At 1.5 kg (3 lbs.) it is the lightest and most practical bass stool on the planet.
Assembly required. You need to insert three machine screws through the seat into the legs, and tighten two screws in the footrest, but this takes less than a minute. Well worth the effort if you are commuting via public transport or have a long walk.
Order your personal height preference. Must be between 63 - 81 cm (25" - 32")
As you see, you can place the legs in your bow pouch or hang them from your backpack. The legs section alone only weighs 750g (1.5 lbs.) so won't impact carrying comfort. The seat and footrest can go in the music pouch or in your backpack.
Although very light, it is also very sturdy and stable. A 260 lb. neighbor tried it and found it structurally sound.
The drawback? Since it is so light it does have a tendancy to skate across the floor or fall over. If you are used to sitting on an orchestra stool and have to get up consantly to turn pages, then there will be a slight learning curve. I needed only minutes to adjust, but you will need to be cautious in the first days.
New! padded seat available! Some customers have told me that they love the portability, but found the bamboo seat a bit hard on their bottom after a three hour orchestra rehearsal. You now have the option of a seat with a high density EDPM foam pad. If you already have a RobStool and find this an issue, it is possible to arrange an exchange.
The biggest innovation of the RobPin is the "Bottom Block Rest" which takes on most of the bass's weight. This eliminates most of the typical stresses on the socket, bottom block, and pin.
As reviewed on TalkBass
Once you have it adjusted to your preference, you only slip it in and out of the socket when you are packing and unpacking the bass. When detached, it might even fit into the accessory pocket of your bag! The set screw in your socket needn't even be especially tight. The weight of the bass goes onto the "Bottom Block Rest", keeping the bracket from turning.
The RobPin comes with three interchangeable rods of different lengths, giving it a good range of height adjustment. The angle of the pin going to the floor can be set at 25°, 35°, or 45°. If your endpin is not 10mm, then adapters are available. If it doesn't come out of the socket, then you naturally need to remove the holding pin, or have your luthier do it.
More about the RobPin
Made from acetal, a strong thermoplastic, but finished to look like ebony. I offer these mainly because some customers prefer black, but they are also a fifth of the weight of the brass brackets, which also appeals to some.
Anodized aluminum. Made in Germany. 1/4" UNC thread.
You can have the unthreaded shaft either the standard 1/4" diameter, or 5.1mm. The smaller shaft means that you don't need to re-drill after making the pilot hole. This simplifies installation, and likely improves accuracy.
Many people make the pilot hole with a 3/16" (.1875") drill. I strongly discourage this practice. A #7 drill (.201", very close to 5.1mm) or a 13/64" (.203") is standard machining practice. Since maple swells with humidity I recommend a 5.2mm (.205") pilot hole, and have drill bits available.
Originally a custom job for a London cellist, these brackets have become useful for installers working with existing extensions which are exceptionally thin, and make my regular brackets hard to fit. They are only 10mm tall, as opposed to the 12.5mm of my standard bracket. Some luthiers also prefer the aesthetic, which they find fits better with English style machines.
Some luthiers prefer a bracket which slides in a slot. This is much more work, but does provide more adjustment range. This can naturally be used with both the standard leather-on-brass finger or the ebony version.
This product is discontinued. Replacing it is a new design which is thicker and eliminates the need for the brass inlays. Photos will be posted soon!
This clamp is an improvement over an existing idea. A luthier friend has been bugging me for years to develop this, but it was not until I used one that I understood how useful they are. The back plate turns 9° left or right, but holds a right angle in the vertical axis. Made of extremely hard Bamboo plywood with stainless screw and rods, and the 1.5mm silicone pads are non-stick and easy to keep clean. 26cm maximum opening. The advantage over spool clamps is that they don't twist when tightening, conform to the tapers, and cover a wider area, so you get a seam closed way faster than before!
I now make two pulleys especially for extension builders. They use an Igus™ plastic sleeve bearing which has a 350 lb. static load rating. The large pulley is 22mm O.D. x 5mm width (~7/8"x3/16") The smaller pulley is 1/2" (12.7mm) O.D. and is intended as a secondary for multi-pulley designs. The included shaft is 1/4 inch for US/Canada or 6mm for other countries.
All pulleys work for strings up to 1/8" diameter. This includes almost all Long Es except Oliv, Labella, or most Nylon tape wound strings. If you want to use a thicker string, I can adjust the groove radius to your spec. I can even make up a custom pulley, if you want different dimensions. Custom pulleys are available with either the Igus™ sleeve bearing or a sealed ball bearing.
This cable/clamp system has been designed to maximize flexibility and strength while minimizing bulk and weight. The cable is 133 strand 1/16" (1.6mm) super-flexible stainless aircraft cable with a nylon coating. Break strength is 480lb. (218kg). Typical installed weight is 10 grams. The aluminum collar is 3/8" (9.5mm) diameter. A 1/2" (12.5mm) collar is also available for cables up to 3/32" (2.5mm).