This was a nice little gift from the missus this Christmas - the Pub Prop ukulele / instrument holder.
The Pub Prop is a pocket sized device that provides a place to hold a ukulele safely pretty much where ever you are without using a bulky stand. The word Pub in the title is a clue for where it is really designed to be used, but it works pretty much wherever there is a table or a rail. The intention is solve those issues when playing a crowded room where you need to take a break or switch instruments leaving you with a choice of putting the instrument on the table top with the beer spills or leaning against something. I've been in the latter situation with a guitar and had a friendly guest of the hostelry knock the instrument right over and ding it.
The Pub Prop arrives in a draw string carry bag with some simple instructions. It comes in two halves that you slot together - the first being a G Clamp, and the second being a mount that you insert the clamp in to. When set up it allows you to clip it to a pub table (or any table for that matter) firmly by tightening the clamp, and that leaves the clever bit hanging off the side.
The holding mechanism is a simple affair, shaped like the cross section of an instruments neck with a safety bar across the front that you unclip to put the neck of the uke in, and then clip back on to secure it. The instrument then hangs freely from the headstock. Clever.
It also can be put together in a different configuration to allow you to hang the prop off a horizontal rail on a wall which is handy. It also comes with some size adapters (one of which you need to use for ukuleles) to narrow or change the shape of the holder. Without the adapter it is designed for holding a guitar, and with the adapters you can hang a ukulele, mandolin, or violin. The guitar use intrigues me as on most pub tables I would expect them not to be tall enough to 'hang' a guitar, and presume it is intended to hold the neck of the guitar whilst the base is on the floor. With a uke though, even a tenor, it should hang freely.
It's all made very well - the G Clamp itself is metal in construction covered with a rubberised material for protection of both the instrument and the table top. The piece that holds the ukulele is made of tough rubber meaning it is slightly flexible, and that allows the bracket to open to put the instrument in place.
So how does it work? Well, it's so simple that naturally it works extremely well and is a clever idea for a more safe place to put your ukulele between songs or instrument changes. A couple of provisos though. Something like this (rather like any stand) is only part of the process keeping an instrument secure. In the same way as an instrument on a stand can easily be knocked off, if somebody is determined to smash into the instrument while it is hanging, it is still likely to get damaged. But it certainly is a whole lot better than leaving it on a table top or, worse, leaning against the pub or bar wall. There are also going to be some instruments that wont work, such as the
RISA Uke Solid but that is nit picking.
All in all, a clever item that is small enough to go in the gig bag and could avoid tears on jam nights. In the UK you can find it at the
Southern Ukulele Store amongst other places for just under £10. Bargain! Also available on
Amazon here via Omega Music.
