0519 – Mic Stands, Arms and Mounts

2022.06.03 – 0519 – Mic Stands, Arms and Mounts

Mic stands, arms and mounts

It makes sense that desk mics are those on a stand, on a desk. And touch of the base of the stand, or a knock of the desk itself, may likely be heard through the microphone.

That’s why many studios have the main mic held in an Anglepoise-type arm, which can often be adjustable inasmuch as you can alter the height or distance from you, to get that Goldilocks position that you are comfortable with. However, it’s a sad fact that some professionally-designed studios have the arm clamped to the desk in such a way that either the arm or the mic itself partly obscures the screen that you are reading from.

Other studios have mics suspended from the ceiling in a carefully balanced combination of wires, which are less easy to alter for height or distance.

Whether on an arm or from the ceiling, the mics are unlikely to be simply clipped into a clamp, but held in place in a ‘cats cradle’ of taught elastic. These are often called ‘shock mounts’[1].

Studio microphones are deliberately designed to pick up low frequencies but that means they are also very sensitive to rumble and vibrations (properly called “structure borne noise” or “impact noise”). But you can only make use of the ability to record bass frequencies if they aren’t drowned in rumble noises. Hence, the elastic suspension.

Such a mount also helps protect the recording from accidental bumps on the mic stand, because they dampen the impact noise before it even reaches the mic.

Such mounts are delicate and intricate, so don’t go moving them without knowing just what you are doing! In fact, don’t go touching the mic at all unless you know that it is OK to do so. Certainly, don’t tap or blow in to it to “check it works”, or even touch or tap the base or stand.

[1] Hear sound samples with and without shock mounts: https://www.neumann.com/homestudio/en/do-i-really-need-a-shock-mount

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