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Accessories Locoparasaxo Wall Stand

I must admit I was a bit nervous about this at first, wondering what would happen if it fell off the wall. My house was built in 1925 and I'm not sure I completely trust the walls to hold something as heavy and valuable as a saxophone. Added to that the best place in my musicroom was immediately above my wife's harpsichord, so a fall would have truly catastrophic consequences.

Locoparasaxo_Saxophone_stand_Parker_5_alto_530x.jpg


The first thing I thought was that the mounting plate has 3 screw holes, configured with one at the top and two at the bottom. My knowledge of physics is a bit sketchy, but I presumed that the top of the plate was more imprtatnt, as the weight from the saxophone would be attempting to pull the screw out at the top, but pushing the bottom of the plate in against the wall. So I thought it would have been better to have the two screws at the top. I contacted the manufacturer, who assured me that this is not the case:

It is my experience that the three screws evenly press the plate against the wall with a combined force that will easily withstand the weight of a grown man! Also the length of the welded steel strip jutting out from it is too short to create any substantial leverage. And even only one good screw would hold your tenor or even baritone up no problem. Of course the condition of the wall is an important factor.

He also mentioned that if the wall is in really poor shape there are various methods to make it safe:


For very old and brittle bricks I would recommend using chemical anchoring, that way the plug would be made of a chemical substance that hardens very quickly and becomes one with the surrounding material

Alternatively you could mount a large wooden "plaque" with as many screws as you think are necessary, and then screw the stand into the wood. This could work especially well also if you wanted several stands on the wall, ie you could screw a whole plank along the wall, like a skirting board but higher up, and then mount the stands into this. It would then distribute the weight across the a large surface.

In the end I decided against the situation above the harpsichord, as an accident could happen while I was reaching for horn anyway. I chose a spot on the chimney breast and drilled three holes, expecting the drill to sink into some soft mortar or crumbly old brick, but was very pleasantly surprised to find that each time I drilled I felt a good resistance from the bricks (luckily I missed the mortar in between). Whenever I drill into walls I expect quite a few goes to find out where the bricks are and where the mortar is.

Anyway I seemed to be lucky, but what I hadn't realised is that the supplied rawlplugs and screws are for a size smaller than the holes I'd drilled (being sue to standard English plugs for which I would use a 6mm drill. Not to worry though as I just used my own plugs and screws instead. (A note to the manufacturer: maybe you should include instructions on what size drill bit to use. Or maybe you did and I lost them).

I screwed the stand in and the screws went in satisfactorily tightly (can you use two adverbs like that?). I was half expecting the brick to crack and have to redo it all, but no. Apparently they knew how to make good bricks in 1925.

On to the stand. There's not much to say about this, which is a good thing. It holds the saxophone very well and firmly giving me lots of confidence. I chose to use it for my alto, I would have been just as happy with a tenor up there but the space I chose was a bit small for tenor, but I'm sure I'll get another one to use for a tenor.

The bell support unscrews so that you can fit into one of five positions to suit the size of your horn, but I found even in the lowest position (pictured) it's still perfect for my alto so I presume it would also fit a curved soprano with the support higher up. In the lowest position it was also fine for my tenors.

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Unlike a floor stand, the wall stand becomes part of your home decor, so as well as being functional, it has to look good, and this is definitely an area where these stands win out. There needs to be an adjuster so you can fit different size horns, and the look of this is rather nice IMO with a spherical knob to tighten the support, and this has very stylish look as well as functioning well.

Why use a wall stand?

Well, there are two schools of thought about whether it's good to leave a saxophone out on its stand when not in use. It's possibly true that if you put the horn away after practising it might last a bit longer between services. Leaving it out means it can get a bit dusty or exposed to sun meaning the pads might have a shorter life. Although this may be true, I don't think it makes enough difference to the inevitable trip down the tech anyway to be too bothered, but the very big plus side is that saxophone is there ready to play at all times, practically begging you to practise. Of course you can leave it out on a floor stand, but this has its disadvantages of not just taking up valuable floor space, but also being easy to knock over or walk into. Not to mention the hazards of pets and small children.

In conclusion I would say that this is not just a great space saver, but a safer way to keep your horn out and ready to play, and it's a great addition to your home decor!
 
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""must admit I was a bit nervous about this at first, wondering what would happen if it fell off the wall. ""

I think it`s pretty obvious what would happen if it fell :( ..... I`d suggest VERY long bolts and not to stick an irreplacable vintage classic on it .
 
It might be a better idea to fix it to a block of wood and fix the wood to the wall, like they mount stair hand rails.
 
It might be a better idea to fix it to a block of wood and fix the wood to the wall, like they mount stair hand rails.

Yes, that's a good idea especially if you have dodgy walls. Trying to line up the screw holes so they go into a brick rather than crumbly old mortar between the bricks can mean you end up with lots of holes in the wall.
 
