Review: Kraftgeek / Capsule Music Stand
Every musician should own a music stand. Probably a fold-able one that can travel. Its shocking to me that after 20 years of being a musician in New York City I still show up to gigs where ‘professional’ musicians didn’t bring a music stand or think about it. There’s no excuse and certainly even less of an excuse as exciting new music stands come out. Which brings me to the point of this article.
Folding music stands are ubiquitous, and terrible. Fortunately they are cheap, but if you are a serious musician and you finally want to get something that won’t wear out and break in a year there is finally a new portable option. Here I am going to discuss the new Capsule music stand (formerly known as the Kraftgeek music stand).
To be transparent and up front – I was sent one of these stands for free to review it. That being said, I am happy to tell you the things I love about it and the things I think can be improved. The good news is that I have seen and used this stand before and the one I was sent is actually updated and improved, which is always a great sign. This stand has a very modern design aesthetic and was clearly very thought through and well manufactured. This stand has become my new go-to music stand for gigs.
And yes, if you like this stand, I have a discount code for you. Get it for %15 off (and help support this page, affiliate fees go towards hosting costs).
https://kraftgeek.com/products/bravo-music-stand-209?ref=jazzbarisax
Use code jazzbarisax for the discount.
What is it.
Its a portable music stand with modern design, which means its light enough to carry to a performance but with a lot of features. As a baritone saxophonist, weight and space is unfortunately a major consideration, otherwise I’d bring a double wide extra shelf Manhasset stand to every gig!
Everyone has probably used the cheap ‘wire’ music stands with the three flimsy legs and metal tubing that just seems to bend if you look at it wrong. This is a more substantial stand (just over 2.5 pounds), and there is a lot of intention and design that has gone into this one. Its not as light as the cheap wire stands, but lighter than some of the heavier duty fold-able or collapsible options currently out there. This one is a thoughtful mix of plastic and metal that feels substantial and decently constructed. There are some other novel features on this stand. But let’s talk about how the Capsule stand works.
First you unfold the top portion of the stand – it has a twistable lock though I haven’t found it necessary since I usually unfold the top stand portion all the way and it rests there. You then twist the bottom to ‘unlock’ the three tripod legs – a neat feature that will keep them folded up nicely when stored in the case. Next you grab the the portion just above the lefts and pull the stand out to its desired length/height. After that its just about adjusting the top portion that will hold the music. This stand differs quite a bit from other stands here. Instead a complex interlock of metal strips that have to unfolded in a very specific delicate way, this stand has rotating arms. The two main arms fold down (that the music will rest at bottom on) then you unfold the top two arms. In the middle you can then rotate the central arms out that support the music in the middle. And the last step is key, one that I didn’t quite grasp at first. You then can slide the top arms down towards the middle to better support the music, especially if you are using sheet music or anything 11 inches tall. You can leave it slid at the top if you are using a taller book or something. The middle arms can also be extended to the sides, very helpful if you are playing multi-page music. They also have sprung clips that can help hold the music in place. The bottom arms are also topped with an anti-slip rubber which is a nice change from most music stands where things go flying off.
Height wise the range is excellent. It can go short enough that sitting is no problem, and it telescopes quite long! It can get more than tall enough for I think just about everyone. And not having tighteners/screws or levers to adjust when changing the height is magnificent. Its all pressure fit so you just pull up or push down to raise or lower. And after quite a bit of use there is no sign so far of it getting looser or wearing.
Packaging
I wouldn’t normally comment on packaging, but its so well thought out on this product and nicely done. There are plenty of instructions, and information on all of the packaging. I find a lot of things in the music industry often skimp on packaging so its really nice to see here.
Even the protective foam inside the boxes is nice enough to repurpose if you are so inclined. The carry case even comes in a draw string bag itself which is also decent enough that I’ll find another use for that too!
Carrying Case
While black is handy for musicians especially when we’re on stages and need everything to not be conspicuous, I actually appreciate that they went with a non black carrying case. The one they offer is the Portable Tripod Bag. I think it looks smart, and its very well made. Every other bag that came with a music stand I’ve ever had has worn out or broken – I often find myself adding velcro or snap buttons, or sewing rips shut. The fabric on this carrying case is much more substantial, I don’t expect to have to do that anytime soon. They also opted for a zipper instead of a cheap velcro or button enclosure. And the carrying straps are adjustable and made of good quality vinyl strapping. Its clear an actual designer tackled this product and it wasn’t just shoved in a cheap bag as an after thought.
Inside the case there are actual velcro adjusted dividers – brilliant! Especially handy if you get the full package including the stand light, phone/tablet holder etc. Even with those things inside there is PLENTY of room, maybe too much in fact. I assume this is a bag they use for other products and have re-used, they even call it a tripod bag. But you can easily store a clip for wind, some pencils or whatever else you’d want in there with room to spare.
Phone/Tablet Holder
Its an optional add on, and there is absolutely no shortage of these out there already, but one thing you can get with this stand is a phone/tablet holder that attaches to the stand. Theirs is called the FlexyMount. You might be thinking – ‘If I have a music stand, why would I need a phone or tablet holder, why wouldn’t I just put the phone/table on the stand?’. Well, on some gigs you need both sheet music and a tablet, or maybe you want hands free access to your phone, or maybe you want to record some video while playing. Basically – its a handy option to have. And the Capsule stand has included a 1/4 inch screw hole as the attachment method. This is amazing as that’s a very standard size for camera mounts and what not. So if you have a GoPro setup or some camera tripod setup it would be very easy to adapt it for use with this stand too. And the phone/tablet holder is actually good enough I use it for filming videos now even without the Capsule stand!
