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My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 10:26 pm
by Tarekith
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Been awhile since I did a review, so I decided it was time to write about the Stanton Uberstand.

http://www.stantondj.com/v2/prod_uber.asp

Set Up:

I got mine about two months ago for some upcoming gigs I had where space would be an issue. Also, I knew I could use it with some of my other gear just to keep from having to stoop over so much when playing live. It's one of those pieces of gear that's priced just high enough that you want some reassurance it's going to work well before you buy. Especially since it could potentially be supporting what for many of us is the main component of our music making and performing tools.

It's a really slim bit of gear, easily something you could include in your laptop bag without taking up too much room. Looks pretty nice too, the machining and construction is super clean. Set up is dead simple, with only one major thing to be aware of. The base and the main vertical arm are supposed to be secured with a zip tie for the best stability. They even include 2 removable zip ties with the Uberstand, though it does take away from the clean look a little when installed.

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I have to admit, this part baffles me. This thing is obviously had a lot of thought and design that went into it, and a ZIP TIE is the best they can do here? I'll admit, you don't need the zip tie, it's still pretty sturdy without. But it's a possibility you could bump it hard enough to actually knock it over due to the way the unit folds for storage. Probably not a real concern in the studio (I never use the tie in the studio), but at a club where things are more easily bumped, I'd use it.

They also include a tie for securing the mid shelf to the back brace as well, but my tie is too short apparently, as there's no way I could attach it that way. Not a big deal, it feels secure without anyway. It also comes with some velcro for attaching your soundcard to the shelf, though you're stuck having to put velcro on the bottom of your soundcard. Finally, there's a pretty sturdy travel bag for it, which I imagine most people will use.

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Takes less than a minute to set up the stand, even with the zip ties. The lower legs and laptop arms both have their ends covered with rubber tubing to keep things from sliding. Had a little trouble getting these to sit perfectly under my Xone62 mixer, the rubber is a tad thick on the lower legs. It works great on the laptop shelf though, kept my MacBook Pro and the Elektron Machinedrum from sliding at all in use.

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In Use:

For it's size, I think the Uberstand is surprisingly stable. There is definitely a little wobble that I could see causing concern for some, but in use it seems to not be an issue. Both my RME Fireface400 and Ultralite fit on the lower shelf as long as they were sideways. The back arm blocks any input and output connections otherwise.

I've seen a lot of DJs setting up the Uberstand over a DJ mixer, and then putting their laptop above it. If you do this with the stand really close to the back of the DJ Mixer, then the laptop actually blocks most of the mixer controls from sight. This is also true with the stand used over my APC40. In order to still see everything I'm doing below the Uberstand, I need to put it about 4-6 inches back from whatever I'm raising it over. Hasn't been a big deal in use and is common to all laptop stands, but thought I would mention it if anyone is unsure about space.

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So far I've used the stand numerous times live and in the studio, and I've never had any problems with it. There's a very small amount of flex to it, but it's been super sturdy for me every time. I wanted something that packed up small, looked cool, and held my gear without me needing to worry about it. It does all that.

Fix:

Things I wish were better? The lower legs could taper to more of a point to make it easier to fit under synths, DJ mixers, and drum machines. The flex. It's not that bad but it could definitely be a little more solid. Finally, they need to come up with a better way of making sure that the lower base joint is locked. A zip tie is easy to find in a store if you lose one, but there's got to be a better idea than that for such a well engineered stand.

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 10:32 pm
by SubFunk
that is one shit piece of rubbish!

the shittiest stand around.

99 bucks, kiss my ass for cheap shit like that.

it's a fucking disgrace to give it a pseudo german name.

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 10:53 pm
by Tarekith
I like it, I think it works well for what I needed. If you need to rock out on whatever you're putting on top of it, then you'd probably want something sturdier. I use it with my Machinedrum all the time and it's fine for that, but I'm not banging on the thing either. If you just need a simple and small way to lift your laptop up to save space, or get it closer to eye level, it works great.

