I heard about this stand from a guitar-playing friend whose student had bought one of these music stands as well as seeing them heavily promoted on social media.
Travelling about like I do from Huddersfield to York to teach flute and singing and then up and down the country to perform, I thought this might be just the thing to keep in the back of the car.
The “traditional” metal stands are just annoying and end up bent and out of shape and are not strong enough to hold an iPad safely.
So, I took the plunge and ordered the Wee stand.
First of all, delivery wasn’t that speedy even though it is a UK company but that can of course not be a company’s fault, Royal Mail and couriers are not always that reliable.
When the Wee stand arrived, I could not believe how light it was and how small the box was. Yes, I’d been on the website and looked but I was still surprised.
Also, the box is so cute. Bright, colourful and cartoony, attractive packaging.
I read the instructions carefully and watched the video on the company’s website for how to open the stand. It was all straightforward, so I gave it a go.
I got the stand erected pretty easily and as you’ll see from the photos, the stand holds both a double-page book and an iPad.
My initial thoughts once unboxed and erected.
I love the fact that it is so compact, as a teacher and musician who travels backwards and forwards between Huddersfield, York and the rest of the country to have this stand in the boot is perfect. It’s not taking up masses of room.
It’s great that it can hold an iPad as well as sheet music as I use my iPad a lot these days so I don’t have to carry as many books with me.
The stand is pretty easy to assemble but I don’t think it is that sturdy. The website shows images of a rucksack being held by the stand, well my stand didn’t feel that sturdy with the iPad on it.
I’d not want the stand on a floor that wasn’t quite level or where people would walk past it, as I fear the whole lot would come crashing down. I’d say it’s just not robust enough for outdoor performances either.
The other major flaw for me is that it just doesn’t go high enough. I’m 5ft7 and prefer to practise standing, but the stand doesn’t go high enough, it works better for sitting and I wonder if it was designed for that rather than standing as the company do seem to sell a few things for guitarists and there’s a heavy guitar presence on their website.
Folding the stand away wasn’t that easy and it took time to get the legs safely folded in. Sadly, after two uses the stand is now of no use whatsoever, one of the legs has cracked and come away from its fixing at the top. So, if you wanted to know how robust it is, that should tell you all you need to know. I take care with my belongings and have followed all instructions to assemble and disassemble and now the stand has gone in the bin.
It turns out it is a very expensive music stand, and I only have two uses for it. A real shame, that there is a real market for this kind of product, but this is far from being the one.
So, I have just bought a RAT Alto stand. It isn’t as compact, but it is sturdy and of superb quality. It folds to the size of the “desk” part of the stand and goes higher that I need and my 6ft2 pupil can manage perfectly well with it too. The RAT alto stand was £13 more expensive than the Wee Stand at £99, I feel like I’ve been mugged off a bit.
The powers of social media! I should know better.
(This is an honest review of a product I purchased with my own money, I have not been given any remuneration for this review)
