Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

OT: Mic Stand for keyboard player


Recommended Posts

Can someone recommend a decent mic stand with boom that won't sag with the weight of my mic and can reach over a 2 tier keys stand which I play standing up?

 

 

Links to Sweetwater/Amazon whatever would be great.

 

TIA

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Replies 37
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

I hate booms because people are always bumping into them, so years ago switched to a gooseneck attachment on a regular mic stand. I have no idea what brand... it's old and currently in a club, but if you go this route check reviews because some newer ones sag.

 

I set the stand with me behind the keyboards or DJ gear, so it's kind of a different approach - which you may or may not like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get a headset mike, it is much better and so much easier to move around!
Yamaha CP70B;Roland XP30/AXSynth/Fantom/FA76/XR;Hammond XK3C SK2; Korg Kronos 73;ProSoloist Rack+; ARP ProSoloist; Mellotron M4000D; GEM Promega2; Hohner Pianet N, Roland V-Grand,Voyager XL, RMI
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get a headset mike, it is much better and so much easier to move around!

 

Impossible to "work" the mic, you get one position.

Also impossible to shout "What key" if you get a request and somebody starts in.

 

I've had no luck with long goose necks, they sag.

 

Agree with the bump hazard, the base of the stand should be behind the keyboards or at one side.

Mic stand is an important purchase, buy nice or buy twice. Skip all the cheap stuff. That said, you shouldn't need to go top dollar.

I still use a pair of K&M (labelled AKG) stands that I bought new in the 1980's and they work perfectly. I've seen much newer Chinese stands at Goodwill many times, broken and worthless.

There certainly are better available than K&M but that should be your minimum requirement.

 

Shop around, check pawn shops, music shops etc. A high quality used stand in working condition should work for a long time. Consider a counterweight so you can raise the stand up out of your way and "drop" the mic into your zone.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get a headset. The benefits out weigh the problems. What kind you get depends on the environment. IEMs or wedges, does it double as a vocoder mic etc....

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I typically use an adjustable clamp connected to my keyboard stand. I cut the length of an old straight mic stand down and mounted a boom on it. Works great and no floor space used up. But when I need to use a keyboard stand that the clamp won't work with, I purchased a Gator Frameworks Boom Stand. Very sturdy, easily adjustable with a nice long telescoping boom.

 

I also have a head worn wireless, but don't really care for it because it makes it impossible to work the mic for various effects, and the worst part is the audience will hear when you yell at the guitarist to turn the !@#$ down. :)

Wm. David McMahan

I Play, Therefore I Am

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hit the kill/cough switch. Either on the transmitter or the foot switch. If it happens often fire the guitarist. Don"t work with amateurs.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is what I use

 

Pyle Mic Stand

 

It is very solid. The legs are like the legs on a speaker stand, so you can adjust them to fit in the available space.

 

The boom is plenty long enough, and will tighten to the point of being immobile

 

And the price is good, too

"In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome.

So God helped him and created woman.

 

Now everybody's got the blues."

 

Willie Dixon

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have had two.

 

The first, that works with my z-stand and my x-stands, is an onstage mic adapter that tightens into an open tube on the stand.

 

When I got my Spider Pro, this wouldn't work, and it came with one--but the problem there is that every time I unscrewed the boom it had the habit of taking the nut off with it, and without that nut the bolt can fall down inside the stand. This happened once right before a gig (I didn't realize the nut was not on the stand but on the boom) and I had to duct-tape a kick drum stand to the top of my keyboard stand for the first set LOL! That was quicker than taking off my keyboards, unscrewing the five very long screws and turning the stand upside down to get the bolt out (which I did between sets actually). You can buy a metal top instead of the plastic one but honestly the plastic is fine--my solution was to fit a nut under the top on the inside and then replace the top nut with a larger one so that I didn't have that little adapter on there. Now the 5/8" mic boom screws right onto this larger nut and it's not going anywhere, very sturdy.

 

I did get a better boom arm when my old one kept slipping, I upgraded to a K&M boom and it's very nice. Rock solid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like to set my mic stand on the side, with the base extended fairly high. I kind of interlock the stand feet (if it's a tripod) with my keys stand's feet (I use a table-style stand with four legs). I find I can get it out of the way of my hands but still fairly stable. This is with backline stands, generally speaking, so at times there is just a POS stand that can't do the job... that's when you plead your case to another band member who maybe doesn't need as reliable a stand :laugh:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I own a headset mic, and it would be the fix for a number of my performance frustrations, but it just doesn't do it for me. There's something about the look that doesn't work for me -- I think it's sort of like a keytar, in that it's an effective solution to an age-old problem that comes out looking either retro, sci-fi/futuristic/high tech, or kitchy depending on the setting. Any and all of those things work for some folks, but none of them really suit my general stage presentation. Particularly when I'm singing lead, it feels weird not to have something to sing into (even Peter Gabriel will use a dummy handheld or boom mic when he has a headset mic on, and I'd say his musical style lends itself more to that sort of thing). It's kind of my loss, though, because it would really help with my L-configuration of keyboards and my talkbox...