The holder itself is kind of brilliant. It hold a phone with very simple sprung retractable holders. But then each side has a subtle button to release it and lengthen the arm. With both arms extended it can hold a table (at least my medium sized iPad). It also has an adjustable screws and angle/arms that can be tightened so you can get the tablet or phone oriented whatever way works best for you. The hardware it comes with will look familiar to anyone who uses camera gear or a GoPro, so its nice to have non-proprietary fittings.
The stand has a 1/4 inch screw hole at the very top as well so you can put a tablet or phone (or GoPro) up there too!
Stand Light
Another optional add-on is their stand light. They call it the Lumi Light. Its well designed and smart looking, but honestly maybe my least favorite part of this stand. Its good, you won’t be displeased if you get it but there are many stand lights out there now. When LED lights finally became ubiquitous the music stand light market exploded. The prevalence of cheap rechargeable batteries was also a game changer.
This light does make use of LED lights, and has a slick two arm lighting setup up. You screw the light into the top of the stand and swing the arms out. There is a slide switch on the light with three settings – off, on, and extra bright. The brightest setting is pretty bright though it will likely eat through batteries quickly. The light can either be powered by 3 AA batteries, or you can plug it in. Its great to have both options! It doesn’t include the plug but its a standard USB C plug. A built in rechargeable battery would have been nice, but I have my own rechargeable AA batteries that I use. I have found that while in the case or a bag the stand light can accidentally turn on (just like every other stand light I own) so to be safe you might want to flip one of the batteries around when not in use.
An odd thing about this light, is that the battery compartment has a little tab you push to open, but also is closed with a screw. And they include a TINY little screw driver. This seems… unnecessary? Like the screw is probably overkill and I’m sure if it wasn’t there is some other mechanism they could use?
I have found that the brightest setting uses quite a lot of battery. So if you need that brightness maybe plan to have it plugged in. Alternately you can use the less bright setting to make it farther between battery changes.
My main complaint about the light is the way it attaches. I find the screw cumbersome to attach every gig and it doesn’t fold up with it attached so you have to remove it every time. A light that can stay on and fold up with it would have been slick. Or at the very least a more quick attachment/detachment method. Magnets? Clips? Don’t know, but it could be slicker. Though I do appreciate having another 1/4″ screw slot that can be used for other things (tripods, cameras, ring lights etc).
You also can’t really adjust where the light hits on the music. You can swing the light arms in and out but that doesn’t do much to help. It can’t really be rotated or moved easily like some of the stand lights with bendable arms and adjustments. This light also can’t be used on any other music stand, so its sort of proprietary in that respect.
I use this light with the stand, but in my baritone case I won’t stop carrying my trusty bendable portable music stand light just yet.
Pricing
At $80 I think this thing is a pretty great deal given the build quality and function. Even cheaper if you use the links here and get a 15% discount. Of course that price is just for the stand, and I think the add-ons are great too. $150 gets you the whole shebang with bag, phone/tablet holder, and light (a $25 discount). It is quite a step up from the plethora of junk stands you can get for $20-40 but if you’re a professional or a serious student and are going to be using this on like every gig – its worth the step up. And frankly, good design is worth paying for. If companies find that people are worth paying for products that are thought out and a little more expensive they’ll be more likely to produce something that isn’t just for the cheap student market. Also I hope this stand lasts a long time and reduces the waste of buying and constantly throwing out the cheaper ones when they inevitably give out.
Things That Could Be Better
I have one major complaint and dislike about this stand. Everything else is a minor suggestion. Like I think the case could be smaller and more compact – its almost twice as deep as it needs to be. I wish the stand light were more adjustable and easier to put on or take off – or at the very least could stay on when the stand is folded. I also of course would love a lighter stand (though I now notice there is a lightweight version of the stand!). Another small suggestion is a built in pencil holder. Every music stand is going to have a pencil on it sooner or later, why not build that in? And of course like any lightweight stand, this one won’t hold up to strong winds outside. It has some good features like the music clips and extra wide arms, and non-slip rubber strips, and you can add a plexiglass sheet to help in windy gigs, but no lightweight stand will hold up to a strong gust as well as a heavy old fashioned stand.
But those are all minor things I think could be easily fixed or ignored.
The one thing that really bums me about this otherwise incredible stand is the viewing angle.
When you unfold the stand the top part folds back into place and stops at about 30 degrees. That’s probably enough if you are sitting down or have the stand high enough that its not too far below tour eye-line. But after using this stand on a number of gigs, I just really want it to tilt back farther. Especially when I have the stand a bit lower and am looking down at the music. I think i’d want maybe even twice as much tilt! It has a beautiful locking mechanism on the hinge that I never use because I always have it folded back and maxed out. If it went a full 90 degrees you could even consider putting a laptop on it (not recommended, but hey, people do it). This is the one thing where many of the cheap folding stands have got it beat. This feature reminds me of the even older metal tube based stands where the top portion just slotted into the stand and couldn’t be adjusted forward or back at all.
I can’t fully see the mechanism in the hinge and I don’t want to take it apart, so I have no idea how easy or hard this would be to adjust and improve, but that’s my only serious grudge against this otherwise incredibly well thought out piece of gear.
Summing it up
Obviously I like this stand and recommend it. Its become my go to stand for gigs. I am even probably going to buy the lightweight model to see how that one works (every ounce matters when also carrying a baritone saxophone and a bass clarinet!). I also love good design and supporting companies that make nice things for musicians.
Again, if you like this stand, I have a discount code for you. Get it for %15 off (and help support this page, affiliate fees go towards hosting costs).
https://kraftgeek.com/products/bravo-music-stand-209?ref=jazzbarisax
Use code jazzbarisax for the discount.
