It's so true: mic stands are so easy to overlook because they're so boring in terms of music and audio (they aren't usually thought of as instruments or tools, like a guitar or a microphone), but they're extremely important, precisely because they have one simple job: holding the mic in place! I definitely recommend investing in some good mic stands or arms and avoiding unnecessary headaches in the future.
You forgot to mention the Number 1 rule with boom stands- ALWAYS put the tightening knob on the right side, as the boom is extended AWAY from you! It will tighten as the boom is pulled down into position. You show the knob on the LEFT side, so of course it'll fall, because it's loosening the knob!
One thing about K&M microphone stands that is completely overlooked here: spare parts!! Many years ago, I found out the Canadian distributor had replacement parts for literally ANYTHING that either broke (rare) or got worn out (less rare). I was sent a parts catalogue and you could order additional booms and anything else direct from their distribution warehouse. It kept a number of mic stands in use for many decades.
I have had decent luck with inexpensive mic stands for my home studio. You just have known and understand their limitations. I use these for more permanent setups as they can’t take the constant abuse of folding and unfolding, etc.. K&M’s are definitely good stands. That’s all we use in our commercial studio.
It's the little things that matter right?. In the festival world a lot of guys are using clips that attach to cymbal stands so as to have more room on the drum riser. Usually when this is done the cymbals are miced from underneath. Works great!. Thanks for the video. 😎
One of the biggest issues is not having the correct weighting on the opposite end of the boom arm...especially when you are extending it to its fullest length. So many people think the base or legs/feet are the answer here, but in fact adding weights/sand bags, etc... to the end of the boom will help stabilise it better. ALSO broadcast arms...beware the cheap ones that are repurposed light/lamp arms and have springs to hold them in place. The springs can often resonate with the voice/instrument. This is especially a problem in small booths e.g. audiobook booths. It is always worth paying a bit more for a gas-based arm.
One thing that can improve your audio if you are recording a speaker at a podium. It seems simple to put a short table stand on the podium, but this will pick up sounds directly from the surface. People often pound on the podium, drop pens on it, or knock it with a knee or foot, creating a sound that's much louder in the mic pickup than the ambient air. Much better to put the mic on a floor stand, not touching the podium, so there is an acoustic insulation between the mic and the speaker. Use a short boom if necessary; a larger boom with an overhead mic is often a better idea if appropriate.
Great point! I also notice in many RUclips videos that there is way too much room reverb. All it takes is a few towels placed on some of the reflective surfaces (out of camera view) to take care of this issue.
as soon as i started earning enough money -K&M and spending extra to get the best. Never looked back. So nice to have propor equipment for the job. You can rely on it for any professional situation
I have the tall, vocal mic/boom version DR Pro mic stand. It is easily 12-14 years old and has held up extremely well. I've seen so many cheap mic stands fail, and believe this brand of stands are well worth the extra cost. I have not had any issues whatsoever, and just ordered a short one for a kick drum. I haven't used the K&M, but it looks like good quality. I don't regret buying the DR Pro version. Don't skimp on cheap mic stands that will wear out prematurely.
I second this video. At our church we have K&M stands that are 20 years old and are still going strong. I was shocked last year when we needed a couple extra's at how much they cost. But considering they last a long time they are well worth it. The only problem we have is that the rubber feet get loose after a couple of years. We use the stands every Sunday and have to build the stage every week and break down.
I bought K&M mic stands for my band after all the cheap ones became prone to sagging or fell apart and the difference is huge. The K&M's are so heavy and I find this this helps prevent noise and feedback also worth mentioning is that with the K&M's if you lose a thumbwheel, screw or rubber foot etc you can buy spares which you generally can't for cheap stands which extends the useful working life of the stands which is a good thing as they're quite expensive. I also have a couple of very old (from the 60's) Valens atlas pneumatic action mic stands for the vocalists which are great if you can find them.
