open mouth.......
<<If you guys can't see the writing on the wall then spelling it out for you is a waste of bandwidth............>>
C7 and Riley, i respect your opinions and the fact that y'all make good music....and i agree with y'all *most* of the time.....but....
...but i tell ya what: you find me an all-american made mic that rivals the Studio Projects B1 in function, quality and price, and i'll be the first one in line. Make it $30 more if you have to, i don't care.
my point is, i buy american and support american companies and workers (which, last i checked, PMI Audio and Alan Hyatt both counted as) whenever i can. i'm all for helping and supporting those "at home". i buy and drive american trucks (and so does my wife), i use Craftsman tools, play American-made guitars (Martins and US-made Fenders), vote Libertarian and eat produce grown locally here in Central VA. i listen to Denis Leary, George Carlin and Santana (oops, he's mexican.....but he played at woodstock, can i still listen to him?). however, like most people, I have a finite amount of money and like most americans, i want the best bang for my hard-earned buck. if an american-made product gives me that, perfect.
i don't suppose those of you spouting anti-chinese rhetoric have any german-made mics, do you? what about russian-made ones? or heaven forbid those really freaky lookin ones coming from that there Baltic region. what are those people smoking to be making such freaky lookin mics? their local produce, i suppose......but no matter--they sure don't look a'merkin to me.
in other words, you'd better have an incredibly small mic locker b/c there's no way you can bash chinese-made mics for the sole reason they're not made in the US all the while supporting german or russian manufacturers (or heaven forbid those genius freaks at B.L.U.E.). otherwise you've got one hell of a double standard.
you don't drink coffee or eat kiwis, bananas or papayas, do you? you don't use nutmeg, pepper, vanilla or cinnamon, do you? and i hope your wife doesn't have any diamonds, emeralds, rubies or tanzanite, b/c none of that stuff comes from the US. and those poor souls who do the harvesting (mining, etc) aren't paid squat for their honest days' work. less than those chinese mic stand makers, even. and let's not even start on what brand TV you might have.....OR the fact that a lot of american-made goods are simply overpriced shoddy pieces of crap (*cough* my wife's chevy cavalier *cough*).
anyway, so let's open our brains and think a little bit before we start throwing stones. and let's open our eyes to the fact that it's a WORLD we live in and a large part of the stuff you and i use on a daily basis just plain isn't made in the US.
a good mic is a good mic, regardless of how expensive or inexpensive it is, where it's made or whose hands made it.
rantalicious,
wade
PS--now can we PLEASE get back to talking about MUSIC and RECORDING? If i wanted myopic politics, i'd discuss rush limbaugh with donna shalala. in the words of rodney king, "can't we all just get along?"
Oh, and mikeyc222, buy whatever freaking mic stand is the best one that your budget allows. just like you'd do with mics, pre's, mixing boards, cars, houses, boats and guitars.