You are hereReview: Atlantic Inc.'s JamStand
Review: Atlantic Inc.'s JamStand
A Rock Band storage device that does exactly as advertised
Product: GameKeeper JamStand (2 guitar stands, 1 mic clip for Rock Band)
Manufacturer: Atlantic, Inc.
Cost: $49.99
Purchased from: Zellers
And yes, I used my official Sputnik camera again.
I wasn't really planning on assigning a high review score to a gaming storage unit. It seemed weird to give a high rating to a stand but I was impressed by one thing about the JamStand. It does exactly what it says it will.
The JamStand attaches directly to your Rock Band drum set and allows you to store two guitars and a microphone on your drum set. I lie a little. I used a Rock Band 2 drum set. Sorry but it's what I have.
The JamStand is platform agnostic and is marked as working with Wii, Xbox 360, and Playstation 2 & 3 systems.
Some boring product info:
- JamStand is designed to manage, store and protect your Rock Band Guitars and Microphone. JamStand has the style of the original Rock Band Drum Set and lets you organize your Rock Band accessories. The JamStand includes Dual Guitar Stands capable of holding any Rock Band compatible Guitar and a Microphone Holder that easily attaches to your original PS3, Xbox 360 or PS2 Rock Band Drum Set.
- Includes 2 guitar stands and microphone holder
- Displays, stores and protects guitars and microphone
- Attaches easily to original Rock Band drum set
- Adjusts to fit all guitars
- Designed to match original Rock Band drum set
- Constructed with durable metal frame
- Manages cables using built-in pegs
First things first. Installation:
The cardboard box it came in was so well organized that a three-year-old could unpack it. This is good news as a three-year-old did unpack it. Although he ran into difficulty pulling the plastic wrap off of the posts past the pegs. "It's jammed." "Umm, plastic wrap doesn't really get jammed. It can get stuck though." "It's jammed." "Okay, fine, it's jammed. Let me help with that."
It's fairly easy to put together. It used four plastic clamps with thumbscrews to fasten the two guitar holder posts onto the Rock Band drum set posts. Easy to figure out and easy to install. No tools required. While the screw threads embedded inside the plastic clamps were metal I found the clamps flimsy. I kept thinking I was going to break the bendy plastic as I was tightening the thumbscrews. It did all go together and it is possible that the plastic needs to be more flexible to hold properly but I couldn't lose that feeling of impending breakage.
I am guessing that the clamps may make it more awkward to adjust the height of your Rock Band 2 drum set but it seems that it they should not get in the way too much. A little awkward but workable. I haven't had to do it yet but the clamps, while secure, do seem to slide up and down under a little pressure.
The microphone clamp on the other hand just snaps on and stays snugly in place.
On the firing line. Field testing:
When the entire JamStand is installed there are two guitar holders. One each attached to each drum set post. You can see in the photo (above) that the guitar holders fit the Rock Band 2 wireless guitar and the Guitar Hero wired guitar with convenient pegs for wrapping the cable around. Although there is no picture, the holder also fits the wireless Guitar Hero Les Paul guitar. The top piece of the holder has a plastic strap (visible in photo – right) that closes around the neck of the guitar and keeps it in the holder under duress. Not saying what kind of duress as some things should be kept private.
When not playing Rock Band 2 the unit sits out of the way in a relatively small space for what it is. A lot better than our old method of stacking the guitars in the corner and hoping for the best (which, admittedly, worked).
We found that the Rock Band 2 drum set was playable with the gear still on the JamStand. You could leave all the gear or some of the gear still attached to the drum set and still play. This was important as there is usually only two of us playing – bass and drums. We had initial problems with the stand tilting and being a little unbalanced but we remedied the problem by moving the drum set a foot to the left to a flatter portion of the floor. Whew! That was close.
Final thought:
So the JamStand performs exactly as advertised and is easy to install. You can't go wrong if you are looking for a compact method to store your Rock Band gear. It certainly seems more practical and cheaper than Amazon's alternative. Someone else can review that one. I found the JamStand a liitle pricey and skipped it on my first pass through but Guba pointed out that if it's exactly what we want "go buy it." So we did and so far we are happy with our Rock Band storage solution.
Positives:
- works as advertised
- holds two guitars and one microphone
- makes for one compact unit that can be easily moved
- doesn't get in the way of using the drum set
Negatives:
- a little pricey
- connectors seemed flimsy
- plastic wrap can jam when being removed
Totally 100% official HoC review score:
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I was sitting at my computer desk, which buts up against the only wall in my apartment that is attached to another apartment, when all of a sudden I heard shooting noises followed by the words "reloading" in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Francis'.
About a hour later, I suddenly heard a tapping noise followed by music that turned out to be "Eye of the Tiger". I can only assume that it was Rock Band since no one ever listens to that song in any other format.
I'm thinking of introducing myself, but it's probably some pimply freshman from CU.
A Five and half foot blond with green eyes and beutiful curves who has a penchant for the mystic arts.
Or would that be a fantasy?
She's a redhead.
You'r the bl... err I mean Preston is the blond. I did not have the book underhand when I posted.
Go ask to borrow a cup of Internet and introduce yourself.
Rent an appartment accross the stree and use binoculars to determine who the occupant is. Or stake out the mail boxes. Or just read the name associated to the door number.
Or, the next time you hear noise, just know on the door. When it opens you have 3 choices:
A) Male answers door: ask him to put headphones on and get silencer pads.
B) Female answers door: ask if you can join her band and make beutiful music together.
C) Androgenous Pat (from SNL) answers the door: roll the dice, you have a 50 / 50 chance that it could be female.
(Can't wait to see what the Aku script is gonna reply to this.)
If you're not on the ground floor, attach your Xbox webcam to the balcony railing pointing at their window. It is recommended you do this at night, and disguise it as a pigeon.
which one would you pick?
First make sure it is a she (doubtful) and an attractive she (again doubtful)
Reading all the comments here I am starting to understand why no one posts original content.
Isn't this the room for an argument?
Duct Tape
is the solution to all problems.
"works as advertised"
Duh how hard can it be to make a couple of clips to hold up a couple of toy guitars and a Mic??
You paid money for this??
When your kits arrive, and the guitars are laying about in a careless manner, you will feel the urge to purchase these same clips.
Lets not forget that less than a month ago, the meer thought of purchassing Rock Band would have made you laugh. Now you are about to receive both Rock Band and Rock Band 2. who knows, they may have similar clips already.
I would even not be surprised to see you purchase the guitar carrying case.
My real guitars lie around my apartment and I trip over my amp from time to time. I don't expect to feel strongly about the fake stuff.
Of course, I think that about the game as well.