I've had a lot of issues with the small table top stands wanting to fall over unless you get them in the right angle because of the wedge shaped foot and I didn't really want the heavy round base ones as they don't pack up well for a mobile set up. I finally managed to track down a short stand that's got folding collapsible legs! They are so much easier to get in by the kick drum / amp and I didn't have to cut down a regular one which is also something I was avoiding. Oh yeah I also didn't wanna pay twice as much as a tall stand for have to stand. So far I've been very impressed with it Ultimate Support JS-MCFB50. Most of my stands I think are onstage and somehow I got lucky enough to acquire 4 really fancy Hercules ones with the quick adjustments... all I had to do was get rid of the sticky rubber coating.... and two-part Apoxsee the ones that had cracking on their handles. If the above isn't small enough this is more of a table top stand Peak Music Stands SM-02 it's a little bit more plasticky but so far I was impressed with the build quality. You definitely get what you pay for, I bought one stand for my mom and chipped out a little, not only is the two extension boom fiddly it rusted easily it's heavier and there's all sorts of spots that need to be tightened for it to be used.
Good video about a topic not often talked about enough, may I also suggest you look into gravity stands, they are cheaper than K&M but in my opinion they are high quality, I use one to hold my canon M50 II camera and haven't had an issues at all also, the triad Orbit stuff is absolutely amazing, I plan to upgrade most of my stands to them even though they cost more they are just a better design overall, and high quality.
@@AudioUniversity Not really. I'm generally curious. My Rode NT-1a and PodMic both came with mounts. I do have an IK Multimedia measurement mic that a friend gave me that I don't know how to attach anywhere, but I don't really need it anyway. Somewhere down the line, I'll probably buy a directional shotgun mic and a dynamic vocal mic (e.g. SM58). The former because I'm curious and the latter because I want to have friends over to play acoustic guitar and sing. I'm usually happy with the gear that I buy, but the accessories (cables, stands, adapters, ...) are where I tend to screw up. 😁
In my experience ( related to church) the importance of mic stand is so underrated. Thanks for this. I also think we see to much tripod base, I really prefer round base on the stage, much cleaner and takes less space. What’s your opinion on this ? And about the brand, I’ve found a new brand in Europe called gravity.
My dented 58's can attest to the slippage of (cheaper) boom mic stands! One thing you didn't cover was clip on stands for drum rims and guitar cabs. -And with that, the Euro thread adapters that are usually part of these clips. Not to mention the other mic stand accessories like stereo bars, flange mounts, etc. K&M makes really great accessories like these.
Hey Thanks for you great content Do you remember what is shotgun microphone you are using here ? if not, that you are using now in your videos ? Thank you !
Strange, I bought 3 or 4 K&M stands expecting them to do exactly what was said in the video. In the end, I got rid of them all as their joints stuck, the screws wouldn't bite properly and they couldn't take the weight of a condenser mic. Bought another brand of more affordable mic stands and have found them to be much more stable and better all round.
I have the same problem with my K & M...it will not hold my AKG 420 condenser microphone, without the boom arm going down. I think I'm going to look into the other brand you mentioned!!
Love your videos man. I've worked in radio for 20 years and love audio production. I have an old mic stand that i need to replace and I'm getting the K & M (210/9)2 Pack Bundle Soon. 2 Questions: 1- What gear did you use to record this video? Mic, DAW, Interface, etc. 2- Did you know the price of the K&M 210/9 is now over $100?
Cheap stands ... hahahaha reminds me the days of when I was starting my studio and was on extremely tight budget .... placed the overheads on a couple of those cheap crap mike stands and got the overheads on my head as I was the victim drummer hahahahahahaha Nice video man .. greatly explained and to the point without fluffy words to make it boring :)
One overlooked fact of why "microphone stands" are overlooked (ha ha, twice the looking over) is that there is a myriad of user impressions (paid or otherwise, Reviews they call em) on most audio gear, yet nobody talks about what's a good stand - what's a bad stand, "no, don't get this stand - get this one instead" .. No attention, no attraction, silent suffering. :- )
Sorry to hear that... I have not had this experience with the SM7B. Make sure that the tightening handle faces you while the boom extends to the right. This will ensure that the weight of the microphone tightens the boom angle adjustment rather than loosening it...
I have just bought Peavey stand with a mic on eBay. Guess what!!! I have done mistake no3. I don’t know if the aging of stands causes this fault or just it is a factory fault. What would you recommend me to buy? Thanks.
By divine intervention, I found 6 DR pro mic stands at a church and got them all for $20! They even threw in some cables and 4 sm58s for free😭 Before that I had a pyle stand i got for 20 and it was the worst
You said a standard sized boom stand might be too short to mic amps that are on the floor. If I had the amp on a mic stand would that help? Dumb question I know.
I consider the standard size to be about waist height at its lowest. So I’ll usually use a standard one like that, but will often pair it with a shorter stand for stereo recording.
