Opinions On Deckstand (Part 412)

[thex-faders]

Hi all,
Am looking at buying a new beckstand with lighting rig. Found this on Ebay and wanted some opinions, mainly from people who may have one.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330301436020

Looking for opinions of ease of set up / time & also the safety regarding the fittings for the light stand. Are they really strong enough to hold the full weight of advertised 100Kg of weight? [evenly spread] Bear in mind we are very much looking more at using LED lighting effects so obv much weight is saved!

Wont go ahead and till till ive heard some opinions!
Thanks all

[Danno13]

This has been done a million times and the general consens is spend the extra cash on an ultimax one as they're far sturdier and will last you much longer. Don't scrimp when it comes to safety.

[Jiggles]

I have the Giraffe 4Ft stand and it have hung off it. (Dont ask :D) Im just under 100KG :o. IF that helps. Most of the time i have 4 dynamoes, 2 chauvet DJ Squeezes and my LED Washes and it holds fine!

[Mark Wild]

I took the advice of many of the guys on here (from previous threads) and bought an Ultimax. It really is a solid piece of kit.

[Excalibur]

I asked the same question, and bought a giraffe. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a giraffe- until you buy an Ultimax, and realise that all the folk who recommended Ultimax were right. The difference in materials and build quality is way more than the price difference. Also you can easily customise Ultimax.

[ppentertainments]

I asked the same question, and bought a giraffe. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a giraffe- until you buy an Ultimax, and realise that all the folk who recommended Ultimax were right. The difference in materials and build quality is way more than the price difference. Also you can easily customise Ultimax.

Spot on. i went through the route of Rhino (prolight??), to giraffe to ultimax. The price difference is nothing compared to the quality difference. I use the 4' with attachments to convert to the micromax (2'size). 9 times out of 10 i use the micromax. I leave the giraffe stand at a venue I play at regularly (in a locked cupboard) and notice the difference whenever I use it.

[thex-faders]

Don't scrimp when it comes to safety.

I totally agree with what you are saying Danno, but when I looked at the weight of my heaviest lighting effect being around 7Kg it seems i could get numerous effects on there? And like i said much of the lighting we are looking at buying in the future will be LED so again going even lighter and therefore not compromising on safety as such as the stand itself will be held down by the amp, mixer, laptop weight also?

I think unless someone tells me they bought one and it fell over or the lighting bar snapped in two :eek: I will be inclined to buy one? :)

[Danno13]

Ok go ahead, just make sure you come back and update us when it breaks and you have to replace it with an Ultimax :D

[Twinspin]

Ill back what anyone else has said. Ive had a giraffe stand in the past. Ive now used an ultimax dual bar overhead. for the last 2 years.... extremely sturdy.

the giraffe stands on the other hand.... the base isnt too bad. but the overhead bend.... if you put more than 4 lights on it. The ultimax on the other hand... i put up to 8 lights on it.... and it doesnt even move or bend.

[thex-faders]

[QUOTE=Twinspin;310508]the giraffe stands on the other hand.... the base isnt too bad. but the overhead bend.... if you put more than 4 lights on it. QUOTE]

Now theres a comment that may sway my decision to getting an ultimax!
Cheers Twinspin.

Will let you all know in a few days what I buy!
Cheers all
Tom

[Mark Wild]

If you're o.k spending that few extra quid, its a no brainer surely?

[Excalibur]

the giraffe stands on the other hand.... the base isnt too bad. but the overhead bend.... if you put more than 4 lights on it.

Now theres a comment that may sway my decision to getting an ultimax!
Cheers Twinspin.

Will let you all know in a few days what I buy!
Cheers all
Tom

Don't get the Ultimax with single bar. John is referring to the Trusslite overhead model.
http://www.ultimax1.com/product.asp?numRecordPosition=1&P_ID=368&strPageHistory=cat&strKeywords=&SearchFor=&PT_ID=129
If you get a single bar model, you may have to visit a Stainless Steel stockholder, and get the mig/tig welder out. I did. ;)

[ppentertainments]

The problem is your thinking of today and the equipment you are using now. Buy the right stand now and it will last you for years and you won't have any worry when upgrading your lighting etc.

The alternative is to save a few quid, buy the cheaper one, then come back next year and tell us you are now buying an ultimax - think thats what a lot have done :D .

Less face it the price difference is less than the charge for 1 disco. I am not one to spend a lot of money on equipment (ie cortex instead of denon) but this is one piece of equipment I would have gladly spent double on.

[discomobiledj]

I have 7 lights and a mirror ball on my Giraffe stand and never had any problems at all.

[Twinspin]

adding to my comment. When i said about the giraffe stand it was discussing the pros and cons of it.