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As an aside, i have a couple nice mics and I don't really want to buy another one (headset). I could definitely see the pluses though. I like being able to back off the mic though.

 

I'd be fine with a mic stand, but for one little problem: I tend to forgot the *@#$ thing. Anything that is loose and doesn't fit into a case is at high risk for being left at home. My boom arm fits in. I guess I could always bungie it around my keyboard stand bag or something, and don't try to use it between gigs (when gigs come back)!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Kwyn. I always use K&M boom mic stands. The are built like tree trunks and never wilt. For standing with two keyboards I had a K&M keyboard stand adapted to take just the top of the boom. It works like a dream and means that I have a surprisingly small footprint on stage. :0

 

IMG-2014.jpg

 

IMG-2027.jpg

 

IMG-2023.jpg

"Turn your fingers into a dust rag and keep them keys clean!" ;) Bluzeyone
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are willing to throw money at the problem, Latch Lake makes the best mic stands in America, if not the world. They're what world-class studios use to hold up heavy and priceless vintage tube mics in Decca Trees. Recently LL announced a more affordable range of stands that are within reach of people with normal human budgets. These stands are heavy, indestructible, well-balanced, and do not sag, ever, if you set them up right.

Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) :D

Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant

Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1

 

clicky!:  more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my bookmy music

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't have a recommendation for an actual stand, but I like the K&M 21120 mic boom. Lots of length and it's pretty sturdy. I've even used it with an AT-2035 condenser mic and shockmount without any issues. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/KM21120BK--k-and-m-21120-2-piece-telescopic-mic-boom

 

I actually use it with an adapter from K&M that lets me connect it right to my keyboard stand, and I've also used it with the On-Stage adapter that works with many types of keyboard stands (I use that on a two-tier Z-stand).

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a stand case that holds my amp stands, my monitor stand and my mike stand. That way I never forget it

 

I'm another that raises the stand high, and the boom angles down. I come in from the left side, and I have so much to my left, what with my monitor, mixer, Vent, plus I end up with PA speakers somewhat in my way. That's why I went with a stand with legs that are easily adjustable.

 

The Pyle that I use has a pin that goes through a hole to secure the height. So if it somehow comes loose, it will not drop

"In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome.

So God helped him and created woman.

 

Now everybody's got the blues."

 

Willie Dixon

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kwyn,

 

I use this On Stage attachment onto which I screwed a mic boom. It's super sturdy and since the boom can be so short it never droops. Cheap too. I cobbled the boom off of another stand. I bought it 2 years ago, wish I bought 20 years ago! Maybe it can work with your tier arms?

 

On Stage KSA7575

 

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm surprised that no one else experiences my problem = every type of boom/mic holder I've tried that attached to my keyboard stand (in order to try to save stage space) was in practicality totally unusable because of the key "hitting" noise that is transmitted through the stand to the boom then to the mic. Hearing the "thump, thump, thump" of hitting the keys and the key action coming through the mic is absolutely unacceptable IMHO.

Ludwig van Beethoven:  “To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.”

My Rig: Yamaha MOXF8 (used mostly for acoustic piano voices); Motion Sound KP-612SX & SL-512.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

practicality totally unusable because of the key "hitting" noise that is transmitted through the stand to the boom then to the mic.

 

This is a good point. Have others experienced this?

 

I used an On-Stage adapter on an X stand and it was brilliant and no thumping as mentioned but i get how that could happen.

 

Ive just changed to a Stay slim which has no mic adapter included unlike their bigger stand. Im looking at how i can adapt it but presently its in covid lockdown in my bands practise room so i cant access it.

 

Your point is a very good one as i could see that as a possibilty with the Stay because id have to gerryrig a solution. Ironically the x stand with adaptor was silent and worked well. The keyboard is bouncy on the Stay stand so it could be a problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ps: cass what type of mic are you using?

 

 

Edit: thinking about your problem...Cass does the attached upright of the mic holder actually touch the keyboard. Direct touch of the upright will do that. Like when you use a separate mic stand and its touching the keyboard youll definately get booming.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm surprised that no one else experiences my problem = every type of boom/mic holder I've tried that attached to my keyboard stand (in order to try to save stage space) was in practicality totally unusable because of the key "hitting" noise that is transmitted through the stand to the boom then to the mic. Hearing the "thump, thump, thump" of hitting the keys and the key action coming through the mic is absolutely unacceptable IMHO.

 

I have not experienced this problem. :idk:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't noticed that either, I've done 4-500 gigs over the last 6 years with my current band, most with attached-to-stand boom arms. I have used Sennheiser 835 and later the 935 dynamic mics if that matters. If I use a stand I don't let it touch the keyboard if I can help it, mainly because I try to avoid scratches :D

 

As far as a gooseneck--I bought a longer gooseneck to try with my stand attachment but I found it a bit droopy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...