![Tee Grizzley - Detroit (Feat. 42 Dugg) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aeKfTtt0x14/mqdefault.jpg)
It's so true: mic stands are so easy to overlook because they're so boring in terms of music and audio (they aren't usually thought of as instruments or tools, like a guitar or a microphone), but they're extremely important, precisely because they have one simple job: holding the mic in place! I definitely recommend investing in some good mic stands or arms and avoiding unnecessary headaches in the future.
Well said! Thanks for watching!
You forgot to mention the Number 1 rule with boom stands- ALWAYS put the tightening knob on the right side, as the boom is extended AWAY from you! It will tighten as the boom is pulled down into position. You show the knob on the LEFT side, so of course it'll fall, because it's loosening the knob!
Good point, Rusty. Thanks!
that’s wicked smart… never considered it!!
Can I ask--when you say "left" and "right," how are you orienting that?
That is absolutely a brilliant observation!Thank you!
One thing about K&M microphone stands that is completely overlooked here: spare parts!!
Many years ago, I found out the Canadian distributor had replacement parts for literally ANYTHING that either broke (rare) or got worn out (less rare). I was sent a parts catalogue and you could order additional booms and anything else direct from their distribution warehouse. It kept a number of mic stands in use for many decades.
Great point, Henry! Thanks!
I have had decent luck with inexpensive mic stands for my home studio. You just have known and understand their limitations. I use these for more permanent setups as they can’t take the constant abuse of folding and unfolding, etc.. K&M’s are definitely good stands. That’s all we use in our commercial studio.
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts, TB Player! Much appreciated.
Just on time! Thinking of buying 1 for vocal recordings and 1 for guitar amp recording. Excellent!
Glad to help, Daniel! Thanks for watching!
It's the little things that matter right?. In the festival world a lot of guys are using clips that attach to cymbal stands so as to have more room on the drum riser. Usually when this is done the cymbals are miced from underneath. Works great!. Thanks for the video. 😎
Yes! Good point, James. These are called LP Claws (Latin Percussion). Thanks for mentioning that.
One of the biggest issues is not having the correct weighting on the opposite end of the boom arm...especially when you are extending it to its fullest length. So many people think the base or legs/feet are the answer here, but in fact adding weights/sand bags, etc... to the end of the boom will help stabilise it better. ALSO broadcast arms...beware the cheap ones that are repurposed light/lamp arms and have springs to hold them in place. The springs can often resonate with the voice/instrument. This is especially a problem in small booths e.g. audiobook booths. It is always worth paying a bit more for a gas-based arm.
One thing that can improve your audio if you are recording a speaker at a podium. It seems simple to put a short table stand on the podium, but this will pick up sounds directly from the surface. People often pound on the podium, drop pens on it, or knock it with a knee or foot, creating a sound that's much louder in the mic pickup than the ambient air. Much better to put the mic on a floor stand, not touching the podium, so there is an acoustic insulation between the mic and the speaker. Use a short boom if necessary; a larger boom with an overhead mic is often a better idea if appropriate.
Thanks for watching and sharing this tip!
Great point! I also notice in many RUclips videos that there is way too much room reverb. All it takes is a few towels placed on some of the reflective surfaces (out of camera view) to take care of this issue.
Excellent video. It's amazing how little thought goes into having a decent mic stand. Thanks for showing us the pros & cons. Regards from Australia.
Glad to help, Geoff! Thanks for watching.
as soon as i started earning enough money -K&M and spending extra to get the best. Never looked back. So nice to have propor equipment for the job. You can rely on it for any professional situation
Well said, Joe! Thanks for watching.
I have the tall, vocal mic/boom version DR Pro mic stand. It is easily 12-14 years old and has held up extremely well. I've seen so many cheap mic stands fail, and believe this brand of stands are well worth the extra cost. I have not had any issues whatsoever, and just ordered a short one for a kick drum. I haven't used the K&M, but it looks like good quality. I don't regret buying the DR Pro version. Don't skimp on cheap mic stands that will wear out prematurely.
I second this video. At our church we have K&M stands that are 20 years old and are still going strong. I was shocked last year when we needed a couple extra's at how much they cost. But considering they last a long time they are well worth it.
The only problem we have is that the rubber feet get loose after a couple of years. We use the stands every Sunday and have to build the stage every week and break down.
Thanks for sharing your experience here! And thanks for watching!
