stuff. I would buy more of these in a heartbeat, and indeed, a few years back I ended up getting two more for a really big show I was doing.

The Proline LST2BK speaker stands work well, and they come in at a really decent price of $39.99 from most online sellers. They might not be as heavy-duty as some of the $100 stands on the market, but for most applications they will work just fine. Trust me!

Mahalo!

On Stage Desk DS7200B Microphone Stand Review

Howdy!

I have written about some pretty dull stuff on Rex and the Bass, and this post might be right up there with the worst of them, but I thought I had should say a few words about the On Stage desk microphone stand. Boring as it may be, if you are doing any PA announcing or are running a meeting where you need a desktop microphone, this thing is indispensible.

This stand is available in black or chrome, and is adjustable from 8 ½ to 13-inches tall. It is sturdy with a solid metal 6-inch diameter base so it has plenty of ground-hugging (table-hugging?) weight. The stand unscrews from the base, so it can be knocked down a little smaller for transport, but I usually leave mine assembled.

I have used this one with my Shure Beta SH55 and SM 58 microphones, but usually use it for my iPad holder that I use for DJ gigs. It does not get off balance, and the screw grip for adjusting the height stay rock solid once it is tightened down.

I have also used it for mic-ing speaker cabinets and it is nice that it has a smaller footprint than full-sized boom stands, so it is less likely to get knocked over on crowded stages. One thing for sure is that it provides a professional appearance and makes most any set-up look tidier.

If you do any live sound work, I recommend that you have one or two of these on hand. Most online sellers seem to carry the On Stage DS7200B desk microphone stands at most online everywhere, and the list price is $22.99 with a street price of around $12.95. You really can’t beat this value!

Mahalo!

Peavey iPad Tablet Mounting System Review

Aloha!

When I do shows, I use a DJ program on my iPad to sequence songs, and have never been happy using it with the Apple case on my sound table. It is never at the right angle, and it slides around, not to mention that sometime it accidentally gets touched and completely screws up whatever is playing at the time. So, I set out to find a good iPad stand mount that would work with a tabletop mic stand, and settled on the Peavey tablet mounting system.

The Peavey mount is essentially a plastic plate that uses different inserts so that most iPads will fit. The kit I got came with adapters for the the original iPad, as well as the iPad 2 & 3, the iPad Air, and the Mini. After assembled, the mount can screw directly onto a standard microphone stand threads, or it comes with a mounting arm that attach it to a microphone stand post or boom.

I only have an iPad 2, and it snaps solidly into the Peavey mount, and it can be installed or removed with fairly little effort, but it does not seem like the tablet would be very likely to a fall out on its own. Once mounted, there is quite a bit of adjustment to the head, using a lever on the back of the mount to lock it down once find an angle that you like.

In the real work, it works very well. It is nice to get the iPad off the table and at an angle where I can see it better and compensate for glare and sunlight. I would not go to a gig without it, and as an added bonus, it makes for a lot more professional-looking DJ set-up!

Besides the fact that the Peavey tablet mounting system works like it is supposed to, the other thing that is great about it is its price: about 30 bucks from Amazon. It is much better than anything else out there that I have tried, so if you need something like this I recommend that you give it a try.

Mahalo!

ProLine MS112 Desk Mini Boom Mic Stand Review

Greetings!

I have written about some pretty dull stuff, and this post might be right up there with the worst of them, but I thought I had should say a few words about the Pro-Line mini boom microphone stand. Boring as it may be, if you want to mic a kick drum or a guitar cabinet, these things are indispensible.

This stand is adjustable from 12 to 17-inches tall, and the boom extends from 1 inch to 9 inches. With the boom extended, you can position a microphone from floor level up to about 24 inches. It is sturdy with a solid bass and plenty of ground-hugging weight.

The stand unscrews from the base, so it can be knocked down a little smaller for transport, but I usually leave mine assembled.

I have used this one with my Shure Beta 52A, which is a pretty heavy microphone (22 ounces) so I had to balance the boom a bit to get the microphone low enough for the tone hole in the kick drum. The height and boom adjustments held fine despite the weight of the microphone, and the base is heavy enough that it did not slide around despite some pretty heavy drumming.

I have also used it for speaker cabinets and it is nice that it has a smaller footprint than full-sized boom stands, so it is less likely to get knocked over on crowded stages. And, it also works nicely for DJ gigs as a table mic stand, and provides a more professional appearance.

If you do any live sound work, I recommend that you have one of these on hand. They sell the ProLine MS112 stands at Guitar Centers everywhere, and the list price is $43.49 with a street price of $30.49. As an added bonus, they come with a 3-year warranty, so make sure to save your receipt.

Mahalo!