Microphone stands.

A

andydeedpoll

i do love smilies...
Hey,

I'm thinking about buying a couple of microphone stands. I was probably going to get one or two fairly budget ones, a little one for bass drums etc, and a more heavy duty for overheads/using a stereo bar.

I was just wondering if anyone had any preference to the type of stand with legs or the circular base? When I've recorded my brother playing kit before with 6 mics, in a not overly large space, it's been quite difficult to manouver sometimes, because of the amount of microphone stand legs getting in the way of each other and our feet, so I was thinking small based stands might be better...

anyone got any thoughts?

Ta!

Andrew.
 
I just ran into something like this yesterday. :D

I was micing up my drums and I ran outta my multi-legged stands and had to use the round base style. Ended up putting weight on the base (totally acceptible but a pain) to keep it from falling over. (boom arm on the end)

I'm snaggin a couple more stands and decided I'd get boom stands with legs. I think you get more versatility and mileage out of a boom and the legs seem more stable. Especially when you get a boom or a goose neck on one.

just my 2c.....
 
Dogbreath said:
I just ran into something like this yesterday. :D

I was micing up my drums and I ran outta my multi-legged stands and had to use the round base style. Ended up putting weight on the base (totally acceptible but a pain) to keep it from falling over. (boom arm on the end)

I'm snaggin a couple more stands and decided I'd get boom stands with legs. I think you get more versatility and mileage out of a boom and the legs seem more stable. Especially when you get a boom or a goose neck on one.

just my 2c.....
Click to expand...

I was thinking that - cheap ones aren't going to be heavy duty, and risk being unbalanced a lot easier. I suppose though, it's easier to add weight to them than it is a stand with legs!

Andrew.
 
I prefer round base stands simply because they are easier to position in small/crowded spaces. (Like around a drum kit.) I buy used weights @ thrift stores to add ballast when boom arms are fully extended.
 
Just don't go too low, price-wise, on the stand/arm for the overheads. If the clutch can go, it will....and counterweighting too much on the arm to prevent it then puts the strain on the collar lock of the stand itself.

A slowly sinking/dipping stand in mid-show or -recording may be amusing to onlookers, but most likely not to you.....:eek: ;)

Best,
C.
 
Cosmic said:
Just don't go too low, price-wise, on the stand/arm for the overheads. If the clutch can go, it will....and counterweighting too much on the arm to prevent it then puts the strain on the collar lock of the stand itself.

A slowly sinking/dipping stand in mid-show or -recording may be amusing to onlookers, but most likely not to you.....:eek: ;)

Best,
C.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is funny when that happens to someone else...:p

Andrew.
 
Why not use both

Regarding round vs. tripod stands... Just like most gear choices, I find different tools work better depending on the situation.

I use round base stands (yep, with one or two 5 LB. free weights slid over the stand pole - just like the previous poster mentioned) for most in-studio drum and instrument miking. With round stands, it's much easier to get multiple stands next to each other without clutter. Also, a properly "free-weighted" round stand can much more reliably hold a boom without wobble.

However, I do use tripod stands for lightweight items like pop filters. They are great for this - due to the tripod's size, you can easily extend a boom-mounted filter to a faraway (and top heavy) position without any fear of tipping.

Aj
 
I prefer the stands with legs over the standard round base from years of carrying sound system gear-usually quite a few mic stands and P A speaker stands as well. The legs will collapse and I can carry them in tight spaces in my pickup truck. The round bases will also roll around and can easily damage other gear you are carrying.:mad:
 
well, not exactly floating... but close:p

we got sick of trying to position overhead mics around the drums... so i picked
up a couple of flange mount / surface mount mic adapters from radioshack
(Cat# 33-332) and a couple of On-Stage 7" mini booms... mounted them to the
ceiling in the drum room - no more awkward positioning or sinking/dipping stands.:)
the mini-booms have (posi-lok) clutches like what is used on symbol stands

i realise this not much of an option for gigs but for the studio/drum room it
works great for us...
 
yrdbrd said:
well, not exactly floating... but close:p

we got sick of trying to position overhead mics around the drums... so i picked
up a couple of flange mount / surface mount mic adapters from radioshack
(Cat# 33-332) and a couple of On-Stage 7" mini booms... mounted them to the
ceiling in the drum room - no more awkward positioning or sinking/dipping stands.:)
the mini-booms have (posi-lok) clutches like what is used on symbol stands

i realise this not much of an option for gigs but for the studio/drum room it
works great for us...
Click to expand...

