Review: The D&A Guitar Gear Icestand

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I'm only an amateur musician but even I find that whenever I'm going out to practice, to guitar clubs, open mic sessions, or whatever, I inevitably have to cart around a whole bunch of gear with me: there are usually two or three guitars (acoustic, electric, sometimes a bass VI); amplifiers; my pedal board and various effects pedals; my song books; and of course all sorts of accessories, capos, tuners, leads, etc. This usually involves a lot of trudging back and forth, to and from the car at either end of the journey and having to carry large, heavy, and often awkward-shaped pieces of gear. So, I'm all for anything that helps minimise this kind of baggage.

I've been really impressed with the D&A Guitar Gear Icestand. The Icestand is a very conveniently-sized portable guitar stand which, although made from plastic, utilises lattice ribbing and reinforced joints so that it is able to support even the very heaviest of guitars. The manufacturers claim that it has an "insane strength" and indeed are so confident in this product that they guarantee it for a lifetime. The Icestand itself weighs approx 20 ounces (that's less than 0.6 kg) and in its folded-up state is small enough to fit inside your guitar case. Other guitar stands are often very awkward shapes to be carrying around, and are one of those items that because of their inconvenient shape that I personally find I overlook and end up forgetting because they don't fit nicely into my box of accessories.

It's also safe to use with any vintage guitars you may have in your collection, for the Icestand has a soft polymer material covering all points of contact between itself and the guitar, ensuring that your guitar’s finish is protected. It is safe for all guitar finishes.

The Icestand comes in two models, one for electric guitars and the other slightly larger version for acoustics.

I ought to point out that the Icestand is not suitable for all guitars; I briefly tried standing my Fender Bass VI on the Icestand and it was immediately apparent that it was going to fall over as soon as I took my hand away from the neck of the instrument. So, I do not recommend it for guitars with offset bodies (e.g. Fender Bass VI, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, Jazz Bass) and I wasn't even going to try it with my Ovation Breadwinner, but of course for the majority of electric guitars and basses it will be fine, e.g. Strat, Tele, Precision Bass, SG, Les Paul, and most other designs that don't feature irregular or offset shaped bodies.

D&A Guitar Gear, by the way, is the brainchild of RKS Design, a research, strategy and design firm. Some of you may recall their sadly discontinued venture into their own line of innovative guitars.

G L Wilson

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RKS Ruby Red

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RKS Guitars were a modern forward-thinking innovative guitar company, and embodied everything we here at Guitarz applaud. They didn't look to the past and unquestioningly re-hash designs and concepts simply because that was the traditional way of doing things. They sought to find a new way, which can be seen clearly in the open architecture of their 21st Century semi-hollowbody guitars.

The only time I personally ever saw one, was at a Bauhaus gig several years ago when Daniel Ash was playing a Chrome Molly model (fitted, I believe, with a Fernandes Sustainer). It sounded - and looked - fantastic.

It's such a shame that the company seemed to cease activity in 2007, a mere four years after they went into production. These were boutique instruments with prices to match, so weren't affordable to your average player. Still, it's a pity that more of those with the cash to flash couldn't have been more imaginative instead of running to the likes of the Fender Custom Shop, who - let's face it - build high-end versions of guitars designed to be cheaply produced on a production line. That's an oxymoron if I ever heard one.

Anyway, the above-pictured beautiful RKS in ruby red acrylic is currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $2,499. No, it's not in my price bracket either; I wish it was, although if I ever come into the big bucks in a lottery win or whatever, I have an XOX Audio Tools "The Handle" on my wish list first.

Thanks to Vince for bringing the RKS Ruby Red auction to my attention.

G L Wilson

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