This On Stage double-decker Z-shaped piano stand is nice, but lacking in adjustments. Guitar Center sells them for about $150, and I got mine in open-box condition while there was a sale for a bit less. Especially for the price, it feels robust and just like a good all-around surface to put your keyboards on, but you can improve it immensely just by popping some more holes in it with a drill.
The stand is supposed to be adjustable from about 24 to about 36 inches tall, but the first 6 inches of the adjustment from 24 to 30 inches are missing. That becomes a problem because I want the keys of the keyboard to sit about 29.5 inches off the ground to match our upright piano, which means the keyboard stand needs to be adjusted to about 26.5 inches tall.
All I did for this improvement was to fully take apart the keyboard stand and drill a new array of adjustment holes in each of the legs and top rack posts. It was easy to do with a centerline tool and a drill press, but it was a huge improvement to the product. I honestly don’t know why they didn’t just sell it this way in the first place.
These Z stands take about 10 minutes to set up or tear down, so they aren’t going to replace a scissor stand for portability, and it really doesn’t need the flippy hinge bits other than to fit in a box for shipping. They’re really intended for permanent use, probably at home. Why would you sacrifice on adjustability when it’s going to sit like that for a long time?
If someone wants to compete with On Stage here, I bet people would shell out an extra $20-50 for a more adjustable keyboard stand, and all it would take is 30 more seconds with the waterjet machine.
I’ll probably do more cheap hacks of this stand in the future. I like it a lot, and it’s a sturdy and extendable bit of kit for the price.