Cooperstand Pro-Mini Ukulele Stand Full review
12November 30, 2011 by Tim
If you have ever seen my wall of ukes you know I hang them by the neck. I have found that it more secure, and frankly it looks cool to boot. But when I am out playing I do not have my lovely wall or any of my large stands with me. What am I to do? That is when I rely on stands that are small enough to travel with. It has to be compact and also keep my uke from falling over and that jazz.
Last year at NAMM I was walking by a booth that had a ton of people gathered around it. I had to see what it was all about, so I elbowed my way in to see these little stands. I did not understand why they were so cool, there ukulele and guitar stands, big deal. “Cool, they fold” so what. I talked to someone and took some info on them and left. When I got home I sat down and looked at all the stuff I had taken from all the vendors and came across the flyers that I took on these stands, read a little and felt stupid for not investigating a little more. So the short of it is that I contacted them and after a bit of e-mail tag and waiting for them to catch their breath they sent me one to review. I have not had it long, but I have been traveling with it, and since this is not a ukulele I really had to shorten up the review criteria. Who cares about how the stand sounds right?
Read below for what I thought.
Specs:
Fits Soprano, Concert, and Tenor.
African Sapele construction
Inert silicon pads at contact points
Closed cell neoprene padding at exposed areas
Hard neoprene in support areas
Finish: Satin
Case: Velvet Bag
Measures 5 3/4″ x 3″ x 1 1/4″
Full Specs:
http://cooperstand.com/buypro-mini.html
First look: (5) The stand is actually pretty. I can’t say I notice music stands very often, but this one is made of really nice wood and is very different from those metal tube with foam on them. At the same time is also very unassuming since it is so small. The wood and finish are like that of a nice ukulele and it looks very expensive.
Fit and Finish: (5) Have you ever looked at something and said “OK, these people are not joking around!”? when you look at it, It looks like a folding stand, a very pretty stand, but it is a stand, it is holding a ukulele upright so you can see it in all its glory and makes it easy to just pick up your uke and play.
Many people may not appreciate the thought and the choices that went into this stand, but there are many and they are all the right ones. The wood does not matter, but it is a nice touch, it adds class and it finished really well. I am always a fan of products that use laser etching to add their logo. I think it looks really nice. The big hinge on the back is nice and beefy, and might be over kill, but is locks and is very sturdy, a good thing if you like your ukulele. Honestly the only thing I see that could break is the little hinge at the top. If a kid was playing with this it could be forced open wrong and really screw this thing up. The fact that it also opens and closed very nicely and there is no assembly is really nice too, but all those things are nice and are a small thing compared the biggest choice they made that sent this over the top for me.
The neoprene lined areas with the silicone nubs sent me over the moon with joy. I know it sounds weird, but you have to understand why this is super important. Open cell padding, like you find on cheaper (Not just super cheap) stands will eat lacquer if left in contact with it for just a few days. I have seen it happen to a guitar. The neoprene and silicone are benign and will not react with any finish, ensuring that your instrument will be safe. Another plus is that it is really grippy and will not let the ukulele slide.
Final Thoughts
Over all I really like this stand, it is a little pricey, but in comparison to the Kala stands it is right in the same price range. I do have one of the low end Kala ones that slide together and have left it in the rain and it was fine, not sure how this one would do.
In the end this one is really nice looking, sturdy, and has everything you could ever ask for in a travel stand. I really hope they come out with an Ecco version to bring the price down.
All Rating on a scale of 1-5
Click here for an explanation of reviews
| First Look | 5 |
| Fit and Finish | 5 |
| Smell | Like Rubber |
Places to buy on the web:
Cooper Stands – $54 Shipped
Amazon – $44 shipped if you have a prime account
Gallery:
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Ukeeku.com 
I’m going to go ahead and agree that this stand is the prettiest uke stand i’ve seen
Thanks for the review, Tim. I had put this on my Xmas gift list, just ’cause it looked cool, so I appreciate seeing the favorable opinion!
Glad to see the “Smell” criteria was left in.. 🙂 Good review. Thanks. Very pricey but the silicon is a great idea..
Hey Tim,
Thanks for the great review.! We are musicians our selves, so it’s our #1 goal to present to the music community honest, respectable products that performers at any level will recognize and appreciate.
