How Do You Store Your Mics?

  • Thread starter Thread starter idoteech
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I am one of the lazies...I keep my two favorite mics out at all times, with baggies to cover them and the others are in zipperbags, boxes or case. If I ever get some drum mics, they will stay out too...with baggies over them. Lord help this idjit....:D
 
I try to keep my mics in their little zipper pouches. If I'm planning to use a mic for a few days, or even a few weeks, I'll leave it in the stand. If I remember (a rarity), I'll hang the zipper pouch over the mic in the stand between uses, just to keep the dust out. In other words, I'm pretty careless with mine.
 
Menards has brushed aluminum tool cases that look like a fat metal briefcase for $15. Inside is removable 1" foam blocks. I trim them and they fit the mics exactly. It looks professional and is great storage/transport for mics.
 
Wooden cigar boxes. Been buying them off eBay for years, just another fantastic use for them!
 
antichef said:
I have them in their zipper pouches, but sometimes I double or triple up similar mics in a single pouch.
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Yeah, you wouldn't want to store different types in the same bag, as they all have different moisture response curves that can damage one another :D

As for me, I leave them in their respective cases. The Rode K2 is in a monstrous molded plastic case that holds the mic, 7-pin cable, power supply & shockmount. I leave the mic itself in the original plastic bag with the desicant packet.

The Rode NT-3 is in its bag with nothing, not even silica... and I believe the Shure SM81 is in its plastic case at the moment, with a silica packet in the box somewhere.

That's all my mics... well, there's the MXL 990's, but honestly... if they got run over by a car, all I would miss them for is the fact that they get used maybe twice a year to record audience ambience at rare live shows :)
 
I keep my condensor mics in their respective cases. For my dynamic mics I keep them in a gun case (pistol size) that I got for like 20 bucks at Turners Outdoorsman. It works really well and it is a lot easier to find the mic I need when I want it.;)
 
Great idea about the silica cat litter!

What kind of cabinet does everyone store all your mics in (while inside their boxes/puches/bags)?

-J
 
I keep mine in the cloth covers and then in plastic airtight boxes (stacked in a cabinet in my control room). I keep silica containers in each box.

If the mics did not come in a pouch (often they come in a case with fitted foam padding), then I use some older pleather cases from older purchases of SM57s etc.

I have a plastic box for all my LD condensors, a box for my SD condensors and a couple of boxes for the dynamics. I have a ton of 57s and 58s in boxes with no pouches (I baby my condensors...but 57s & 58s are meant to be abused).

The only time a mic stays on a stand is in the vocal booth (which is not exposed to any real between session traffic). I always keep a plastic "baggie" on it betwwen sessions.

Speaking of silica - (and I got this idea from someone on this site a few years back). Sporting goods stores have silica packs that are design to go in gun cases. Some have a little color box that indicates if the silica is still working, and if not they can be dried out in the oven. The kitty litter idea is cool - these are perhaps slightly less work.
 
The 57 and 58 live in their black vinyl bags. The expensive mics all have the correct wooden boxes, and they get a Ziploc over the head with silica gel when stored. I live in a humid, polluted environment (Washington DC) so I don't take chances.

Best,
C.
 
I put them back in the plastic bag with the silica gel then back into the case.
 
The only mic I've got where storage is an issue is my ribbon, where it needs to be set with the ribbon held vertically to avoid stretching. With other mic's it's just padded boxes or baggies over mic's on stands for dust protection of condensers.
 
At work I take care of 24 mics in an orchestra pit. At the end of every show, the mics get bagged with a lint free muslin bag but remain on thier stands.
At my home studio I always bag mics when not in use. I use dissicant only for travelling because my humidity at home is controlled and not a problem.
I've been modding apex 460 mics a lot lately for people, and because one of the mods involves removing two inner layers of fine mesh from the headbasket, you have to be really careful about not getting the capsule dirty (condensor capsules attract particles in the air).
Here is an authoritative post:
http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/415/0/

Cheers,
Luthier
 
idoteech said:
We are in the process of building a small studio in an existing building. I am currently buying more and more mics and rather than buying a stand for each of them and taking up room, I am looking for a safe and effective way to store them. Can you please share how you store your mics?
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While I do have cases for almost all of my mikes, the mikes often stay on stands for long periods of time. I don't worry too much about the dynamic mikes or the SM-81/SM-80s, but I do put a plastic cup over the AT 4050 when it's not in use to keep some dust off it.

Cheers,

Otto
 
Plastic cup's a good idea. Would look better than the sandwich baggies I use.:D
 
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