Customer Reviews

Rock Band 3 - Keyboard Stand for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this for my new keyboard for Rock Band 3, realizing almost immediately that I was never going to be interested in playing it like a "keytar". As someone with years of piano lessons behind her, I intend eventually to play this in pro mode, so I realized I needed it to be comfortable for me to play.

As a long time Rock Band aficionado, I'm used to the relative flimsiness of plastic instruments, so I knew from the time I picked up the box that this wasn't your average RB instrument bit. The box weighed a ton! Opening the box, I found heavy-duty, square tubular parts and pretty complete directions on how to assemble it. It's not hard to assemble, but unless you're ambidextrous like me, it may be helpful to find another person to assist when tightening down the screws. It's best to hold the wrench in one hand while tightening them with the allen wrench (tools are provided), rather than the other way around.

I admit that I anticipated the relative stability of an average music stand (read: not particularly stable) but was very pleasantly surprised at how stable this stand seems to be. It adjusts to several heights and I found both a standing height and a sitting height that work perfectly for me.

It may seem like a bit much to pay for a stand for a plastic guitar, but honestly, it's better than several music stands I've owned that I've paid a lot more for. If you find the "keytar" doesn't work for you but you want to play keyboards, it's a wise investment toward increasing your enjoyment of the game.

But I did receive the stand and wanted to release my initial impressions. I should be getting the keyboard next week and I'll edit my review then.

First impressions:

The quality of the stand is top-notch; the frame is comprised of tubular metal and the rubber feet are textured and grooved for non-slip performance. The metal cradle utilizes thin strips of foam to support the keyboard gently and presumably to prevent scratching on the bottom of the keyboard. The vertical portion of the stand is braced on a T-frame and seems quite sturdy; there is no danger of buckling in the frame that I could discern.

The stand itself is adjustable with a push-button / slide assembly. This is a little hard to slide, but I don't plan on moving it much once I've set it to a height that's comfortable. Heights appear to range from something that would make it easy for a 6-year old to operate the keyboard to a height that would be comfortable for someone who is about 6' tall to operate the keyboard.

I'm actually tempted to rig this as a steering wheel platform at its lowest height with the use of a 2 x 4. I'll report on this later as well.

Overall, it appears to be a perfect accessory for the RB3 keyboard. I will update my review once I receive it and perform a mock test by tickling the keys a bit. Stay tuned.

** EDIT Received keyboard on 10 / 8 / 2010 **

I received the keyboard and put it on the stand. Played with the keys and simulated some of the warble game play on the keyboard itself. The stand is pretty sturdy, even with aggrssive side-to-side movements. The game won't be delivered until 10 / 26 / 2010, but I still give the stand 5 stars!

** EDIT Stand Modification on 10 / 11 / 2010 **

I would recommend placing the brackets on the stand in the opposite direction then what is shown in the directions. Otherwise, the keyboard has a tendency to "ride up" on the sloped bracket when tickling the ivories.

** EDIT Stand During Gameplay on 10 / 26 / 2010 **

The stand during gameplay does wobble a little, especially when you distort notes with the touch pad during gameplay. However, it never wobbled alarmingly or led me to believe that anything was unstable. The stand help up quite well during 4 hours of gameplay. I stand behind the recommendation to get it, just be sure to modify it as I noted on 10/11/2010.

The rock band 3 keyboard is a great addition for a great game. Unlike the guitars, however, the keyboard is difficult to play by simply holding it. Until I bought this stand, I had tried to play the keyboard either on the coffee table or on my lap. In both cases, it was difficult to place my hands properly on the keys, and on my lap the keyboard is not stable enough.

The stand made from metal parts with some plastic stoppers at the corners. The kit includes all the screws, washers, and nuts as well as a little wrench that you will need to assemble. The assembly instructions are poor (there is only one picture), but the assembly is still easy enough and the parts really ony fit together one way. I think it took about 10 minutes to assemble.

