this saturday i'll be going to test out the yamaha p250 at a big music store nearby and if it turns out to be anything like what the general opinion on this site suggests i will be buying it there and then! all thats left to sort out now is which stand to buy. altho it will live in my room the majority of the time i will most likely need to move it for example when my band kicks off. so perhaps the lp3 is not the best suited stand for me. does anyone have experience with x and z and other portable stands for this digital, im afraid they will feel flimsy or unstable or get in the way of your leg space?
cheers, craig

I use an Ultimate IQ-2000 for a Classic Motif8 which works well for the weight BUT not the height. The lowest setting of this stand is 26 1/2" which when added to the height of the Motif (5 1/4") puts the keys at ~31.75".

I beleive that an acoustic piano has a keybed at 28" from the floor, which puts my keyboard almost 4 " above the standard. I know you can adjust the bench height to match but this feels strange.

It would be worse for a P250 as that keyboard has a height of 6 2/3" (Not sure how much of this value is above the keybed) which would put the keyboard at a worst case of ~33 1/3" using the same stand.

The Ultimate IQ-3000 has a lowest setting of 25" which would be a little better but still not ideal.

I would suggest that you find a stand that has a minimum height setting of not more than 23". QuikLok has a model that fits called the QL-746 but I personally haven't tried it.

http://www.quiklok.com/

I'm sure there are others.

Good luck,

Rodney

Quiklok WS-550 is exactly what you are looking for.

http://www.quiklok.com/search_list.taf?_function=detail&Layout_0_uid1=95

It is height adjustable, very stable, easily portable when folded, and there is no obstruction of your leg space. Retails at around £100.

I was going to say the IQ stand as well. If it is a folding stand you choose, make sure its double braced. The P250 has a little weight to it. Enjoy!

Believe it or not, I didn't trust any of the stands on the market, any heavily involving piece would always cause it to wobble. I needed something that would make the digital feel as close to a real piano as possible, with no compromise whatsoever. So what I ended up doing was applying some carpentry skills along with some unused furniture and wood to furnish my own stand. An old, otherwise useless Telefunken stereo system served as the foundation, upon which I set a sturdy slab of hardwood deep enough to allow enough of an outcropping for proper pedal placement. I fixed it with a series of long screws and sawed the legs of the base so that the keybed would come to exactly the same level as an accoustic piano. I even sawed out spaces in the foundation just big enough for the three pedals (this was the trickest part), and since I overcompensated a little, I have to fix them to the ground with a generous amount of duct tape.

But what I have now is probably the closest thing you can get to playing a real piano in the stage piano domain, my technique comes highly recommended, I can play some triple-forte passages and the thing will not budge a bit. Although I must admit, this is a considerable project probably not necessary for anyone other than those who absolutely need to be practising at night when people would be disturbed, and can't quite afford one of those MIDIpianos.

And of course this doesn't solve the problem of use out of home, but for permanent or near-permanent home installations, it can't be beat. Especially considering the 250's unusually high keybed level, as mentionned above it doesn't work well with most stands to begin with.

I want to second what Rodney said. The p250 will be much too high on most stands, it's a big beast. I ended up drilling another notch in my X-stand to lower it.

Quiklok WS-550 has min. height of 24" which is fine for P250. I really recommend you try this stand as opposed to an X stand.

Wow kcoul058, sounds like you put some serious dedication into that! Thanks for the replies everyone! The stand you suggest looks to be exactly what i need cobs, looks very sturdy. And i'm relieved that it has a low minimum height, i didnt think of the height factor before. I certainly dont fancy the idea of chisseling new holes into my stand!! Off to test the p250 out tommorow, will see if i can get a good deal on the quiklok ws-550 - that is if i buy from the store. I hope they are prepared to match, or at least bring the cost of the yamaha close to online pricing!

I can second the quiklok WS 550 - it's what I use. Rock stable and nice to have the space underneath. Check the height though, I've got mine a bit high (not on the lowest setting).