Advice on Stands and Cables

[JGEllis]

Hey Guys,

I am trying to a get a little home studio set up, nothing fancy by any means, just a little so called "studio" that will share occupancy with me in a room and I have some questions regarding mic stands and cables, as I have done some research, and decided that I really don't want to go all out cheap, as I plan to setup a full on project studio someday. But with that, right now I need stuff that will last but not break the budget too much. To give you a range to work with, I can't really afford the really expensive $80 + stands at the moment. Here is just a quick rundown of the setup I currently have and what I plan to purchase before I get into the questions.

I currently have:

Korg D16 Digital Recording Studio
M Audio DMP3
Studio Matched Pair of MXL603's
2 additional half decent mics by Shure and Samson (sort of no-name budget mics, but sound decent)
On Stage tripod mic Stand

I plan on purchasing:

At least 1 Shure SM57 (snare micing mostly)
1 Shure Beta 52 (bass drum micing mostly)
2 boom mic stands for the MXL603's
1 bass drum mic stand
good quality cables.

I have a question on the stands and cables.

I will mostly be recording drums, various other percussion (djembe, shakers etc.), guitar, and vocals for various personal projects. And I have been looking at this site -->

http://www.northernsound.net/Sales/standsaudio/frame.html

and then found these on 8th street -->

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=1914&Category=Stands

Will the K&M 27105B's be good for the MXL603's? $40-50 Dollars is pretty much the price I am willing to pay at the moment, but I do want stands that will do the job, so if that won't cut it, I will have to save a bit more. The On-Stage stand I have at the moment is just terrible and keeps slipping and eventually the boom ends up creeping down until it is completely collapsed. So I am definitely not going the cheap route with stands. I also need some advice on a good bass drum mic stand. And as for cables, what is some good stuff to get? I would love Mogami, and I would love to try make my own sometime, but for now I really need some stuff to purchase, and I don't mind spending the $ on Mogami, but what price range would I be looking at for 3 cables, 2 that are XLR - XLR and 1 that is XLR to 1/4" (For the Beta 52) And if there is any alternatives that won't sacrifice quality too much, that would also be an option. I also just realized that I would also need cables to connect MXL603's running through the DMP3 to my Korg D16, so advice on that would also be great.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to give you all the details, and I really want to start some recording soon! I have had the MXL603's for sometime now and haven't even used them!

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[mshilarious]

You just don't know with stands until you use them. Maybe somebody here will have used those exact stands. I use Tama stands, which are $40 and are nice.

I prefer tripod stands in the studio as they collapse well for storage & fit into tight places better than weighted stands--those I save for live use. For kick drum, any old desktop weighted stand works fine.

The cables I use are 22-gauge with Neutrik connectors, some I bought and some I made. I've never had one of these let go, and I must have 30 of them or so, including 6 50' cables that get a lot of abuse. The brand isn't important (I make my own now), but I'd definitely recommend 22-gauge wire and Neutrik connectors. I don't think there's a sound difference in the gauge, but the heavier gauges seem much more durable.

 

[JGEllis]

Hey there,

I have seen the tama stands, I am thinking of trying the K&M 27105B's I would just love it if someone on here has tried them.

Also thanks for the info on the cables, I will look into making some in the future, but for now I am definitely just going to be purchasing ready made cables.

 

[boingoman]

I am a big fan of K&M and Atlas.
The 27105 is K&M's "budget" stand. The base is some kind of fibreglass(instead of metal) that is tough as hell. I bought one by mistake(thought I was getting a great deal) but have not been disappointed. The parts are easily replaceable. I've had it for a few years of very rough use and it has stood up as well as it's more expensive siblings. The clutch is the same as the more expensive stand. The only thing I've noticed is that they put the same legs on the short version of this stand, instead of like the top-of-the line where the legs are shorter on the short stand.

The boom is the same way. Plastic housing instead of metal, but easily adjustable and very solid.

Go for it. They are a really good deal.

p.s. why in the world are you going xlr-1/4" on the beta 52? If it's because you don't have a xlr input for it make sure you use a lo-high transformer or it will sound like butt.

 

[JGEllis]

Hey man,

Thanks for that. I am definitely feeling confident about those stands then. Do you have any advice on the cables?

Otherwise, about the XLR - 1/4" on the Beta 52. Yeah I actually don't have another XLR on the D16, but I just realized that with the MXL603's running through the DMP3, I will have both of those XLR inputs on the D16 open. My only concern then is, I will have to use 1/4" cables to connect the MXL603's from the DMP3 to the D16, I'm a bit confused on that, and any advice would be good.

Thanks for the help so far.

 

[JGEllis]

Can anyone else help out?