Manhasset Stand Review

[the elephant]

Why, Pachy? Why review a product that has been a known quantity for many decades?

Because I just bought a new, much more expensive one, and it is junk.

Apparently, Manhasset has decided to keep production in the US, but to save money by ruining what was an excellent design that was unchanged for many decades and the standard by which other stands are measured.

The Quick and Dirty Review

• The clutch is gritty, noisy, and resistant to adjustment.

• You must use two hands to raise the stand, with one foot on the base.

• The steel desk stamping is thinner. My 2008 can flex at the corner (with effort) about an inch to the rear. This one can be easily flexed more than two inches to the rear. I noticed this because I made the mistake of picking it up by the corner of the desk, which SHOULD NOT DEFORM THE DAMNED THING!

• The base had several bits of "weld spatter" in the socket that accepts the shaft and could not be assembled as it arrived. I had to damage the powder coat and grind the steel blobs out of the socket.

• MOST IMPORTANTLY: The socket that connects the desk to the shaft is now PLASTIC. Adequate force to secure it to the shaft cannot be applied without the risk of the part breaking. The desk cannot be adequately tightened to prevent if from flipping over with a very heavy folder on it.

• The desk, with its fantabulous plastic socket, sits about 5º crooked, which drives me NUTS! I can't stand it when the desk is tilted to the side like that, especially when it is my own, brand-new stand.

Caveat Emptor

If you have an old beater Manhasset, hammer the corners flat and re-spray it black and it will be far better than a new one. A brand-new Manhasset stand should be pretty much perfect out of the box and not be one of those sad, Chinese-made "DIY projects" you buy, knowing when you bought it that work would have to be done to it to make it acceptable. It is not "the most bang for the buck" when you have to use the money you "saved" to pay for the supplies and time needed to bring it up to snuff! And to pay more to get the best ought to get you the best and not the best's ugly kid sister.

Conclusion

This new, in-the-box Manhasset stand is $65 worth of regret that will probably be junk in a few years.

How sad to see something so good that you rarely even think about it be turned into low-grade junk.

DO NOT BUY!

[BopEuph]

I have a few old ones and really thought they'd never change this. I mean, there's literally a saying: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Yet, manufacturers willingly lower the quality of their products over time in order to get it in the hands of more people.

I have a few old Manhassets and a Wenger here at home. The Manhassets are perfect, and probably 30 years old. The Wenger's clutch doesn't work great anymore, and the company said they weren't built with repairs in mind--so I use a radiator hose clamp to keep it at the height I want.

For leaving in the car, I keep a Peak music stand in there, and it definitely, even as a plastic stand, is comparable to the quality of these old school Manhassets. Sounds like it's much better than the modern ones.

[the elephant]

most of the schools I teach for use either wenger stands, which i cant stand, or the very lightweight plastic stands, which are fine as long as you don't put anything heavier than a single sheet of paper and maybe a pencil on them.

and what do all the kids show up to their lessons with? heavy, thick band binders.

[tokuno]

Tusky, that’s a portable?
Are they making the decks out of steel now?
All of mine (portable and non) have aluminum decks, and I wouldn’t mind a ferrous deck. . .

[YorkNumber3.0]

.

[Mark]

I mean, there's literally a saying: if it ain't bloke, don't fix it.

[BopEuph]

I thought I actually made that typo, had to go back and check it.

[the elephant]

Tusky, that’s a portable?
Are they making the decks out of steel now?
All of mine (portable and non) have aluminum decks, and I wouldn’t mind a ferrous deck. . .

I have never seen an aluminum Manhasset Symphony or Orchestra model stand. They have been stamped steel since Moses was knee-high to a cat. Are we talking about the same stand?

Manhasset model 48 "Symphony" stand…



I use the model 50 "Orchestra" stands here at home. (The only difference is the riveted-on shelf, which I love.)

[bloke]

Mine (stupidly discarded by a typically extremely wasteful school system) stays too clogged up with books and paper to encourage me to consider picking it up and tossing it in my car.

That school system actually discarded around thirty-something of these (years ago). I managed to make X - 2 of them (ie. nearly every one of them) into NICE stands (with new satin-black paint, and - with a few of them - pooling up some zinc paint in order to obliterate vulgar expressions from the fronts of a few of their desks - prior to hitting them with the satin black). After fishing them from a dumpster and nice-ing them up, I sold them to the Memphis Symphony as "reconditioned" - for about half what they had budgeted to pay. I kept one for myself, and individually sold (or gave away...??) two or three others.

That "other" stand company...They've always copped an attitude. I don't like them (or - maybe after quite a few years - new people these days are nicer...??) and/but I don't like their stands.
...any stands other than KM101 for taking somewhere: I've already gone into that, in excess.

[BopEuph]

I used to keep a Manhasset in the trunk of my Town Car, as a "just in case." I try to not volunteer that I have my own stand unless the venue absolutely has none.

Once I got a Mitsubishi Outlander, you'd think the crossover vehicle would have a larger cabin, but I had to be MUCH more space conscious. I got a Peak stand to leave in my car. I rarely take it out, but it's been perfect in a bind. MUCH preferred to a wireless stand to me.

youtube.com/watch?v=Da_5G9fKlFo

[arpthark]

I used to keep a Manhasset in the trunk of my Town Car, as a "just in case." I try to not volunteer that I have my own stand unless the venue absolutely has none.