I bought K&M mic stands for my band after all the cheap ones became prone to sagging or fell apart and the difference is huge.
The K&M's are so heavy and I find this this helps prevent noise and feedback also worth mentioning is that with the K&M's if you lose a thumbwheel, screw or rubber foot etc you can buy spares which you generally can't for cheap stands which extends the useful working life of the stands which is a good thing as they're quite expensive.
I also have a couple of very old (from the 60's) Valens atlas pneumatic action mic stands for the vocalists which are great if you can find them.
Great point in the spare parts! Thanks, Rich.
I found this very helpful,thank you
Just an excellent video, thank yout
I've had a lot of issues with the small table top stands wanting to fall over unless you get them in the right angle because of the wedge shaped foot and I didn't really want the heavy round base ones as they don't pack up well for a mobile set up. I finally managed to track down a short stand that's got folding collapsible legs! They are so much easier to get in by the kick drum / amp and I didn't have to cut down a regular one which is also something I was avoiding. Oh yeah I also didn't wanna pay twice as much as a tall stand for have to stand.
So far I've been very impressed with it Ultimate Support JS-MCFB50.
Most of my stands I think are onstage and somehow I got lucky enough to acquire 4 really fancy Hercules ones with the quick adjustments... all I had to do was get rid of the sticky rubber coating.... and two-part Apoxsee the ones that had cracking on their handles.
If the above isn't small enough this is more of a table top stand Peak Music Stands SM-02 it's a little bit more plasticky but so far I was impressed with the build quality.
You definitely get what you pay for, I bought one stand for my mom and chipped out a little, not only is the two extension boom fiddly it rusted easily it's heavier and there's all sorts of spots that need to be tightened for it to be used.
You live and learn something new everyday.... Have experianced the same with Mic Stands... Great advice and thanks so much
I didn't know there's recommended brand for good mic stands. I have never done that research before. Thanks for the recommendation.
Glad to help! Thanks for watching.
04:26 That dent on your SM58 mic grille drove me nuts!
It's a crazy pet peeve of mine. I always buy the replacement grille after I dent one 😁!
There are so many crappy mic stands. My best one was stolen. Love it. Great milling on the mic holder. All others str out.
Thanks for watching!
Good video about a topic not often talked about enough, may I also suggest you look into gravity stands, they are cheaper than K&M but in my opinion they are high quality, I use one to hold my canon M50 II camera and haven't had an issues at all also, the triad Orbit stuff is absolutely amazing, I plan to upgrade most of my stands to them even though they cost more they are just a better design overall, and high quality.
Thanks! Got a K&M stand through your link 🤝
your my hero man don’t let anyone tell u otherwise
4:32 a few ruined recordings and several roll of duct tapes later i realize
just get better duct tapes
several years later....same mic stand
This is really good , know what you wants before buying....great tutorial.
Thanks for watching!
Counteract boom-droop by taping something about the weight of a microphone to the other end.
Great video thanks
Glad you liked it, Roger! Thanks for watching.
I was hoping you'd go into microphone mounts and clips as well. Maybe in another video?
Is there a particular mic for which you’re shopping for a clip?
@@AudioUniversity Not really. I'm generally curious. My Rode NT-1a and PodMic both came with mounts. I do have an IK Multimedia measurement mic that a friend gave me that I don't know how to attach anywhere, but I don't really need it anyway. Somewhere down the line, I'll probably buy a directional shotgun mic and a dynamic vocal mic (e.g. SM58). The former because I'm curious and the latter because I want to have friends over to play acoustic guitar and sing.
I'm usually happy with the gear that I buy, but the accessories (cables, stands, adapters, ...) are where I tend to screw up. 😁
In my experience ( related to church) the importance of mic stand is so underrated. Thanks for this.
I also think we see to much tripod base, I really prefer round base on the stage, much cleaner and takes less space. What’s your opinion on this ?
And about the brand, I’ve found a new brand in Europe called gravity.
Thanks for watching!
My dented 58's can attest to the slippage of (cheaper) boom mic stands! One thing you didn't cover was clip on stands for drum rims and guitar cabs. -And with that, the Euro thread adapters that are usually part of these clips. Not to mention the other mic stand accessories like stereo bars, flange mounts, etc. K&M makes really great accessories like these.
Same here, Jo! Thanks for mentioning these other accessories, too. Latin Percussion makes some good clamp-on mic holders.