The keyboard stand fixes problems of stability and allows you to comfortably place your hands on the keyboard. The foot of the stand is wide enough to be stable on carpet even when you are seriously jamming. Once assembled, the keyboard fits well and does not wiggle much. It creates an infinitely more stable platform when compared to a lap or a coffee table. The keyboard stand also has a button with holes to adjust the height. At full extension, you can play the keyboard while standing. The stand also collapses low enough to allow the keyboard to played on a couch.

This is a five-star product. If you have Rock band 3 or plan to get it: you should consider getting this stand if you are also getting the Rock band 3 keyboard.

RB3, plus keyboard are excellent updgrades to prior versions and instruments. 5 player action is great.

As far as the stand goes, I am 5' 11'' and I find the stand at it's tallest setting to not be high enough. Sounds like from other reviews some 6' people were comfortable with the stand, but your own personal preference may differ once you try it, depending on your playing style.

Well built and stable, just needs one more level of extention in my opinion.

This keyboard stand is wonderfully sturdy and very easily adjustable for height, whether you want to sit on the couch, a high chair or stand this can be the perfect height. The only down side to this product was the instructions for assembly weren't very clear, however I was able to figure it out (took about 30-40min total) and its been great for me since. I got this stand to go along with my mic stand so I could sing and keyboard at the same time, and it works great for that, I really don't like wearing a keyboard as if it were a guitar.

All in all, if you play keyboard in RB3 or have a desire to start I would highly recommend getting this stand for your musical gaming pleasure.

This keyboard stand works great. Very easy to put together and is very sturdy. You can adjust it to use sitting down or standing up. Highly recommend to make your Rock Band 3 set complete!

I got one of these as a gift after reading previous reviews of it: I'd purchased Rock Band 3 on launch day and had already gone through various alternatives with the keyboard. Sitting on my sectional didn't work because the keyboard wouldn't fit between the arms of the seats, sitting in a chair was awkward because of the distance between the screen and the keyboard (looking back and forth while playing), and using it as a keytar just didn't feel right.

The present arrived a few days before I hosted an all-day RB 3 marathon, so I had a bit of time to test it myself. As suggested by other users, I set up the top brackets opposite what the directions said. My first impressions were good: the only issue I had was when I pressed the Overdrive button a little too hard and the keyboard lifted up a tiny bit because the handle extends beyond the brackets. (It's easy to trigger Overdrive, so you don't have to press the button hard at all; this was a mistake on my part.)

The marathon came and went, and no one had any complaints about the stand. I'm a touch under 5'9", and it's a comfortable height for me; most of the guests were under 6', and even the shorter ones seemed comfortable using it at the top height (but maybe they didn't know you could lower it). There were no children in attendance, so I don't know how the lower settings for the stand work with significantly shorter people. I have a couple of what I think are standard height bar stools; using either of these, the keyboard was also at a good height. I'm not sure if that would help taller players or not.

I'd recommend this for most people who want a flat, stable place to play the keyboard. If you're taller, you might want to look around for alternatives, but make sure you know what height you need. I also have a full-size keyboard, a Yamaha PSR-410, and the adjustable stand I bought for that is lower than this stand, even at its tallest.

Overall, the keyboard stand is well constructed. However, the back support was not bent at the proper place and angle. Therefore, the keyboard slides around. I had to build a bit padding on the back support to keep the keyboard in place while being played. It shows a lack of attention to detail while building the keyboard stand.

It took about 15 minutes to put the stand together from the time I opened the box to when I had it ready to play.

The tools are included to put the screws and nuts in place and it's pretty sturdy once constructed.

The main support has 5 different height adjustments and can be changed with a simple click and slide mechanism. The second highest setting is just right for me and I'm about 6'2".

The stand doesn't take up much more space than the size of the keyboard itself. I find it much better than the DJ Hero stand I was using previously as it will fit in much tighter spaces and still remain sturdy.

Overall, I like it!

What can I say, this thing works great! Goes together very easily with a modicum of diy skill. Its very stable and feels quite sturdy. I especially like the adjustable height so whoever is using it can do so comfortably.