Microphone boom for guitar?

[Hydroman52]

I am in need of running two microphones for amplification/recording of vocals and guitar. Right now I have two boom mic stands holding the mics. I would like to reduce clutter and use a mic boom for the guitar mic that clamps to the stand post of one stand so I can get rid of one of the stands that I am now using. I am also considering a clamp with a “goose-neck”. I have used a goose-neck before, but that was a long time ago and can’t remember pros and cons.

I am using Shure M58 mics for vocals and Shure M57 mics for guitar.

My question . . . . . anyone have experience here? Recommendations? Brands? Other ideas?

I would like to solve this ASAP . . . . . . . . . we are running out of space in the practice room and are starting to bump into things. Price range would be $25 - $75.

Thanks,
Hydroman52

[Hydroman52]

Okay, so here is what I am thinking of getting:

Clamp on boom 1

or

Clamp on boom 2

I am leaning toward getting the latter and then adding a short goose-neck. Has anyone out there in TG land done something like this, or am I the first?

Hydroman52

[Hydroman52]

Here is a follow up on my previous post. What did I wind up getting? Actually, I got both the On-Stage MSA9508 (about $13.00) and the MSA8020 (about $20.00), and both through vendors at Amazon. The purpose was to clamp an extension to my mic stand to accommodate an additional mic for my acoustic guitar. Both do an adequate job, but in a different way. Both clamp securely to the mic stand and I have no slippage there. With the MSA9508, I found it necessary to add an adjustable boom in order to get the mic close enough to my guitar for my taste. I spent a little more money on this boom than I needed so that it could be used in other applications as needed. This also gave me more adjustment options. The MSA8020 already had this adjustable boom so I didn't need to get anything else. As far as durability, the MSA9508 with the better quality boom will probably be the better of the two, but the MSA8020 seems to be good enough for anything that I will need. I will only be using Shure SM57s or a small Audio-Technica pencil condenser mic with them, so there won't be any enormous vocal condenser mics hanging on them. All in all . . . . . I'm satisfied with both of them and am using both (and have just bought another MSA9508 with a good quality adjustable boom) for all the locations that I have my gear spread out.

Hydroman52

[AndyT]

Sounds good. Have pictures of the setup?

[Hydroman52]

Hey Andy,

As a matter of fact, photos of them in actual use are already plastered all over this site. If you check out any of heatndude's Green Lake jam videos, you will see both of them.

Here is a link to help:

Green Lake Jam - Heart of Gold

The one on my mic stand in the center is the MSA8020. If you look to the stand at the extreme left (this is heatndude's stand . . . . . he's just off camera) you can see the MSA9508 with the added boom. This one is swung off to the side because heatndude was either playing his electric or acoustic electric and didn't need a mic for his guitars. The MSA8020 is set up with an Audio-Technica pencil condenser mic with a shock-mount (unknown brand) and the the MSA9508 is equipped with a standard tried-and-true Shure SM57 with an On-Stage MY325 Dynamic Shock Mount (this mount works good for me and seems to reduce "bumped stand" and "wood floor noise" a bit over standard mic mounts - I found best price at Amazon). The boom that I added is the Ultimate Support Ulti-Boom Telescoping Microphone Boom (again, check out Amazon for close-up look and best price)

Here is another video where the MSA9508 is attached to my mic stand, but you can't see it too good (all my crap is in the way and video is low-resolution - not the greatest example, sorry):

Out on the Weekend at Bassman Jerry's Studio

For a better look at the MSA8020, click on the photo links in this post:

Tip on stand tipping

This is the same setup as in the Green Lake video. One other good thing that seemed to work out by accident . . . . . . . . I recently purchased a Bose L1 Model 2 personal PA system with the T1 ToneMatch module. The T1 is basically a mixer with effects. This usually attaches to the tower array, but every time you want to adjust anything, you need to go over to the tower to adjust it . . . . very annoying. Bose makes a bracket that clamps to a mic stand so the T1 can be mounted right in front of you within easy reach. One of the complaints is that the clamp is cheaply made and breaks. The T1 is sort of expensive and shouldn't be subjected to floor crashes, so . . . . . . I ordered some heavy-duty lighting clamps, got to work in the shop, and made my own bracket clamp (that sucker is going NOWHERE now!). The trouble is that it now takes up a bit more real estate on my mic stand post. The fortunate accident is that both mic stand booms can be mounted low enough so that they don't interfere with my fabricated T1 mount.

The other advantage of the booms being able to be mounted lower is that keeps the center of gravity for the stand lower and reduces the chance of tipping. As you can see from the photos in the tipping stand post, I have a lot of crap hanging on my stand, but, setup like it is, it is surprisingly stable (and heavy!). Of course, this is setup for someone sitting in a chair. I haven't tried it raised up for someone standing, which would raise the center of gravity and make it even more tippy.

If you want better photos, let me know. This equipment has been moved to other locations, but I will be visiting them soon.

Hope that helps,

Hydroman52

[AndyT]

That first link must be in the Target section. I can't see it.

I did get the ones on Shutterfly. It looks interesting, but its hard to see how you have it all connected together.