Eddie: Essentially, the entire system must have a common, non-voltage connection that is physically attached by means of a piece of wire. To determine this you must have a volt/ohm meter to check the continuity between pieces of gear. Some pieces of equipment have what some folks refer to as a floating ground, which means there is no electrical contact with the chasis or case. Most of this equipment, however, is electrically sheilded to help prevent interference. while all this may sound complex, it really isn't. The other thing I highly recommend is a good, high-qualityh, grounded, surge protector. My surge protector also has provisions for those plug-in transformers so the transformer does not cover another outlet. If you're playing without a surge protector, it's like playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun.

Scott: I'm old, but not so old I can't handle 23 pounds. I catch fish bigger than that all the time. The Quic-Loc I'm using is rock-solid, plus it has a rock-solid second tier that's adjustable, which is where the shelf is mounted. When my new, Quic-Loc stool arrives, I'll be positioning the stand somewhat higher, which makes it look like you're standing, but you are actually sitting on a padded stool with a backrest. My keyboard stand's upper tier adjustments allow me to do that without having to worry about the arm's position in relation to the shelf.

Scottyee: I looked at the Monolith and it's not suitable for my setup. As for connecting arms for booms, the Quic-Loc website pretty much shows on the accessory's description page which accessories will attach to which specific stands.

Cheers,

Gary