But what i do mean is that the giraffe stands i dont think are sturdy enough. The base is fairly sturdy. But the overhead is just rubbish. If you want a stand personally a lot of people on this forum have give you some good advice.

personally i wouldnt waste your money on a Girraffe stand. The ultimax is around £200.00 its double the price and its way better and a lot stronger.

I have put upto 60kg on the ultimax on the lighting bar and its absolutely rock solid the full stand it will take more weight than that. It will save you a lot of money in the long run.

[Daryll]

I can only agree with the ultimax comments.
I brought the 1.6m with dual overhead bar and the auxiliary rail.
Best thing I ever brought.

Daryll

[Tony Scott]

From the same seller, so light and easy to use even she can use them, why do advertisers do that?.......:D

[Mark Wild]

She likes the pole

[Danieleastwood.com]

I had the giraffe for about a month. I had to have a friend modify it slightly to accommodate some screw in bolt arrangement. This was necessary to stop the whole top bar (under the weight of lighting) tipping forward or backward. The upright poles are a very loose fit and under weight, dont give you much confidence in it's integrity. Another point to mention are the fixings, they are very sloppy fitting.

All that said, It never collapsed on me, but I didn't want to take the chance.

Hope that helps

[spin mobile disco]

I cant agree with the giraffe comments. I have had a giraffe stand for over 2 years now used at least 100 times a year with no parts failing or warping. I regulally use it with my decks ( 45 kilos ) amps (30 kilos) and about 60kilos of overhead lighting. If you go giraffe go for the tri truss overhead bar.
It is a good system and I have used it in all sorts of situations including the drunks knocking into it etc.

Cant comment on ultimax as I havent used it before but giraffe is better than other makes like rhino and prolight. Also I lost some bolts for my stand and giraffe sent me out a set for free with next day delivery. Great customer service.

[Excalibur]

From the same seller, so light and easy to use even she can use them, why do advertisers do that?.......:D

Be fair mate, if it had a gorilla like me holding it, Rob would assume it was too heavy for him. Another sale lost. ;)

I had the giraffe for about a month. I had to have a friend modify it slightly to accommodate some screw in bolt arrangement. This was necessary to stop the whole top bar (under the weight of lighting) tipping forward or backward. The upright poles are a very loose fit and under weight, dont give you much confidence in it's integrity. Another point to mention are the fixings, they are very sloppy fitting.

All that said, It never collapsed on me, but I didn't want to take the chance.

Hope that helps


I cant agree with the giraffe comments. I have had a giraffe stand for over 2 years now used at least 100 times a year with no parts failing or warping. I regulally use it with my decks ( 45 kilos ) amps (30 kilos) and about 60kilos of overhead lighting. If you go giraffe go for the tri truss overhead bar.
It is a good system and I have used it in all sorts of situations including the drunks knocking into it etc.

Cant comment on ultimax as I havent used it before but giraffe is better than other makes like rhino and prolight. Also I lost some bolts for my stand and giraffe sent me out a set for free with next day delivery. Great customer service.

I'm with Spin. Giraffe's absolutely fine. Sadly it's built to a price, Ultimax is built to a spec. That's the difference.

[ppentertainments]

I'm with Spin. Giraffe's absolutely fine. Sadly it's built to a price, Ultimax is built to a spec. That's the difference.

And the quote of the day goes to .......................

Very good analysis.

[Bouncy Dancefloor]

ill backup the giraffe stands, i use one, purely because budget was tight at the time and it was the same price as a Prolight/rhino one, so i was happy. Its sturdy and secure and solid, tonight i had 7 lights hanging off the bar (normal single bar) and it didnt move an inch

[DeckstarDeluxe]

ill backup the giraffe stands, i use one, purely because budget was tight at the time and it was the same price as a Prolight/rhino one, so i was happy. Its sturdy and secure and solid, tonight i had 7 lights hanging off the bar (normal single bar) and it didnt move an inch

Ditto. My lighting rid is all led apart from two imoves which arent on very often and a kam cluster. Doesnt come to anywhere near enough weight for me to start worrying about it bending etc...

I even had 2 irock 5's, 2x6b's and two led boogies off the top bar and it was fine though i wouldnt of wanted to put anything else on it.

[jamesh]

This has been done a million times and the general consens is spend the extra cash on an ultimax one as they're far sturdier and will last you much longer. Don't scrimp when it comes to safety.

Buy a deckstand booth... but then i would say that :p Got some new pics to put up soon as another tempter... :D


From the same seller, so light and easy to use even she can use them, why do advertisers do that?.......:D

Is it me or does she look a little like vicky pollard???

[Corabar Steve]

Hi all,
Am looking at buying a new beckstand

You want a stand solely for a novelty mirror ball?????