I had a blazing white 1988 Town Car and that thing could easily fit about five bodies in the trunk. Absolute beast of a machine. I loved taking it to gigs. But, air bags, gas mileage, carting around an infant, yadda yadda.

I got a collapsible music stand for Christmas. It's nice, but too light plastic. I prefer carting around my Manhasset, heavy or not.

[BopEuph]

I had a blazing white 1988 Town Car and that thing could easily fit about five bodies in the trunk. Absolute beast of a machine. I loved taking it to gigs. But, air bags, gas mileage, carting around an infant, yadda yadda.

I got a collapsible music stand for Christmas. It's nice, but too light plastic. I prefer carting around my Manhasset, heavy or not.

Yep! I could carry around my 12J, bass amp, and at least one electric bass in the trunk, and put the upright in the cabin with me. I'd probably still have space for the Kanstul if I had it at that time. Now, if I'm bringing upright AND the Kanstul in the car, it gets tricky. But I think I managed about a month ago. Which is good, since I'll probably be doing an audition in a few weeks on all three instruments.

I'm definitely shilling that Peak, because it is VERY sturdy, meaning I'm not worried about my tablet (and I now have a habit of putting my coffee on the desk since there's so much free space with the tablet), and the carrying case has JUST ENOUGH spare room to throw an Ultimate collapsible guitar stand in it.

[Paulver]

I've got three or four Manhassets and a Hamilton director's stand here at home. All were discarded from the school district over the years. I pieced and repaired them, repainted them, and they are now completely functional and look like new. The director's stand is my tuba music stand. Lots of room for pencils, mouthpieces, extra books, my phone, etc. (My phone can Bluetooth to my hearing aids. So, when I want to practice with the entire group, I just hit the button, and I can hear it directly in my ears. No one else has to listen to it blasting away...... so to speak.)

It's amazing that schools will just chuck things out that would require minimal time to repair.

I'm also disappointed that Manhasset is cheapening their products...... like just about everyone. else.

[BopEuph]

Also, to be fair, I rarely use my stands at home anymore. I have huge computer monitors, and since everything I have is now digitized, I can pull it up and read on the screen. The secondary screen is usually playing Netflix while I practice.

[bloke]

LOL...

Mine's pimped out (and pig-slopped out, yes?) with a plastic aftermarket shelf, plastic aftermarket side-extenders, and aftermarket rubber "shoes".

[tofu]

.

[the elephant]

I'm in Mississippi. NO ONE throws out stands because NO ONE has that sort of money to throw around. I can't believe you guys are scoring stands from local school dumpsters! How fortunate you guys are! I am envious.

And I just bought the stand because I need the riveted shelf. I have the plastic slip-on shelf and it sucks. OF course, it is far more robust than the current paper-thin metal one. I BENT IT WHEN I PICKED UP THE STAND BY THE DESK TO MOVE IT TOWARD ME. THESE ARE ABSOLUTELY USELESS CRAP. THEY OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED OF WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO SUCH A FINE PRODUCT.

The stamped logo on the desk has changed, too. They have added "QUALITY SINCE 1935" or some such. They need to add "UNTIL 2023" in my opinion.

[bloke]

Somebody has to buy new stuff. If they didn't, how in the world would we get it used for free?
... and only the government would do something like throwing away two and a half dozen or more perfectly good music stands. The purpose of taxing us is not to provide us with services and supplies; everyone with a brain knows the purpose of taxing us is to keep us in poverty.

[Mary Ann]

This is the way of things now. Everything is being "flimsy-fied" in one way or another. The deadly sin I see in action is Greed.

I put on a pair of corduroy slacks I've had for probably 20 years. The corduroy in them is at least three times as thick as the "corduroy" in new slacks I can buy now. Same with ALL clothing I see for sale. Pretty soon the "cloth" it is made of will be so thin it is transparent.

I just bought an "antique" egg slicer off of Etsy because new ones don't last more than a week before the wires let go. This one is from the 1960s, did not cost any more than a new one, and its 1960 wires are still intact. It works fine.

I also bought a single-burner "antique" Coleman propane stove for the same reason - the new ones are crap and this one is perfect.

etc.

Get your Manhassets at thrift stores. They show up every now and then.

[tokuno]

Tusky, that’s a portable?
Are they making the decks out of steel now?
All of mine (portable and non) have aluminum decks, and I wouldn’t mind a ferrous deck. . .

I have never seen an aluminum Manhasset Symphony or Orchestra model stand. They have been stamped steel since Moses was knee-high to a cat. Are we talking about the same stand?

Manhasset model 48 "Symphony" stand…

We've got seven of the 48s, and I assumed the decks are aluminum, because magnets don't work on any of mine (or the school's Manhasset decks). My Voyager's deck is non-ferrous, too. The bases & uprights are ferrous steel, but other than for a magnetic pencil holder, doesn't do me much good.
My Hamilton portable is heavy & with fixed deck angle, but I can use magnets (prefer 'em to clothespins in the wind).
Do your Manhasset decks take magnets?