The Importance of Quality Mic Stands

Here’s something I never thought I’d be excited about, mic stands.

We all know the old saying, if you buy cheap you buy twice. I have mostly found this to be true but what is frustrating is when you think you are buying something of good quality that isn’t cheap and it turns out to not be able to do it’s only function.

For the past few years I have been using Hercules mic stands and although some have been ok, others are starting to drive me crazy.

Take, for example, the boom mic stand. A classic and a must have for any studio/home recording enthusiast. It’s job? To hold a microphone wherever you position it. When a boom mic fails to do this then it fails for its sole purpose and it is effectively useless.

I decided to combat the issue by just getting new mic stands! Of course I decided to put a lot more research into it this time since I knew where problems lay and what I wanted out of the stands. My hope is that through my pain you will gain an understanding of what is and isn’t quality and not make the same mistakes as me!

Out with the old

In this image you can see my old Hercules overhead and bass drum mic stands.

The mic stands I was previously using were;

2xs Hercules Tripod Base Boom Mic Stand MS531B as overheads which worked OK but have limited range and struggled with heavier mics such as my sE Electronics VR1 Ribbons. Pictured above.

2xs Hercules Low Profile Mic Stand MS540B which failed miserably at holding my mics and not matter how much I tightened them they would eventually droop the mic all the way to the floor! Not useable at all.

1 Hercules Low Profile Mic Stand MS120B with telescoping boom which worked well on my kick mics and is actually still currently holding my D.I.Y Subkick until I find an alternate solution. Pictured above.

1 Hercules Transformer Jr. Mic Stand MS300B which failed miserably at holding any kick mic. I now understand maybe that’s not the right application for this mic stand. Pictured below.

I originally bought this stand to hold my D.I.Y Subkick but it could not handle the weight. Holding a Shure Beta 52 I had to use weights on the legs to hold it down. but I found using this old clamp to be a much more elegant solution. Either way, not suitable for the job!

In with the new

As a drummer I was drawn to the TAMA Iron Works stands since I use both TAMA Roadpro and Classic drum hardware which is fantastic. The cost is pretty high for the Iron Works stands and I was willing to pay it, but I could not find anywhere to purchase these in the UK. There was the odd stand on Amazon but I wanted to purchase a whole set. Doing some more research I discovered K&M microphone stands have a reputation as the industry standard. I remembered this name from somewhere and I checked my recording drums Bible where right enough the recommended stands are K&M! I had also purchased a K&M iPad clamp for when I was performing on cruise ships and it impressed me with how solid and well built it was.

One of the main features I knew I wanted in my new mic stands was a t-bar locking screw. The ones I had been using previously were no good and both the TAMA and (most) K&Ms use this t-bar. So I went ahead and ordered 8 new K&M mic stands!

New stands! 😁😁😁

The new mic stands I’m using are;

2 K&M 21021 Tall Boom Stand. These stands are purpose build to be used as drum overheads in a studio. The are extra tall and have an extra long boom so you can position the mic where you like above the drums. They also have long folding legs to support all of that extra height. Ideal.

2 K&M 259 Low Level Boom Stand. Low level telescopic boom stands ideal for miking toms and hi hats and even snare top.

2 K&M 25950 Extra Low Level Boom Stand. Extra low level stand with heavy legs for stability and a two piece boom arm. Ideal for bass drum and also snare bottom.

2 K&M 210/2 Boom Stand. The industry standard mic stand. Enough said! Ideal to have around the studio, I’m mainly using these for my room mics.

Cost Difference

So like I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I didn’t buy cheap when I purchased the Hercules mic stands. I genuinely thought I was purchasing good quality stands. So below is a break down of the cost difference in the stands.

£52 Hercules Tripod Base Boom Mic stand MS531B

£35 Hercules Low Profile Mic Stand MS540B

£33 Hercules Low Profile Mic Stand MS120B

£25 Hercules Transformer Jr. Mic Stand MS300B

So for my 6 Hercules mic stands I have spent a grand total of £232. Quite a lot for mic stands!

Now for the price run down of what I paid for my K&M mic stands

£54 K&M 21021 Tall Boom Stand

£39 K&M 259 Low Level Boom Stand

£39 K&M 25950 Low Level Boom Stand

£38 K&M 210/2 Boom Stand,

My new K&M stands cost me a total of £343.20 which is a bit more, but remember I bought 8 K&M stands vs my 6 Hercules stands at £232. All in all each equivalent mic stand only cost a couple of pounds more, which is nothing in the grand scheme of things!

Bonus

I’ve now got my snare top and bottom mics on dedicated mic stands so that I can easily and quickly swap out different snare drums when different sounds are required. It’s an absolute dream to now be able to swap out snares in about 15 seconds and not have to clamp mics on to the top and bottom rims.

I’ve now got the ability to swap out snare drums quickly and easily!

Conclusion

I am more than happy with my new mic stands! It’s hard to bite the bullet and spend a decent chunk of money on mic stands but it is something invaluable that needs to be done. One big reason I wanted to upgrade was because my previous stands were falling over. I would have been at peace with this had they been really cheap stands but they weren’t cheap and I believed them to be from a reputable manufacturer. Now save yourself the time, money and frustration I wasted and buy some good quality stands!