Microphone Safety - Mic Stand Weights

R

Rick Shepherd

New member
I had a great idea! I was always worried about my mic stand getting
knocked over, ruining my expensive mics. So I came up with the idea of
making weights for them. So ,I got three scuba diver weights, which are
made of lead pellets inside a nylon mesh. Each weight weighs 5 pounds,
perfect for this application. Years ago, I used to make things out of leather,
and I had leftovers: this is buffalo hide. I punched my holes, then used a
hand awl to stitch these three today. The dimensions are 6" x 6 1/2". I couldn't be happier now!
weights.jpg

tripodweights.jpg
 
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awesome heheheh
you should try adding some straps with velcro fasteners to secure the bags to the stand's legs.
 
You do know that the mass isn't the real problem, right? So I just compared my cheap stand that falls over constantly with a Tama stand that's steady as a rock. They both weigh approximately the same. The difference? The legs on the Tama are each about an inch and a half longer than the ones on the cheap stand.

If you want to really fix the tipping problem, you should increase the spread of the legs by taking a piece of 1/2" PVC pipe and replacing the legs with new legs that are two or three inches longer.

That said, the weights are a pretty good idea if you're using a really heavy mic or expect the stand to be bumped really hard. So... my advice would be to do both. Add weight and add length.
 
dgatwood said:
You do know that the mass isn't the real problem, right? So I just compared my cheap stand that falls over constantly with a Tama stand that's steady as a rock. They both weigh approximately the same. The difference? The legs on the Tama are each about an inch and a half longer than the ones on the cheap stand.

If you want to really fix the tipping problem, you should increase the spread of the legs by taking a piece of 1/2" PVC pipe and replacing the legs with new legs that are two or three inches longer.

That said, the weights are a pretty good idea if you're using a really heavy mic or expect the stand to be bumped really hard. So... my advice would be to do both. Add weight and add length.
Click to expand...

Some 3/4" pvc might slide right over the legs of the on stage and musicians friend tripod stands. The OD of the legs on those stands is 3/4".
 
Why not just slip a barbell weight down it, the weight would be evenly distributed and should give the same effects without the weights slidding off

(I saw it on someones site)


-jeffrey
 
Interesting responses! I really don't like jury rigging things using pvc pipe and barbell weights: this is much cleaner and tastefull than making a trip to the junk yard.
 
OhSh1rt said:
Why not just slip a barbell weight down it, the weight would be evenly distributed and should give the same effects without the weights slidding off

(I saw it on someones site)


-jeffrey
Click to expand...


I've been using the barbell method for 5 years. Never had one stand tip.
 
I've done this a little diferent, got a number of old front brake discs from bigger cars, sprayed them with paint and put it over the stand. No way they'll flip over.
 
OhSh1rt said:
Why not just slip a barbell weight down it, the weight would be evenly distributed and should give the same effects without the weights slidding off
Click to expand...

I guess lots of people come up with the same ideas independently.
I'm using a ten pound weight on each of my booms...exactly as you're describing.

Remove the boom, slip 'em over the shaft of the lower section, and let 'em slide down to the base of the tripod. It lowers the center of gravity significantly. Even with my On-Stage pieces of crap, the booms fully extended, I never have to worry about tip over.

Kinda hard to see, but if you look closely, the booms are to the lower left and right of the frame:
 

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