Page 1 of 1

Mic stands

PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 10:19 pm
by dylanger
I invested into 4 K&M mic stands about a month. Each costing $70. I thought I was getting a quality boom stand but they're kinda garbage. I put my AT4040 on one today and tightened more than I thought I should have to. tracked the quick vocal track I was doing then went up stairs for a half hour and it was pointed to the floor. I thought K&M would be the stand to get under $100 but this is not the case. So I'm curious what you folks are using for stands in the Studio?

Re: Mic stands

PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2013 12:46 am
by Malcolm Boyce
I assume you bought some of the more "musician" grade K&M stands. Mic stands are something that I would never skimp on. Saving 30 or 40 dollars per stand sounds like a good idea until you get some time on them. Not necessarily immediately, but over time most cheaper stands will come back to bite you.

Not all K&M stands are useless IME. I believe, like many larger companies, they have come out with lines that betray their brand recognition and the buyer most times doesn't know any better. This is not the first time I've heard this kind of story about K&M.

I'm a fan of Atlas stands and it's all I have in my space as well as the majority of what I use at Imperial Theatre. There are several stands there that would still be on all original parts after nearly 20 years of constant, hard use by many inexperienced hands. They're priced accordingly, and can be difficult to deal with as a supplier, but I highly recommend them as a reliable and serviceable product. Most failures of Atlas that I've had are easily replaceable parts as opposed to many other stands.

Re: Mic stands

PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2013 3:03 pm
by macrae11
Yeah I use K&M stands for all my "extra' stands on big sessions. For holding a heavy load forever with insane flexibility I still prefer C-stands. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/8 ... iding.html

The biggest downside to them is that they will hold a weight much greater than it's legs can support so you have to either be careful with placement or have some extra sandbags lying around.

Re: Mic stands

PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2013 6:38 pm
by dylanger
Well the ones I bought couldn't hold much. They must be the Eco line. I can't get the booms tight enough and they gradually sink to the floor

Re: Mic stands

PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2013 6:47 pm
by macrae11
What was on them and how far out?

Re: Mic stands

PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 1:52 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
AT4040 isn't very heavy, but you still could have it overextended to make it fail if you were "out" far enough. My bet is on crappy stand. Warranty?

Another thing to mention, although I don't think it's what happened here, is that you can certainly make a clutch fail prematurely by over-tightening, as well as not loosening and forcing movement in the stand. I see this all the time and it kills me how many people don't think about what they are doing, especially performers on stage. Singers just bending booms up and down without loosening anything, and then acting like it's broken because it doesn't just "move" for them. These are probably the same people who complain in the middle of their set when a stand starts to droop on them... :evil:

Re: Mic stands

PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 5:26 pm
by Mathieu Benoit
The use of a counter-weight may also be beneficial in your case, Dylan.

Re: Mic stands

PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 5:56 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
Mathieu Benoit wrote:The use of a counter-weight may also be beneficial in your case, Dylan.
...depending on which clutch is failing. If it's the boom clutch, most definitely.

Another benefit of Atlas is moving or wearing parts are easily replaceable. I don't think all stands are as easily serviceable.

Re: Mic stands

PostPosted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 2:37 am
by dylanger
It's the AT4040 and its only 2/3 extended. Dad always taught me to just make it snug and these parts will last much longer. There is a 5 year warranty but I'm pretty sure I'm just gonna take them back and get something better. I've had people tell me tricks and mods to make it better but I don't feel like I should have to do that. I've been using crappy mic stands for a long time and I invested so I wouldn't have to use tape and other things to make them work the way their supposed to.

Re: Mic stands

PostPosted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 10:36 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
dylanger wrote:There is a 5 year warranty but I'm pretty sure I'm just gonna take them back and get something better. I've had people tell me tricks and mods to make it better but I don't feel like I should have to do that. I've been using crappy mic stands for a long time and I invested so I wouldn't have to use tape and other things to make them work the way their supposed to.
This is the better plan IMO. Mods on new gear, just for it to work in it's designed function, is not desirable in any way.

Re: Mic stands

PostPosted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 12:29 pm
by Jef
...and another thing.

Re: Mic stands

PostPosted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 7:36 pm
by Christian LeBlanc
Jef wrote:...and another thing.


(Looks around, sheepishly)