[Corabar Steve]

I asked the same question, and bought a giraffe. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a giraffe- until you buy an Ultimax, and realise that all the folk who recommended Ultimax were right. The difference in materials and build quality is way more than the price difference. Also you can easily customise Ultimax.


Spot on. i went through the route of Rhino (prolight??), to giraffe to ultimax. The price difference is nothing compared to the quality difference. I use the 4' with attachments to convert to the micromax (2'size). 9 times out of 10 i use the micromax. I leave the giraffe stand at a venue I play at regularly (in a locked cupboard) and notice the difference whenever I use it.

Having also had experience of all 3 types I feel qualified to comment.

However, as this has been covered so many times it really ought to have it's own forum section, I'll just add a link to this thread (http://www.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=310669#post310669) which was one of the first times we covered it.

Does anybody else not know what happens if you click on the blue bar at the top of each page at the point shown below?

[Excalibur]

Does anybody else not know what happens if you click on the blue bar at the top of each page at the point shown below?

Play fair Steve, that's a bit advanced for us technophobes. :eek: :eek:

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Cant comment on ultimax as I havent used it before

And if you had, you'd be saying how much better they are than anything else. ;)

[Excalibur]

And if you had, you'd be saying how much better they are than anything else. ;)

Like the rest of us. ;)
Do you think we should have a FAQ section, for all the old favourites we've come to know and love? :confused: :D

[soundtracker]

Perhaps we could add "opinions on deckstands" to the censor, so that it comes up, "just buy the ultimax, to save yourself money, and everyone else wasting valuable time!

[Danieleastwood.com]

Yikes, your Decks are heavier than my speakers!!!!

What amplifier you got that weighs 30kg's?

The giraffe is great at the bottom for sturdyness under weight, but the top is shocking, there's no way I would want to put anywhere near 60kg's on the top of it.

[Danieleastwood.com]

Sorry, that post is way too late in the thread to make any sense. Forget it

[DJ James Lake]

As I own all three types of stand here are my comment on them all.

Overall quality and strenght the ultimax wins hands down.

Between giraffe and prolight I have to go against the grain on this one, The giraffe stand I have (the 6') it has been appalling, fiddly to bolt together and the slits for the bolts in the cross pieces spread one night when I was moving it (on ultmimax wheels).

I have to favour the prolight one, not sure if mine is an old one I bought it about 5 years ago and it is so quick to setup as the cross bars simply drop into a slightly larger piece of box section on the sides so takes seconds to assemble unlike the bolts on the giraffe and even on the ultimax.

So in order and I know this differs from other opinions.

(1)Ultimax (2)Prolight (3000000.01)Giraffe

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

So, Ultimax then....

[Vectis]

I went from Prolight (which I had no problems with TBH but it was getting a bit tatty after a couple of years hard labour and the permanent marker wouldn't cover up the rust any more) to an Ultimax.

Twice the price, certainly, but 10x the quality. Can't fault it for rigidity, strength, looks. So much better than the Prolight.

[Jiggles]

Only thing that i don't like about the Ultimax is the shiny top bar :( With my "neat" cable management they will stick out plus some black tape. What a stupid idea!

[Penfold42]

White cable ties?

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Only thing that i don't like about the Ultimax is the shiny top bar :( With my "neat" cable management they will stick out plus some black tape. What a stupid idea!

Cable ties? Velcro? All come in different colours.

[Penfold42]

White cable ties?


Cable ties? Velcro? All come in different colours.

Keep up at the back.....:sj:

...and I do believe they are cheaper in white....:)

[Jiggles]

Never seen shiny silver cable ties and velcro! Plus to ME it looks out of place.

[Tom]

Silver gaffa tape?

[Jiggles]

More like gray!

Aint i being a pain in the backside tonight :D

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Never seen shiny silver cable ties and velcro! Plus to ME it looks out of place.

You can get grey and how would it look out of place, you wouldn't be able to see it you donut!


More like gray!

Aint i being a pain in the backside tonight :D

Yeah! :D

[Penfold42]

I've seen white in use on "Batman's" Ultimax.....looks OK to me. :)


...failing that....get some spray paint...:sj:

[Jiggles]

You can get grey and how would it look out of place, you wouldn't be able to see it you donut!


Ahhh but when you have 4 mad baby dynamos its then you can see it. With mine being black you can't!



Yeah! :D

That was rhetorical :D


I've seen white in use on "Batman's" Ultimax.....looks OK to me. :)

I like things that match.

[Penfold42]

I like things that match.

Ok that's :cool:

Do you wear matching bike clips then....:boxer2:

[Jiggles]

:handbag: