Customer Reviews

Wiese Orchestra Stand Light

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Okay, so one other review mentions that this thing isn't as sturdy as it could be. Dude, it's a $20 light. Seriously. I have two of these, one on my music stand and one on my student music stand and they work great. Yea, they're a little flimsy but it IS an inanimate frieking object, after all. Given reasonable use, they'll give you years of service, look decent and the clamps hold fine if you get them tight enough. Bolting metal together tends to do that.

My only gripe, really, is that these have a 6' cord. Somebody somewhere saved some copper and the result is a design that doesn't work as well as it could. Say the top of your music stand is 48" off the ground. That gives you 24" of line once it touches the ground. And on a typical music stand, it takes 1' just to clear the stand's footprint, so you can sit essentially 1' from the outlet. See the problem? Stupid.

Anyway, don't be scared of this light. It works really well for most practice environments, and I would hope that if you were gigging and touring, you'd have your music memorized anyway.

This lamp is not good enough to meet standards for daily use or for anyone who uses a notebook full of sheet music on a standard stand. The clamp is definitely cheap quality. The weight of the lamp head moves the light downward no matter how tightly you cinch the nut/bolt assemply.

The light socket is poor quality and jiggles a bit if the stand is nudged or moves with the action nearby. It's a cheap price, but also a cheap lamp. Replaced it immediately and put this one in the workshop, where I find it just as inadequate.

Excellent lighting of all the sheet music. Love the fact that it plugs into the wall (I use zip-ties to keep the chord out of the way). I will change the clamp out with an industrial strength woodworking clamp, but that is a preference, not a necessity.

Stand light

This lamp is made by Wiese Mfg. Co., Davenport Iowa. They named it the "Universal Klip-Lite".

From what I see other musician's using, this item seems to be the most popular stand light on the market. That doesn't mean it's the best, just the most used.

Pros:

- Accepts a wide variety of incandescent bulbs, such as tubular showcase bulbs from 20 to 60 watts. I use a 40 watt bulb, which provides good lighting for two pages of music in an otherwise dark room. 25 watts may not be bright enough if you're 55 or over.

- Clips onto any of the "black" stands, such as the Manhasset or Hamilton, and stays put with its strong spring. Can even be used on some of the cheaper folding stands if there is enough for the clip to grab.

- Fully adjustable for lamp angle, height, and distance from music shelf.

- I've had two of these for over 20 years, and a switch has never failed.

- Inexpensive.

Cons:

- Poor design of lamp head pivot point mechanism results in the lamp eventually drooping or slipping down. Tightening the pivot screw fixes it for awhile, but it invariably loosens again. Repeated tightening over time will bend the metal parts. If it droops when you're at a gig, chances are you won't have the tools with you to fix it.

- Mount this light on a stand, and a standard music folder no longer fits.

- Minor issue: the cord at the lamp end is a bit in the way, as it comes directly out of the bulb-socket, instead of out of the rear of the lamp. Also, the cord should be at 8', rather than 6'.

See Customer Images here for how I fixed these problems.

Summary:

Gets the job done, but it needs improvement; and a customer should not have to immediately modify a product to fix design defects.