Reinventing the Microphone Stand
Triad-Orbit® Advanced Stand Systems is part of ACCESS Products Group (APG), the branded products division of Music Express LLC (MX) of Kingston, WA. MX is an OEM/ODM supplier to many of the world’s leading brands in the music products and pro audio industries.
In 2006, after 20 years of producing music products accessories, including wire & cable, bags & cases, stands & hardware, and turnkey drum and string instrument product lines, APG set out to conceive and build a top-shelf, cutting edge branded product line that encompassed all of their collective design, manufacturing and business experience. Their goal was reinventing the microphone stand. At the time, the M.I. and A/V Industries were literally flooded with ‘me-too’, deposable, commodity-based stands. APG opted to pursue a new path: intelligent, original design, continuous innovation, patented intellectual property, professional grade quality and intense brand loyalty.
After seven years of non-stop research & development and testing, Triad-Orbit Advanced Stand Systems debuted in late 2013, featuring four core product groups: Triad® articulating tripod stands, Orbit® orbital booms, Micro™ orbital adaptors and iO™ quick-change couplers. iO—the exclusive multi-patented, interchangeable component in Triad-Orbit support systems—provides instant connectivity and endless options to configure custom stand systems for any task.
It didn’t take long for creators and multimedia professionals to request additional iO mounting heads and accessories to adapt and support photo, video, lighting and a growing list of creative devices.
In only 10 years, Triad-Orbit (T-O) has evolved from its original offering of state-of-the-art adaptive, modular microphone stand systems to the largest and most diverse line of stands, booms, clamps, mounts and support accessories for audio, video, photography, lighting, broadcast, commercial, industrial and medical applications on the market today. Triad-Orbit is the One Solution™ for creative support.
Our Story
Triad-Orbit was first introduced to the public in October 2013 at the Audio Engineering Society (AES) event in NYC, yet the inspiration came many years before that. In 2005, the OEM manufacturing company Music Express LLC realized that while most A/V products had evolved alongside other technological advancements over time, the basic microphone/lighting support stand had remained relatively unchanged for more than 50 years. It was definitely time for some new updated innovation and design.
Music Express started searching for inspiration from other industries to find a suitable replacement for the basic stand, but everything was either too similar or not robust and adaptable enough to become the new standard; it became obvious that they were going to have to reinvent this new stand from the ground up. Drawing from their combined experience of over 100 years in music making, live performance, and recording, coupled with their OEM manufacturing experience, they carefully considered and designed every feature of their perfect stand system, from the base of the stand to the tip of the boom arm. The result was: Triad® Advanced Tripod Stands, Orbit® Orbital Booms, Micro® Adapters, and IO® Quick-Change Couplers.
In just 5 short years since its inception, Triad-Orbit has garnered awards from all across the audio, photo/video and multi media industries, including numerous awards such as NAMM 2014 “Best In Show” and NAMM 2016 Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC AWARD), InfoCOMM 2017 “Best In Show”, and praise from many of the top recording, broadcast, and media production professionals, engineers, technicians and creative enthusiasts alike – it is indeed revolutionary.
One of the most common reactions we hear when we show people our products is “This would make a great stand for my lights, camera, RF antenna, etc., etc.”. To be honest, we thought that this might happen, but definitely weren’t expecting it, as shown by the fact that the products were named “Advanced Microphone Stand Systems”. In 2015, due to this overwhelming feedback, we dropped “Microphone” from the name and thereafter became known as “Triad-Orbit Advanced Stand Systems”. But we didn’t stop there – we went to work making a handful of products that would further extend the versatility of our IO® quick-change and Orbit® swivel capabilities. The result was the IO-W wallplate, IO-C clamp, OA universal swivel joint, iOrbit tablet and phone holders, and many lighting and camera-specific adapters.
Now, with over 50 different products, we have been compared to everything from the metal toy construction sets that we played with as kids, to a transforming robot.
With the apparent and necessary convergence of technology between many different industries, our mantra is “Invent. Refine. Repeat”. In doing so, we must also realize where others have already made great strides towards the same goal. So we have partnered with different companies such as Manley Laboratories and 9.Solutions to create new products that take advantage of the innovations that both companies have to offer. The result of this synergy is the brand new Starbird® Boom Stand by Triad-Orbit, whose parts are backwards-compatible to all Manley Starbirds, as well as the Synergy Series™ Grip Clamp and Spring Clamp, which combines the outstanding clamp ability of 9.Solutions with the IO® quick-change capability of Triad-Orbit. But we’re not stopping there.
Real innovation changes lives for the better, so we will continue to provide you with modular support system solutions that improve the way you work and play.
The principals and most of our associates at ACCESS started their careers as professional musicians and audio engineers. Collectively, we have tens of thousands of hours of practical experience on stages and in studios of every echelon. We have actively participated in the evolution of the music business over the past fifty years and our products are a direct result of that firsthand involvement.
ACCESS Products Group evolved from years of experience producing OE (Original Equipment) and OD (Original Design) products for many of the Music Products Industry’s leading brands. Chances are you own and use music products made by ACCESS for one of our many partners. The same focus on quality, value and innovation that’s guided our company for more than 20 years is the cornerstone of every ACCESS product.
Our mission is to offer innovative, best-in-class gear to satisfy the needs of music and sound professionals and enthusiasts at every stage of their creative journey.