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 10:58 pm
by SubFunk
Tarekith wrote:I like it, I think it works well for what I needed. If you need to rock out on whatever you're putting on top of it, then you'd probably want something sturdier. I use it with my Machinedrum all the time and it's fine for that, but I'm not banging on the thing either. If you just need a simple and small way to lift your laptop up to save space, or get it closer to eye level, it works great.
thats it, it is wobbly as hell and can fall easily over, backwards and it is way overpriced.

the name is really a disgrace, alone for that it doesn't deserve support.

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 9:33 am
by UKRuss
I am stunned by the apparent requirement to use zipties.

Also, it is clear that the tongue of you central ziptie is not parallel to the legs of the stand. nor for that matter are any of them perpendicular to the line of the blinds in the window. Finally, the length of ziptie exposed beyond the clasp is less that that exposed before it, this creates a deeply unsatisfying imbalance in my mind.

please re-do!

:wink:

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 1:23 pm
by Tarekith
Zip tie feng shui fail.

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 3:38 pm
by McQ714
it's alright... i've got 3 of them. well 2 now, gave 1 to a friend. it folds up pretty well. i don't like that the interface shelf doesn't lock in and the zip tie is a fail! but the thing is way nicer and more portable than the odyssey dj stand or some of the other stands that all look the same. i used one recently under my APC40 and being that i was pretty wasted and probably banging away at the buttons, i liked that it had a little give to it. kind of acted like a shock absorber i think! btw.. i didn't use the zip tie and it didn't fall over. i also didn't have anything sitting on the bottom legs. just needed to lift up the APC for use.

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 4:15 pm
by rikhyray
SubFunk wrote:that is one shit piece of rubbish!

the shittiest stand around.

99 bucks, kiss my ass for cheap shit like that.

it's a fucking disgrace to give it a pseudo german name.
definitely not worth 99 but free (along with SCS3D) I didnt mind, however Royal mail lost it and I never got replacement, finally gave up, taking it philosophically, perhaps destiny protected me from gear falling off it.
The most solid stand I have is quicklok which is like miniature- 1 foot long keyboard stand, I would buy few more of these but impossible to find anywhere.
The most portable, best design in all aspects - takes 2 sec to set is the iFold, bit pricy in Germany (got mine in US) but not as much as the stanton.

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 11:49 pm
by Ninja-Matic
I had one of those for about 5 hours.

My 17" MBP wanted to topple over from a light breeze.

No thanks.

It works if you plan to hoist your Korg FX pads or laptops that don't "teeter" on the top of the stand even WITH the velcro straps.

Junk, IMO.

How about a laptop stand that actually FITS LAPTOPS? That upper deck needs about another 4 inches in length and 2 in width for it to be worth anything.

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 3:41 pm
by McQ714
^^^ bitch, bitch, bitch... guess you should've got the 13" or 15" MBP!!! that's not Stanton's fault, now is it?? it fits my 15" PC just fine... maybe that's your problem. you should've got a PC!

i could turn any thread into a PC vs Mac debate!

on another note... Tarekith, why the Xone 62 over the Xone 92??? are you using it more for studio mixing rather than DJing? both are 6 channels. or did you get the 62 before the 92 came out? i don't know which was out first.

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 3:52 pm
by Captain Johnson
I love my Uberstand !

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 3:54 pm
by SubFunk
McQ714 wrote:^^^ bitch, bitch, bitch...
of course, it is a product to heavily bitch about for 99 dollars/euros.

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 4:14 pm
by McQ714
it sells for $79 US and i bought mine with discounts at Guitar Center. you must be talking about the new one that is out now that comes in black, red, or blue and sells for $99 US.

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 4:28 pm
by shimmy
Seriously, I'm looking to buy one of these stands for my 14.1" laptop.

Re: My Stanton Uberstand Review

Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 4:46 pm
by SubFunk
McQ714 wrote:it sells for $79 US and i bought mine with discounts at Guitar Center. you must be talking about the new one that is out now that comes in black, red, or blue and sells for $99 US.
nope this one is 99 euros, and i always thought 99 dollars, however, it is an item real worth bitching about, it is crap.

and yes it should fit stable from 12" to 17" like other decent stands without danger... and it does not!

it's a fall over wobble piece of shite that does not deserve a positive review.

a cable tie needed to secure it, that is really something and then calling it uberstand...

any idea what the name tries to imply~~~??? i guess not!