Hey Thanks for you great content
Do you remember what is shotgun microphone you are using here ?
if not, that you are using now in your videos ?
Thank you !
Strange, I bought 3 or 4 K&M stands expecting them to do exactly what was said in the video. In the end, I got rid of them all as their joints stuck, the screws wouldn't bite properly and they couldn't take the weight of a condenser mic. Bought another brand of more affordable mic stands and have found them to be much more stable and better all round.
Sorry to hear that, Nick. I’ve always had good luck with them. What brand did you end up using?
@@AudioUniversity I am now using Tama. I find them pretty stable and versatile.
I have the same problem with my K & M...it will not hold my AKG 420 condenser microphone, without the boom arm going down. I think I'm going to look into the other brand you mentioned!!
You could just use counterweights for the boom arm.
What’s the best mic stand for sitting in an arm chair and having the mic stand just out of the camera shot
so whats an example or brand for a standard mic stand??
Love your videos man. I've worked in radio for 20 years and love audio production. I have an old mic stand that i need to replace and I'm getting the K & M (210/9)2 Pack Bundle Soon.
2 Questions:
1- What gear did you use to record this video? Mic, DAW, Interface, etc.
2- Did you know the price of the K&M 210/9 is now over $100?
another great mic stand brands that are solid, have heavy bases and are cheaper are the mic stands by Gravity
Thanks for the recommendation!
I need one that works outside in wind. Thoughts?
Will you do such video for a boom arm microphone stands?
Is that a BlackVolt Amp?
what are your thoughts on gravity stands?
Cheap stands ... hahahaha reminds me the days of when I was starting my studio and was on extremely tight budget .... placed the overheads on a couple of those cheap crap mike stands and got the overheads on my head as I was the victim drummer hahahahahahaha
Nice video man .. greatly explained and to the point without fluffy words to make it boring :)
Cheap mic stands are for the SDCs you don't care about much. Too light to fall down, and if they do: no big loss lol.
Thanks for watching!
One overlooked fact of why "microphone stands" are overlooked (ha ha, twice the looking over) is that there is a myriad of user impressions (paid or otherwise, Reviews they call em) on most audio gear, yet nobody talks about what's a good stand - what's a bad stand, "no, don't get this stand - get this one instead" ..
No attention, no attraction, silent suffering. :- )
I want to place microphone upside down in my recording studio, what is the best and the budget solution?
The cheaper the stand...the weaker the stand💯👊
Agreed! Well said!
I have not found K & M mic stands to be that reliable. Their regular boom stand cannot hold a SM7B mic at any distance without drooping.
Sorry to hear that... I have not had this experience with the SM7B. Make sure that the tightening handle faces you while the boom extends to the right. This will ensure that the weight of the microphone tightens the boom angle adjustment rather than loosening it...
I have just bought Peavey stand with a mic on eBay. Guess what!!! I have done mistake no3. I don’t know if the aging of stands causes this fault or just it is a factory fault. What would you recommend me to buy? Thanks.
There are some links in the description to some of my recommendations. K&M stands are my favorite. On Stage stands are a good budget option.
Is that possible to attach Condenser mic with boom stand?
Hi... How eq 31 band for the soft bass., Thanks from Philippines
You'd honestly very likely be much better off spending less on a mic in order to afford a better, more stable, more *durable* stand.
Utility gear buys are the stuff of nightmares
By divine intervention, I found 6 DR pro mic stands at a church and got them all for $20! They even threw in some cables and 4 sm58s for free😭 Before that I had a pyle stand i got for 20 and it was the worst
Wow! That’s quite a deal, Joey! Nice!
Do not buy Hercules mic stands, the rubber parts become sticky and it’s nasty
James Brown has left the chat.
You said a standard sized boom stand might be too short to mic amps that are on the floor. If I had the amp on a mic stand would that help? Dumb question I know.
If you elevated the amp on a shelf or chair, that would help.
@@AudioUniversity thanks! I only ask because I feel like the shorter stand wouldn’t be tall enough for acoustic recordings.
Yeah. I like to use tall stands sometimes for acoustic. Although, I’ll often use one short, one tall for stereo acoustic recording.
@@AudioUniversity when you say short stand for acoustic you mean the standard sized one and not the even smaller one?
I consider the standard size to be about waist height at its lowest. So I’ll usually use a standard one like that, but will often pair it with a shorter stand for stereo recording.