mic boom for recording

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rgraves

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Hi all,

Is there any difference or benefit from a nicer mic stand? I have a cheap guitar center mic stand for $20 bucks and I was looking at getting a couple more mic stands for both live performance and for recording and trying to get some ideas what to look for.

For example I saw on amazon a broadcasting mic boom for $300.00, looked like it was quite large and had wheels which I don't need. But I wasn't sure if there was a difference in quality between certain mic stands, and I'd like to get the nicest one feasible that would actually be used by pro's or such.

Thanks for any help
 
As long as the stand isn't inducing undue resonance into the mic, it really shouldn't make any difference.
 
If you're going to be using them live, look for quality of construction. Things like plastic lock-down handles or cheap tripod assemblys and so forth are things that I'd stay away from because they just don't take the beating on the road. The lead singer for one of my bands just bought himself a slick new lightweight stand that had a real space age looking design to it; it lasted about a month before it broke because that good looking design wasn't really all that well built. Second is try to find one with a low center of gravity. There are some very rugged stands that are a bit on the top-heavy side, and can be much easier to accidentally knock over. Also for live, you might prefer the black stands to the chrome ones if youwant a less conspicuous and cluttered look on stage.

For the studio, one thing I really like to have on at least some of my stands (I have four of them like this) are the ones where the boom is removeable using a design where the boom clamps onto the body of the vertical stand. This is a very flexible, multi-purpose design IMHO, that can be used simultaneously as a vertical stand *and* a boom stand; i.e. you can have a mic on the boom and a mic on the vertical at the same time. I love using this to mount a T adapter on the vertical for a coincident stereo pair and a third mic on the boom. Great for recording stereo acoustic guitar and vocal at the same time or for stereo drum kit and the boom down low hanging the kick mic into the kick hole. Or you can just remove the boom altogether and have just the vertical mic stand, if needed. It's like a 3-in-1 multi-purpose mic stand for the same price as a single boom stand of another design.

G.
 
The parts used on the cheaper stands are often plastic and more prone to breakage, drooping, falls, etc. Better stands tend to be a little more stable and are easier to position/reposition, etc. I just bought a Tama tripod boom stand (upgrading from On-Stage and Rogue stands from Musician's Friend) and am amazed at how much easier it is to adjust -- and it stays where you position it. A good investment, imo, for only $50.

The big counterweighted boom stands with wheels are cool, but probably overkill for most home studios. If I had a more expensive mic collection, I would be inclined to invest in some counterweight stands.
 
that would be more for a radio studio.

it would attach to a table.
 
cello_pudding said:
that would be more for a radio studio.

it would attach to a table.
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Yep, the only thing on that stand that you might need is the shock mount.
 
rgraves said:
I never understood which mics you are supposed to hang upside down or not, and I have several condensors...does it really matter??
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The original idea behind hanging mics upside down was maybe 70% heat consideration and 30% ergonomic.

The main heat consideration was with the old tube mics which could get a bit hot. The thinking is that because heat rises, if the mic were "right side up", the rising heat could distort or even damage the microphone capsule. Hanging the mic upside down lets the heat rise up away from the capsule.

There is also a bit of an ergononics issue. If the mic is hanging from a boom, hanging the mic upside down lets one rise the boom higher out of the way. This can come in handy especially if the artist has a music stand in front of them; it makes for more room and a more unobstructed view of the music stand.

But most importantly...it just looks cooler to hang it upside down! ;) :D

G.
 
A good spread of the legs is very important.

Massive Master said:
As long as the stand isn't inducing undue resonance into the mic, it really shouldn't make any difference.
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This is very true, but you can use a small piece of carpet underneath them, or make sure you're not too close to the drums. make sure that they don't have crappy rubber shoes on em'. I bought mine new at this pawn shop type of place, I ask the guy how much?then told me, then I ask how much for two, and then three and he dropped the price every time. Like someone else said up there, if you're going to use them live also make sure the have some weight at the bottom so it's not wobbly and that the legs spread out enough for sturdiness.
 
I've used a few different brands of (non-boom) mic stands and the one I've liked best for quality of construction and
design has been Ultimate-Support.
 
I have a lot of the older sE booms called Ghost, they do not make them any more but you can get them from aair stand company google them
 
To me, the benefit of the big boom stands is that it makes things easier. Positioning drum overheads is a piece of cake; I don't have to worry about the stand tipping over if I get the boom high and/or extended.

But they do take up a lot of room.
 
AGCurry said:
To me, the benefit of the big boom stands is that it makes things easier. Positioning drum overheads is a piece of cake; I don't have to worry about the stand tipping over if I get the boom high and/or extended.

But they do take up a lot of room.
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I agree 100%

If you get some with wheels even easier that is why I have these in my studio still. The not only reach everything i need but the fold down to almost nothing like 3 feet so i can place them in my gear closet when I am done
 
Regardless of booms, if you have limited space for the stand, get a normal 1 piece mic stand and stick a carpet under the base for reducing vibrations to the mic.
 
Quicklok came out with a new stand (A85) that is on my short list. It's studio-style boom, with speaker-stand style collapsable legs, reasonably priced compared to other studio booms. Looks to be solid like a big honkin' boom, but storable/transportable like a stage boom. I'll get a couple of Tama's and a couple of these when I have the cash. No more teetering overheads for me, thanks.
 
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