We know first hand the
horror story of our most prized instruments tilting past the point of no return from a cheap stand and falling (in seemingly slow motion) onto the floor of a dingy bar. It makes no sense at all to risk your pricey instruments to inferior, ten-dollar, budget guitar stands.
Aptly named for its five-legged design, the Starfish Active guitar stand features something D&A calls an active locking head. The locking head works in two ways. First, the head of the stand has rubber teeth, which firmly grab the headstock of the instrument. Once you release the guitar and allow it to rest on the stand with its own weight, an active, bullet-proof (we did not test bullet resistance claims; we will take their word for it) split gate closes around the headstock, forming a perfect circle for your headstock to sit in. The rest of the stand is a sleek, streamlined design, consisting of metal tubing and plastic, with the exception of the front two legs. As the only other contact point on the guitar, the front legs are covered in T.P.E. plastic (feels like foam), which according to D&A is safe for all finishes. Finally, there is a tab on the back of the stand, which allows you to compact its height for easy breakdown and storage.
We put one of our prized Ibanez Jems on the stand. We then proceeded to start to tilt the stand forward, slowly, five degrees at a time. [Editor’s Note: Can you believe the risks we take for you, our beloved readers?] Once the guitar was at about a 15-20 degrees tilt, it was well off the stand’s front supports. Other stands we own would have undoubtedly lost the guitar already. The headstock of the guitar did not move off of the rubber teeth in the locking head. The guitar, now no longer on a recessed angle, was now standing straight up at a 90-degree angle from the floor. Letting the stand go returned the stand to its standing position. Our budget stands by comparison would have dumped our instrument on the floor. Passing the point of no return pushed the headstock off of the rubber teeth and on to the split gate. As long as the stand wasn’t totally knocked onto the floor, our guitar stayed safe.
Easy to use and rock solid, this is easily the best single guitar/bass stand we’ve ever used… and we intend to keep using it wherever we go.
The D&A Guitar Gear Starfish Active Guitar Stand (MSRP $ 89.95) sells for approximately $65. There are certainly more economical options on the market, but do you trust them? This is the one to get.
Contact Information
D&A Guitar Gear
www.heydna.com
