The Baritone Sax is an instrument that is sometimes difficult to deal with. It's slightly awkward, often has a weird center of gravity, and it puts a lot of weight on your neck and back. We all love playing with it, but not everyone likes to deal with what comes along with playing such a big instrument. Over the past few decades, there have a been a selection of straps and harnesses that have worked well with instruments like this (especially Neotech's Practice Harness), but for those of you who want to completely take all of the weight off of you, Mister Music is currently the only company in the world making an actual free-standing baritone saxophone stand. Thankfully for all of us, the price is right AND it's built like a tank.
Mister Music BariFlexx
Take the weight of the baritone saxophone off your body and put it onto a stand. This is great for all size players, those with health issues, and those that may be doubling.
No more back pain!
.....because you've now taken the weight of the saxophone off of your body entirely.
This stand is absolutely built like a tank. Likely inspired by high-end drum set hardware, it seems to have the design roots of a well-made cymbal stand. At the bottom, a tripod of double-braced hardware which gives you extra sturdiness and extra support. It's definitely height-adjustable= so don't worry if you're a short or tall player. There's a ball joint towards the top which is tensioned into place (and the mechanism is tension-adjustable). With this, you now have access to nearly every angle that you could think of as a player. Sitting or standing? This will help you play easier in either position.
Double-braced hardware at the base.
With the ball joint, this can be configured for nearly every angle of playing.
Attached to the ball joint is a section of stand which has two rubberized cradles for nearly the bell area, and another for near the bow area. This rubber grips so well that it is sometimes difficult to get the horn in and out. I look at it like this though: That horn is absolutely not going anywhere. Between these two areas is a metal bar that is length adjustable. This does two things: 1) Helps ensure you can fit all B flat and A baritone saxophones. 2) Helps you to find different places to grip/hold onto the horn.
I can definitely speak for durability and usability. After putting it through somewhere around 450 shows across the last three years, it has shown super durable, night after night. I've never had an issue with my horn on the stand, and after all of the moving it has been through (trucks, buses, planes, ferries, etc.), it shows absolutely no sign of giving up.
If you're looking to buy one for yourself, you can get one right here. Typically, these sell for €199, although you may incur extra shipping costs, considering that this comes from Germany.
Want my thoughts?
I have an interesting use-case for this stand: During the tour I play on, I have a baritone saxophone solo immediately followed by a tenor saxophone solo. Considering that I'd like to take care of my horns, I opted out of wearing two neck straps and decided to go the stand route.
Before owning the Mister Music stand, we ended up making our own stand because there wasn't one like this available. It failed miserably, and my baritone fell one night. Immediately after this, we bought the stand, and I haven't had an issue since.
I've used the BariFlexx for around 450 shows. Photo: Jim Houle
In my own use, my baritone is carried across the stage twice during the show, so I opted to include two velcro straps on my stand. Do I need them? No, because the rubber on the stand grips so well. But they're giving me a little extra peace of mind.
Would I recommend this stand? Highly. I see so many great uses for it for many baritone saxophone players- especially those with health issues, or even those that are doublers. It's super durable, and I see no issues with the stand. It was designed beautifully, and functions as-promised.
Why Mister Music?
Designed and manufactured in Germany, Mister Music uses only high quality parts and they model their stand designs for serious usability. The BariFlexx is a rugged workhorse that can take a lot of weight off of a player or just help you to double instruments better by having your instrument in place, ready to go as you need it.
Take the weight of the baritone saxophone off your body and put it onto a stand. This is great for all size players, those with health issues, and those that may be doubling.
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