Regarding breakage; We want people to buy our products for the right reasons. “Quality, and Dependability” If someone does break one of our stands, we just replace it. That is our Lifetime Warranty. At the end of the day, it just makes the most sense. Happy Holidays!!
Best Regards,
Daniel Cooper
CEO Coopercopia LLC
http://www.cooperstand.com
Sounds & looks like a winner. I’ve been trying to decide which stand to buy.
I totally agree with what you said regarding the open cell padding–another company’s stand, which I own, removed (quite obviously) two patches of the shine from the finish of one of my ukes, and I was not happy.
But I own one of these Cooperstands, and I like it quite a bit for holding up one of my ukes–at home. I would, however, find it harder to carry this stand to other venues if I didn’t have the right case. My folded-up Cooperstand measures 1 3/4 x 4 3/4 x 8 3/4, & will not fit in the majority of uke gig bags (although my Fusion concert gig bag holds it & my concert uke fine), & won’t fit at all in any hard cases I know of. I haven’t yet seen a uke stand that will fit comfortably in the majority of uke cases.
Thanks Bob….I was thinking of getting one of these for the Mrs….Monsterjones
Too high in price @ $59.00, we have two pieces of wood and a hinge plus some padding.
Yeah it may be pretty and functional and I appreciate the technical marvel of this thing (I certainly want one), but the price is pretty high for something to put on the floor so I can stand my uke up. I guess you pay for that high quality and complexity.
I might have to try and cut my own in the laser cutter.
Oh and I want it to smell like wood, not rubber. Hahaha!
In addition to being significantly more involved than two pieces of wood and a hinge etc., etc., the Pro-mini does not sell for $59, anywhere that we know of.. If so, it doesn’t mean that’s where you have to buy it. There are virtually hundreds of other options in the US and dozens of other countries to buy it at minimum advertised price. The Cooperstand website has the highest price on the internet at $54.99 which includes Priority USPS shipping with delivery confirmation. ($7-$11 inside the US)
Why you ask?? Because out of respect for the industry, Cooperstand refuses to compete with retail dealers. It’s available pretty much all over the internet for $44.95 which in many cases also includes – Free shipping- Here is one example…
http://elderly.com/accessories/items/COOP-MINI.htm
or Amazon, Sweetwater, etc., etc.
Cooperstands are also co-branded with and available through Taylor, Bedell, and Breedlove Guitars.
I would love to see anyone “try” to make one of these by hand, or with a laser cutter for that matter… It ain’t gonna happen friends….
But for the benefit of those who are truly interested to know the process, I will tell you exactly what is involved.
To make your own Cooperstand Pro-Mini stand, you will first need to take a very close look at the item and take the time to figure out how to make something so stable, correctly balanced, and aesthetically pleasing, collapse into itself small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. After you’ve built an undetermined number of failed prototypes, and realize the true intricacy and close tolerances of the machining required for the item to even function properly, (within .0005 of an inch) you will need to purchased your CNC machine. Then you get to spend days or perhaps weeks tweaking the computer programming, building the jigs necessary to hold everything in place while machining, and figuring out the correct combination of materials to use, that will not only machine properly, but be compatible with each other when combined. Then you will need to have an adhesive developed by 3M company specifically for the purpose of applying the specially formulated closed cell neoprene padding to the water base lacquer finish so it will not move, yet still remain safe for all instrument finishes….. After you have invested tens of thousands of dollars in Intellectual property lawyers, patents and trademarks in 72 countries, and then…, and then…. Well, I think you get my point. If you like it buy it.. If not that’s OK. Just admire your friends who have one……
Bought one today. Ebay has 5 left for 39.95 and FREE shipping. Good deal.
Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110791950778#ht_1057wt_902
I was given one of these stands for Christmas and think its awesome. A couple of months later I broke it, which was TOTALLY my fault. I emailed Daniel and with in an hour he asked me to mail it back to him. A couple of weeks later I received a brand new one in the mail. That made me so damn happy.
Currently I use one of the Road Runner gig bags that Guitar Center sells. The folded cooper stand fits easily into the outside pocket. I’m looking for a hard case with a large enough accessory compartment that will hold the stand.