From hangers/mounts to music stand hybrids, there are numerous ways to stow away an acoustic guitar between picking sessions. A simple idea from Danish musician Murad Mahmoud does away with drilling holes in the wall or spoiling a living room aesthetic with a collapsible stand and gives the instrument its own set of feet. Once clicked onto the strap peg, Standley allows the guitar to stand there on its own until needed.
Not using guitar storage solutions can result in serious instrument damage and hefty repair bills. Mahmoud learned this the hard way, inspired to create Standley when he broke his own guitar's neck while trying to lean the acoustic against a sofa. He says that he couldn't find a simple storage product on the market already, so opted to create his own.
"I sold my apartment in Copenhagen and slept on friends' couches for two years to fund the engineers who made this," revealed the grammy-nominated artist. "That's how frustrated I was."
The patent-pending, x-shaped guitar stand tips the scales at just 140 g (5 oz), so won't add significant weight to the host guitar. It slides onto the strap button of an acoustic, and its four feet are then adjusted so that the round rubber tops support the bottom the guitar. Finally, the instrument is stood upright on Standley (the bottom of the feet are rubber-ended, too), which should result in an ever-so-slight backward tilt.
For those concerned about their treasured dreadnought sounding odd when the Standley is attached, Mahmoud says that independent testing has confirmed that sound quality is unaffected.
Mahmoud and team have turned to crowdfunding platform Indiegogo to bring the Standley into production. Pledges start at US$39 and, should everything go as planned, delivery of the first units is expected to start in February 2017.
While the Standley certainly looks like a nifty way to free-stand and grab an acoustic in a quiet living room, we do have our doubts about the safety of the instrument in busy households. A toddler temper tantrum or excited free-running dogs could end up causing the very damage that the click-on stand was designed to prevent.
The crowdfunding pitch video can be seen below.
