Thought I'd report on a comparison of the On-Stage MS7700B Tripod Stand and the On-Stage MS7201B Round Base Stand. I picked up both of them on Amazon, compared them, and returned one. My theremin is a Moog Standard Etherwave.
I should mention that, so far as I could tell, both stands had the same rod, just different bases. The rod has a solid metal twist clutch. The tripod stand came with a plastic microphone clip which screwed onto the top. The round base came with a little round clip for running a microphone cable down against the rod.
COST. They're both really cheap, around $25-$30.
HEIGHT. Tripod wins barely. The tripod can go very slightly lower (it says 32" vs 34" but I think it's really only an inch difference) because you can lower the rod down through the tripod until it hits the ground.
CONSTRUCTION. Round base wins hands down. The tripod feet are pivoted in place along fairly flimsy metal hinges encased in plastic, with a fairly cheap twist clamp which I think will not last long. On the other hand the round base is a heavy-duty chunk of cast iron threaded for the rod and which holds it in place firmly.
STABILITY: TILT RECOVERY. Round base wins somewhat. You would think that the tripod could be tilted further, with the Etherwave mounted, before it fell over. And you would be wrong! Why is this? Two reasons. First, tripods don't have as wide a base as you think: draw a line X from one foot to another -- the radius of a tripod base is the line from the center of the base to the *middle* of line X. So the effective tripod base (tilt-wise) is only a bit larger than the round base. Second, even though it has a sightly narrower base, the round base stand is much, much, much heavier. You can tilt it about 5-10 degrees further than the tripod.
STABILITY: FLOOR WOBBLINESS. Tripod wins maybe? On hard floor the round base was pretty stable and solid. On a thick indian rug, the round base was a bit wobbly due to compressing the rug here and there.
STIFFNESS. Round base by far. The rod screws directly into the cast iron. On the other hand, the tripod rod is held just by the base clamp and wasn't particularly solid. The tripod is *okay*.
FOOT FRIENDLINESS. Round base easily, of course. Its much smaller base meant you wouldn't trip over anything.
PORTABILITY. Tripod by far. It folds up and it weighs perhaps a third of the round base. And of course it's got surer footing outdoors.
Both stands seemed like they'd do the job. You'd have imagined the tripod to be more stable than the round base, but it's not the case. If you need portability, the tripod was definitely the right option. But for most other purposes, it felt like the round base was a superior choice. And the round base style is certainly more durable and solid.
