What are shockmounts for?

[chamelious]

Please excuse my ignorance, i know if i dug around i could find the answer but its probably a 3 second answer?

 

[Freudian Slip]

to avoid the transmission of vibration from the floor up the stand and to the mic. Could make things pretty rumbly.

F.S.

 

[Freudian Slip]

Oh ya, You should also hang the mic cord slack from the stand to the mic.

 

[Treeline]

Yep. Quiets the sucker right down.

 

[Richard Monroe]

Shock mounts also tend to protect the mic somewhat from drumsticks, tip-overs, guitar smacks, etc. Like a seat belt or an airbag, it may not work, sepending on the impact, but when a mic goes down, you'll be glad it was shock mounted.-Richie

 

[Warhead]

Don't forget, they're also used to make microphone manufacturers rich as hell.

Haha

But seriously, some manufacturers charge like $100 - $200 for the things when bought as replacements.

War