Wow, that sounds great. I wish I wish I wish I had a dedicated room for all this stuff.....

Andrew.
 
Even a tripod stand with legs can't hold a heavy mic with the boom all the way out, it still tips over unless you make sure one leg is sticking out precisely to counter-balance. And this limits how you can manoeuvre the legs to fit around other equipment. I mean a heavy mic like a fat condenser in a shock mount. I also find that if the one leg is not out as a counter balance, the boom will, by some kind of invisible force, swing around all on its own to position itself inbetween two legs and thus tip over the stand.

I haven't tried this, but I'm thinking I could use a round base with weights on and it will allow me to boom out a fat mic and not have to deal with tipping OR boom arm swinging. Either that or get another tripod stand with 4 legs that have a wider spread, which only hurts positioning further.

I guess the idea is, keep both types on hand, why else would they make both types!
 
Yo Andydeedpoll! Part of my solution is covered above, namely sliding yard sale free weights over mic stands. It makes a smaller footprint, and drums can be huge floorspace eaters. I like 5 and 10 lbs. Next, there are never enough kick mic stands (mini-booms) They get used for talk-back mics, on cabs. and for voiceovers as desk mics. Third, and last- you need at least 1 (2 would be better) kick-ass, heavy duty mic stands. These are good for your overheads, because the boom stand can reach across the room. These bad boys are also good for a heavy main vocal mic/?tube mic. because thet don't fall over!!! Really good ones like Atlas can be pretty pricey, in the $250 range, or more.

Here's my best advice-

www.musician.com/product/OnStage-Stands-SB96-Studio-Boom-Microphone-Stand?sku=452082

In it's price range, this is by far the best boomstand I have seen. It can put a stereo pair 10' in the air or extend a medium sized mic (say a C414) 7 1/2' horizontally, and be safe (foolproof, not *damn fool*proof). Yep, it has a big footprint, and earns the right. The wheeled legs fold for travel. Nice toothed ratchets that stay where you put them. Dollar for dollar, It may be one of my best and most overlooked pieces of equipment. I've used them for 4 years without a hiccup. For $80 each, I'm impressed. You remember mic stands for what they *don't* do-get in the way and fall over. If you buy one of the stands above and don't like it, talk to me, I've got 2 and am considering a third. Good luck-Richie
 
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Good luck, Andrew. When searching, be careful to put the + sign at the end of the model #. Without that, it's an ordinary tripod boom stand. They were threatening to discontinue the model a couple of years back due to poor sales. That would be a shame. I guess cheap folks like wussy boom stands. I've only seen them at Musician's Friend/Guitar Center and The Sound Room in Connecticut. I do know one guy on this board who got one with a bad weld, but other than that, they have survived heavy use. Good luck again.-Richie
 
for lead singers, the mic stands with the round bottoms are best. you can lean them over, spin them, pick them up easier, etc etc.

however, i prefer tripod stands for positioning microphones. maybe take five minutes to look them over and youll notice you CAN twist different parts of them to get the legs in different positions. it does not have to be awkward.

and i find that there is no practical difference btween cheap stands and expensive stands. like someone said regardless of stand quality, if the boom is all the way out its going to fall. save yourself some cash and stick with the "cheaper" stands and add some weight to the opposite of the boom.
 
Vigilante said:
Even a tripod stand with legs can't hold a heavy mic with the boom all the way out, it still tips over unless you make sure one leg is sticking out precisely to counter-balance.
Click to expand...

Depends on the length of the boom relative to the spread of the legs (and to a lesser extent, the height of the center of gravity).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/407080-REG/On_Stage_SB9600_SB9600_Studio_Tripod_Boom.html

That one can hold a heavy mic at a pretty significant extension because the legs spread to five or six feet. It also takes a huge chunk of real estate, of course....
 
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