Wobbly DJ stand

[JAMdisco]

I've just moved over to digital (laptop and mixer) and I did my first "fully digital" gig on Sat night.

However, I use a 4ft dj stand and with the lights on it I noticed it seemed a little unstable. i.e. a gentle push and would have gone over - NOT GOOD!!!

Luckily I was on a stage and although there was a fight (16th Birthday party) it was mainly outside and just inside the doors - I was at the other end of the room.

The point I'm making is, as I use powered speakers (so no amp to weigh it down) I need a more stable set up now. Any recomendations (as cheap as poss).

I was thinking of using the dj stand without the lighting fixture bot don't really want to be carting extra tripods around for lighting...

[Dragonfly]

if you want a really cheap answer mate why not stick with what you have and just weigh it down with flightcases or asda do ankle weights for areobics 1.6kg for about 3-4 quid think you get 2 in a set a few sets of them should weigh you down enough??

[Vectis]

Chop all your lights for LED versions?

Stick a couple of breezeblocks in the van?

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

What stand is it?

[JAMdisco]

Chop all your lights for LED versions?

Stick a couple of breezeblocks in the van?

Mmm, did I mention as cheap as possible, yep I think I did!!!

And it's a prolight stand (I know it's not the best but all I could afford)

[Corabar Steve]

You know what's coming next then don't you :sj:

[Dragonfly]

ultimax !!!!!

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Mmm, did I mention as cheap as possible, yep I think I did!!!

And it's a prolight stand (I know it's not the best but all I could afford)

This makes no sense to me if the stand isn't safe?

Why would you want to save £50 or so and buy an unsafe product?

[Dragonfly]

Daz not really a case of saving the money ... if its not there you cant spend it .... people as said buy what they can afford at the time , at the time it was not unsafe however this chap has made changes to his show which has led to his problem ... ie an unstable stand and needs a remedy .

as you know id love a winch up ultimax stand but sadly i cant afford 500 quid so prolight do a winch up stand for 200 which is what i have as my requirements is "a winch stand"

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Daz not really a case of saving the money ... if its not there you cant spend it .... people as said buy what they can afford at the time , at the time it was not unsafe however this chap has made changes to his show which has led to his problem ... ie an unstable stand and needs a remedy .

If he has made changes to his show, that means that he has probably spent more money, so therefore should have maybe upgraded the stand too?

[Dragonfly]

indeed but you prioritise and he probably didnt even think that just using actives and laptop etc would alter the stability of his stand ..... a bit hard after the even to send everything back and start again with a new stand??

there must be some way he can sucessfully weigh the stand down also ..... what if he bought the stand online say and set it up and found the problem?

im just saying that this is not the first thing that springs to mind that your stand will be unstable when you are simply using it for its intended purpose.

[Excalibur]

I've just moved over to digital (laptop and mixer) and I did my first "fully digital" gig on Sat night.

However, I use a 4ft dj stand and with the lights on it I noticed it seemed a little unstable. i.e. a gentle push and would have gone over - NOT GOOD!!!

Luckily I was on a stage and although there was a fight (16th Birthday party) it was mainly outside and just inside the doors - I was at the other end of the room.

The point I'm making is, as I use powered speakers (so no amp to weigh it down) I need a more stable set up now. Any recomendations (as cheap as poss).

I was thinking of using the dj stand without the lighting fixture bot don't really want to be carting extra tripods around for lighting...

If the prolight stand shares one particular characteristic with the Giraffe, there is a cheap and effective mod available if you know someone with a mig welder, ie extend the size of the base. You don't have to go far, three inches per side may make a lot of difference. My giraffe is going to get modded soon in a similar fashion. PM me if you want a word, I'm sure there will be a cost effective way round your problem. ;) :)

[soundscapes]

surely as the basic design is very similar, the ultimax stand would have the same problem if loaded with heavy lights hung high and no weight on the base ( ie only a laptop )

[Sapphire Disco]

Why not just buy some square steel tube from B&Q or somewhere, 6" longer than base feet is already ie 3" each end, drill straight through & bolt on with with wing nuts & bolts same as the rest of the stand is.

[Excalibur]

Why not just buy some square steel tube from B&Q or somewhere, 6" longer than base feet is already ie 3" each end, drill straight through & bolt on with with wing nuts & bolts same as the rest of the stand is.

Apart from bolt versus weld, that's pretty much what I said.

[Corabar Steve]

surely as the basic design is very similar, the ultimax stand would have the same problem if loaded with heavy lights hung high and no weight on the base ( ie only a laptop )
They do actually have a wider base footprint

[Excalibur]

They do actually have a wider base footprint

Not after me and the mig have been at work!:p :D

[Sapphire Disco]

Apart from bolt versus weld, that's pretty much what I said.

True but most people have a drill & you could unbolt them if you are tight for space & if you are not using the top bar for lights you won't need them.

[JAMdisco]

Some helpful (and some not-so-helpful) suggestions here. I think I might go with the extended feet mod.
Also I might invest in some 12mm MDF for both shelves as (from experience) this is very heavy and might help weigh the stand down, and also put any gig bags, cases on the bottom shelf.

[sleah]

I was thinking of using the dj stand without the lighting fixture bot don't really want to be carting extra tripods around for lighting...

Please don't compromise on safety for the sake of carrying extra stands.
If your current rig isn't safe - stop using it!!!

Don't know about these ulimax or whatever stands, as I've only ever used a separate deck stand and lighting supports. The 'all-in-one' jobbies weren't around when I started and personally I don't like the idea of them anyway.

A stand of whatever type should be stable when used as the manufacturers recommend, without adding extra weight or ballast.
Your PLI company would stick two fingers up if a stand went over that had extra weights added to make it stable, unless that's what the manufacturer recommended.

I'm not trying to sound funny or anything, but please just get a support system that is suitable for what you want to put on it that's stable without being modified in anyway.
Modification to make things stable scares the pants of me:(

[Sapphire Disco]

Please don't compromise on safety for the sake of carrying extra stands.
If your current rig isn't safe - stop using it!!!

Don't know about these ulimax or whatever stands, as I've only ever used a separate deck stand and lighting supports. The 'all-in-one' jobbies weren't around when I started and personally I don't like the idea of them anyway.

A stand of whatever type should be stable when used as the manufacturers recommend, without adding extra weight or ballast.
Your PLI company would stick two fingers up if a stand went over that had extra weights added to make it stable, unless that's what the manufacturer recommended.

I'm not trying to sound funny or anything, but please just get a support system that is suitable for what you want to put on it that's stable without being modified in anyway.
Modification to make things stable scares the pants of me:(

Simon I think you are correct about modifications ie if you don't know what you are doing don't mess around, however with this particular stand I think it could be a good idea to extend the feet, it's really just a belt & braces safety measure ,similar to putting bolts & then safety wires on your top lights.
The reason I suggested bolts rather than welding not being an expert on welding I would worry about the heat used weakening the existing weld joints
The only other thing that occurred to me was that my star cloth has a attachment bar that slots in across the front of the stand, if you could get these separately and put them on the bottom they would do the job .