Big Band Sax Music Stands

[RheaTrots]

Im starting a big band this summer, and I want to know either where to buy or how to create the music stands for the sax section. I tried searching on yahoo and stuff, but I dont know what to call them when I search. All my searches turned up the stands to hold up saxes, not music.

Can anyone provide me with information that I need? Thanks.

TROTS

[DD]

Check out www.embeeideas.com - they have advertised in the INternational Musician mag (AFM) for many years.

[paulwl]

Whatever you do, don't get the low, shiny white, particle board sax desks with curved sides and the mark of the "unholy trinity":

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Not only will you look like every other big band (and make people think you sound like every other big band), but your sax players will need bifocals to read every time they have a standing soli passage.

[Riff]

The big band I'm with is currently researching stands too.
The types of stands you're looking for are made by Humes & Berg.
Most music stores can get them but I've never found a store that keeps them in stock. They're not cheap. List prices start at $27 US and go as high as $100 US.

We also found this site which sells stands with your band's logo painted on. The stand itself looks like the $27 Humes & Berg.

http://www.embeeideas.com/index.htm

[MusicMan]

I made the stands for our big band out of corrugated plastic. They're similar to the Embee stands, but cost only $60 in materials and several hours of my time. You can cut this material with a utility knife. Most larger cities have plastic wholesalers who sell 4'x8' sheets of this stuff in several colors (white, blue, red, black, etc.). Sign makers also carry this material, but at a slightly higher cost. The corrugated plastic has two advantages over the masonite style stands. They're lightweight and durable and the clean easily with soap and water.

I created two heights, 32" (seated) for the saxes and bones and 48" (standing) for the trumpets and director. We invested another $50 bucks in vinyl decals for our band's logo. See our web page (www.paducahjazz.org) and click on the photos link to see pics of the band with our stands.

I would be happy to send you a copy of my patterns. Leave your email address if you're interested.

[MBushaw]

We've been using the cardboard ones from Woodwind & Brasswind. Needed something fast and (relatively) cheap.
Made a black and white logo in Photoshop, saved as a .pdf, took it to Kinkos and had them print out 15 copies on almost white paper. A little time and tape and we had customized stands.
They are about the right height for saxes, but too low for brass. But if you need something quick, they will work and if you are carefull they may last a year or more.
We have a new player that does woodworking, and he's made a prototype stand that uses a T base rather than the more typical upside down U base. This allows more room for woodwind stands and brass mutes under the stand.

[RheaTrots]

Music Man, I would love it if you emailed me your patterns. Those stands on your website look very professional. Thank you.

Rheatrots@hotmail.com

TROTS

[Dr G]

Whatever you do, don't get the low, shiny white, particle board...

Not only will you look like every other big band (and make people think you sound like every other big band), but your sax players will need bifocals to read every time they have a standing soli passage.

I agree. Anyone that thinks that those stands are what the band needs should be required to use them for a couple months. Low stands tend to force players to compromise good posture and breath support. They make it difficult to read the bottom line on the charts, and, as Paul cited, they are horrible to read from when standing.

I've used those stands in many big bands over the last 20+ years and I'm happy to say that my current big band is not only the best sounding band I've played with in many years but we do not use those pain-in-the-lower back music stand/billboards. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!

[RheaTrots]

Mr. g,

Thanks for pointing that out, but that kind of stand is precisely what I am looking for here. First off, I personally think they look cooler. Secondly I can read perfectly fine off of them. Thirdly, they allow the audience to actually see the saxophones, as opposed to them being covered up. Lastly, my band is a NON-PROFIT Orchestra, and I currently do NOT have funds for buying stands. I am on a very limited budget. Thank you.

TROTS

[MusicMan]

Rhea,

Check your email....

[ColinWalker]

Hello there.

My name is Colin Walker and I live in Scotland UK. Let me firstly comment on how well your band is dressed and presented. Not just the ususal dinner jacket etc but someone actually making a good effort to ensure your band looks the part before it even strikes a note! Smart move.

I run a similar band here in Ayrshire Scotland and also take a pride in how the band looks as well as plays. Our music stands are now getting a bit grubby and I noticed on the "sax on the web" website that you had make your own music stands and had the "pattern" for them. They look terrific!

Believe this or not, we acually have NO shops in Britian where we can buy these kinds of music stands. All we seem to be able to get here is the foldable metal ones or big theatre types. Both are not suitable for the presentation of a big band and I was wondering if you would be so kind as to send me the pattern for the ones that you made.

I hope that you don't think this too forward of me, but being in the same position as you and your band I hope you understand how costly it can be running such a band.

Hope to hear from you soon, kind regards from Scotland,

Colin Walker.

[SOTSDO]

We use the EmBee ideas (I went to high school with his wife, we found out) stands in black, and applied our logo to the front, with the letters cut out of acrylic sheet that has a glitter effect molded into the plastic. The relief provided by the raised lettering combined with the tendency of the glitter effect to pick up the slightest ambient light and reflect it makes for a first class appearance under dim performance lighting conditions.

The stands fold up and store in three carrying bags, and are easy to carry, erect, and tear down. I generally put the wives to work putting them together and hanging the stand lights on them, under the direction of my lovely wife, while I attend to the sound system and other, more musical, considerations during the set-up on a job.

I could have gone the "do it yourself" approach, but Mike Brooks ("Em Bee" - get it?) has the die cutters to make them all consistent. Using his equipment also means that you get good consistent curved edges on the desks - a curved line is hard to cut in this stuff with any kind of knife. He also has the welding machine to fix the lips on the desks into place, something no "do it yourselfer" is going to find in his own toolbox.

I used to be an adherent to the "high stands" for the saxes philosophy, but after looking at our group up on a stage last New Years with the "mid height" stands on the front row, I could see why the low ones are so common. Like microphone stands out front of the vocalists, having the higher stands up on a stage blocks the visual appeal of the group.

Like it or not, the general public likes appearance as much as they do musicianship. Sitting a sax line behind the higher stands when performing on a stage means that the folks out sitting around the rounds get to see the tops of the heads of the players, and little else. It may make it easier for us reading the ink, but from the audience's point of view, it's boring.

With that in mind, I now have low stands for performances on a stage, and the mid height ones for stuff at floor level. The front portion is all that changes; you use the same desks for any of the three heights of stands.

I have a write up on how I did the lettering, if anyone is interested. (The same method could be used to apply the lettering of any of the types of stands under discussion.) Once I got the stands, I had the devil's own time finding just the right materials and method of attachment before I hit on the final solution. Send me an email and I'll forward an electronic copy (complete with photographs) to you tout suite.

[matsuo]

I'm actually a HUGE fan of the lower stands (as my highschool calls them, fronts). I really like them alot, and I don't really have a problem seeing the music. SOTSDO brings up a good point in saying it looks better and IMO is more professional looking. Use tall stands for recording and low ones for shows.

[SaxPlayer1004]

The official term for them is band fronts matsuo. Our big band uses them and they really do help with the appearance factor. We have 5 for the saxes and the 6th is for the guitar player. They aren't fun to read off of, but at the same time they make a defined edge for the front of the band and the difference is night and day. Ours are black metal with logos in a similar glitter thing as Terry's, but they have our school logo and big band logos on them. Our jazz combo uses normal manhasset stands but we're standing so that works.

[SOTSDO]

Having trouble seeing the music usually isn't a problem for young eyes like yours. However, once you cross over into your fifties, you generally start losing a lot of that youthful ability to see everything at all distances.

The solution is not to jack the stands up for everyone, but rather to have everyone be able to see the charts. Corrective lenses do this just fine; I finally got a set done just for music about three years ago, and haven't had a problem since.

