Exciting question: which mic stand?

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Grotius

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I bought a couple of "On Stage" mic stands (with booms) from Guitar Center to mike my piano for classical music. The stands are okay for distance miking, but I am starting to experiment with close miking, and they seem a little too wobbly. I would never forgive myself if I scratched my piano (or busted a mic) because I was using a cheap stand.

I've searched this forum and found one or two threads that suggest that Atlas stands/booms are sturdy. Does anyone have other suggestions?
 
I suppose it depends on how heavy your mics are, but I have a pair of Tama boom stands that are quite solid. Not like those Ultra stands I have; those things are OK for non-critical use but kind of suck.
 
I know it's a minor thing but tripod stands that don't lock out in place suck and cause, over time, a lot of wasted effort in set ups and tear downs. When you've got a armload of stands with legs that just hang there, how do you get em to stand?
 
Grotius said:

I've searched this forum and found one or two threads that suggest that Atlas stands/booms are sturdy. Does anyone have other suggestions?
Click to expand...

And what is your reason for NOT wanting to buy the Atlas stands?
 
<< And what is your reason for NOT wanting to buy the Atlas stands? >>

I just haven't found them locally yet, littledog. Yes, there is always mail-order...
 
Very few retail stores stock Atlas. Try Full Compass. You want the one with the heavy triangular base - it will never tip unless you try doing chin -ups on it. To save money, just buy the straight stand. You can always attach your own (cheaper) boom arm (any standard model) later.
 
For now just make sure one of the legs is always parallel with the boom arm. You can also add some small sand bags or something with weight to the bass for extra safety.
 
boom stands

Try On Stage SB96 PLUS (about $70.00 at guitar center). It has a big footprint, which can be in the way, but if you use heavy mics (I use AKG Solid Tube and SP C3, which are both pretty big and heavy), you need at least one heavy duty boom. This is also a good stand for high overheads, and should be just what you need. Unless you do something dumb, I doubt you can get one of these to drop a mic on your piano.- Best of luck- Richie
 
I use elcheapo ultra tripod boom stands with 10 or 20kg of weight on them. I take the boom off and take the rest of the stand a part and then I slide weights from a workout set down the pipe. Reassamble the stand and you have one stable mic stand.

With my studio projects C1 on the end of the fully extended boom and at full height the stand begins to bend alittle nothing major. A better quality stand with heaver metal pipes would be better.
 
Wow, lots of great suggestions here. Thanks, everyone. Time to go shopping...
 
Grotius said:
I bought a couple of "On Stage" mic stands (with booms) from Guitar Center to mike my piano for classical music. The stands are okay for distance miking, but I am starting to experiment with close miking, and they seem a little too wobbly...
Click to expand...
You mean like these:


(The mics are not positioned)
 

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Grotius, we've educated you, now educate us. What did you finally buy, and how did it work?-Richie
 
Richie -- Sorry I did not reply sooner. I bought a couple of Tama stands. They are an order of magnitude sturdier than the On Stage stands. I did find one local dealer who stocked a limited assortment of Atlas stands, but they were overkill for me -- big tall thingies that would put holes in my ceiling. (grin) Anyway, I'm pretty happy with these Tama's. For $35 each, including the boom, the price was right. I just finished a session with them, and they were rock solid. I imagine, though, that the Atlas stands would be even sturdier. I just didn't want to do the mail order thing.

Michael -- Yes, close-miking kinda like that. I've been following your threads with Harvey and Littledog with great interest. I too struggle with phase problems, and I too have tried SD condensers (MC012s) and medium-diaphragm condensers (AT4033SEs). Your threads have been helpful. FWIW, I'm recording classical and jazz on a new Bluthner Model 4, a 7-foot German piano. It was tuned just two days ago (smile).
 
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