Guitar Performance/Performing Stand Experiences

[Garonious]

Hi Folks,
I am about to become the proud owner of one lovely Gibson Les Paul R9 Factory Burst that weighs 8.6 lb. I do all of my practice and live playing standing, and due to back and hip pain find seated playing painful, and rather restrictive/cramped. But hope to put in daily practice without the constant mass of a Les Paul pulling down on my shoulder; learning and perfecting tricky stuff is hard enough as it is, and even with my 7.1 lb Strat, I stop every 15 minutes to ease the discomfort!

I’m hoping a guitar performance stand may be my salvation, but they are costly for a decent one (~US$300), so would love to hear of others experiences with such a device. Can one play relatively normally, or do they force one to stand in an awkward stance?

Kind Regards, Gary

 

[metropolis]

I'll chime in with what I know. I use a performance stand to access an acoustic 12-string live for a few songs, while playing an electric. I bought a budget one and honestly I wouldn't trust it with an expensive guitar, so an investment into a good one would be highly worthwhile. I've had my stand become loose twice - once quite badly when practicing and once in a show when I noticed the guitar was moving so had to adjust it. It's also designed for an acoustic guitar's weight and width so I would ensure you find a very specialist one for holding a Les Paul.

As for ergonomics, my stand only adjusts up and down, or the angle of the guitar in a flat plane. It means the body is always at 90 degrees to the ground, which is not quite how I play with a strap where I realise I lean the guitar back a bit for better visibility. I would see if you could find one where you can adjust the position and angle of the guitar in several ways to ensure you get maximum comfort from it.

Hope that helps!

 

[Garonious]

Thank you, Metropolis, for your detailed reply. I picked up my new Les Paul R9 last Friday, and am really impressed with both the quality of build and the tone, exceptional, as one might hope for a AU$11,999 guitar! I've gone ahead and ordered a K&M 14760 electric guitar performance stand from Germany (~AU$480):

Guitar performer stand

For electric guitars, for convenient playing. 2-way height adjustment. Felt-lined instrument support arm. Angle and length adjust to your needs.

www.k-m.de

In their example images they are using it to support a Les Paul, but it can also be adjusted to fit e.g. a Stratocaster. It looks quite well built and adjustable, but I guess I'll find out when it arrives. I've played the Les Paul with a strap a few times and after about 20 minutes the 8.6 lb weight starts to become apparent. Look forward to the stand arriving in a few weeks.
Cheers, Gary.