I suppose if you wanted to display a great vintage sax you could always use small leather belts to secure it to the bracket and it wouldn't look too naff.....John
 
I think once you have made sure it is secure, and that your wall is fine, then this is way safer than having a horn on a floor stand - at the mercy of animals, toddlers, cleaning ladies and one's own inept clumsiness.
 
I am not quite sure or convinced of the reasons why using any of these if not for the purpose of display in a saxophone showroom. I for one don’t see any reason or need to do that and I own already many conventional stands.

I really don’t thing that leaving the saxophone exposed to dust and dirt ( I don’t know where you are, but dust over here is a rather sticky and black business and collects on furniture even after only a couple of days and even with the windows closed) and possible attack of parasites (moths love the felt inside the pads and I have seen the damage done to a horn with new pads that were hollowed out from moths in their larval stage) is a very good idea.
 
(moths love the felt inside the pads and I have seen the damage done to a horn with new pads that were hollowed out from moths in their larval stage)

I wonder how they found out about the tasty treats inside pads .....John
 
I suppose they, like most animals, have a sense of smell or taste that leads them to food sources.

I found them burrowing in few pads, which looked new and not damaged at a quick but incomplete inspection, in a saxophone that I have bought and wasn’t playing right.

A closer inspection revealed that the pads felt empty inside. Took off the pads and saw the larvae having eaten some of the felt leaving a trail of destruction after them. The bastards were burned already but I destroyed the damaged pads and made sure that I threw out the case the horn came in.
 
I am not quite sure or convinced of the reasons why using any of these if not for the purpose of display in a saxophone showroom. I for one don’t see any reason or need to do that and I own already many conventional stands.

Would save a lot of space. My electric guitars & electric bass are mounted on wall stands, and they take up so much less space that way. Been considering one for my tenor, and maybe for the trumpet, for some time, but they're rather expensive so I've managed with the regular floor stand. The straight soprano takes very little space on a floor stand so it's fine, but I'm concerned it will be knocked over one of these days. I knocked a clarinet over yesterday, luckily it was the plastic Lyons C clarinet and not the regular Yamaha Bb, so it took the fall gracefully and nothing was damaged.

In my room, I've got two electric guitars, an electric bass, two acoustic guitars, one of each flavour of tenor, alto & soprano sax, two trumpets, a flugelhorn, a French horn, two clarinets, and two accordions. So yes, every little bit of floor space counts.
 
I dread dropping a "Normal" clarinet, the tenons and keywork can take quite a dive but with the Lyons , it`d be a case of pick up the bits and clip`em back on, if any are broken (after standing on them) , order them for between £3 and £5 a part :) . my instruments are safely in the boxroom (tiny bedroom) in their cases or bags and grabbed when needed. I`d hate to see a horn get knocked off a wall stand by a clumsy passer by
 
I've been considering one for my 20's Martin C-mel.. I dont keep it in its case bacause of the stench of it.. and a wall stand would be safer then my ground stand..
 
For the sop a good way is to get a Hercules tenor/alto stand and buy the sop attachment. I think you can also get a clarinet attachment. Each front foot of the tenor stand has a threaded socket, so one solid stand three instruments.
 
I got the stagg tenor and alto stand and stuck a clarinet peg on one end and fitted half a stand to the clarinet peg at the other end and stuck the curvy sop on it. Four instruments on one stand. If it gets knocked over I'll be stuck playing the Bari lol.
 
I am not quite sure or convinced of the reasons why using any of these if not for the purpose of display in a saxophone showroom. I for one don’t see any reason or need to do that and I own already many conventional stands.

I really don’t thing that leaving the saxophone exposed to dust and dirt ( I don’t know where you are, but dust over here is a rather sticky and black business and collects on furniture even after only a couple of days and even with the windows closed) and possible attack of parasites (moths love the felt inside the pads and I have seen the damage done to a horn with new pads that were hollowed out from moths in their larval stage) is a very good idea.
You can buy dust covers for saxophones
 
you can, but then what’s the point to have them on a wall stand?
 
a floor stand can be used to quickly grab your horn and play, the wall stand is mostly for display purposes and supposedly to have a horn out of the way but also out of an easy reach. I don’t have a problem with using 3 or even 4 (if I ever have a baritone to play) floor stands , I don’t have small kids anymore or pets about the house (and certainly not where I keep the horns. Indeed a cloth protects horns from pests and dust if it stays there for any length of time. In other words, however loco para saxo(s) I might be, I don’t have any need for a wall stand.
 
Still doesn't change the fact that moths, etc can attack a sax whether on the floor or not! You may envisage the wall stand as for "display" purposes but a number of other people don't.

If you have no use for one then fine!
 
I fully accept that others might have different views and so should others accept that I may have different ideas, that is the point of a forum, discussion.
 
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