The trick there is to have them made specifically for the distance to the music stand. No bi or tri focals, just wall to wall lenses designed for the head to stand distance. Everything else might be out of focus, but the sit and stand distances to the music will work just fine.

Of course, it makes it hard to scope out the women in the black cocktail dresses on the dance floor, but everything is a compromise...

[Saxhound]

One of the great things about Embee is that Mike will make the stands to any height you request. We added just a few inches to the standard height (can't recall exactly, but we did some measuring to make sure everyone's bell would be above the desk), and they are much more comfortable on your back as well as easier to read from.

His cases are very nice as well. Breaking down stands used to be the job everyone avoided after the gig. Now everyone wants to do it. Now if we could just do something about those music folders with 400 charts in them. Five of those in a travel box is a hernia waiting to happen!

[TheParkAvenueBand]

I would really appreciate the patterns. PLease send them to theparkavenueband@yahoo.com


Thanks!

[ColinWalker]

Did anyone ever get a pattern for the music stands? If so could you please send me a copy to a698@o2.co.uk thanks!

[SaxPlayer1004]

These shouldn't be that hard to make guys, just a bit of geometry. Rectangle at the height you want for the actual front. Decide the angle that you want the folders to be make the sides accordingly.

Oh, I just found out what ours really are after the concert last week. They're metal, but the front is just a frame. They have drop in slots for different plastic inserts. I thought it was kind of a cool design. Allows you to have the really durable metal stands, but not worry about shelling all that money out if you need to change the logo for whatever reason.

[ColinWalker]

Is that a picture of you playing the bagpipes????

[SaxPlayer1004]

that most certainly is. That was at a band competition. Our college band was doing exhibition and we did a medley with highland cathedral and amazing grace. I was the solo piper. Had to cut thru a 290 piece brass section. I was using pretty thick reeds.

[ColinWalker]

My bro is one of the best pipers in the world. Maybe you have heard of him. Gordon Walker?

[SaxPlayer1004]

PM sent before the cops notice the hijack

[drummer]

I have been reading this thread and am interested in exploring making my own stands for a newly forming band in the Denver area, Serenade in Blue. I saw that MUSICMAN had some patterns. I have PM'd him and emailed him at his band's website, but he must not be on this forum anymore, as I haven't been able to connect with him. If anyone received a copy of the plans to which he referred, could you please attach the file (if that is possible on this forum) to a posting in the forum?
Alternaltely, could you send me a PM with those plans or a contact of to whom I should provide my email?

Thanks

-Drummer

[drtrash]

Hello all - I too am working with a high school jazz band with limited funds - if anyone has the patterns I would appreciate an email to drsteveasl@gmail.com. Thanks very much.

[drummer]

All those interested in plans, please see the website described below.
Per the website's instructions, I am including the following statements here, as described on their web page http://www.thesjo.com/stand/build05.html

"These plans are COPYRIGHT © 1999 by H. Bourg Designs, Stone Mountain, GA. You are free to print out these plans for your personal use only. You are not permitted to reproduce these plans on any other website, or by any other method of publication, print or electronic, for any reason whatsoever. You may link to these plans if you desire, by addressing your link to "www.thesjo.com (http://www.thesjo.com)," and directing followers of the link to the NavBar button marked "Resources" on our "Index" page.Your cooperation is appreciated. The names "Coroplas" and "Contact Cement" are the property of their respective corporate owners. No warranty of any kind is expressed or implied. "

Note: Please go to www.thesjo.com (http://www.thesjo.com)->"Resources"-> EQUIPMENT:"Build Your Own Stands"

[BARISSIMOSAX]

i recently made a stand out of plastic cardboard for my own use in practice. i prefer using the "fronts" as they can handle a huge big band book and can hide my junk underneath, making for a neat setup in practice. whether our band will buy some stands for gigs is not up to me, but i can always use my stand in practice no?
:D
jon