Apr 082014
Straight stand. Round base. It’s cooler. Simple as that.
Straight stand. Round base. It’s cooler. Simple as that. Prove me wrong!
For the purposes of discussion, let’s leave the benefits of boom stands for drummers, keyboardists, and dudes playing Ovation roundback acoustic guitars out of the equation. Anyone can argue for boom stands and stands with the tripod bottom for reasons of comfort. James Brown might have worn beige orthopedic shoes had he been concerned for his onstage comfort.
Sorry, but I need the boom. I’m 6’5″. Straight stands just don’t give me the microphone height I need. I’m not causing myself neck pain and compromising my vocal range for aesthetics.
I am with you on tripod stands. Can’t stand ’em. They take up far too much room on small stages.
Johnny Ramone summed it up with his 3 rules: 1. Own your section of the stage; 2 Play to the back of the room; and 3 Never use a boom stand.
That being said, I prefer a straight stand but not so much that I’m going to bring one with me to gigs like Andy. When I borrowed his at the Donuts/Nixon’s Head record release, I discovered that not only does he bring his own straight stand, but it’s permanently set at a certain height. I admire that level of conviction.
Thanks, CDM. Yes – I am a stickler about the straight stand – round bottom. I don’t get a good comfortable stance when I use a tripod base. I use duct tape to ensure that the height won’t change when I lean on it during the show. When I make it big, I want to have made for me custom one-piece mic stand forged out of brushed nickel!!
When andyr’s custom mic stand is designed – something I’m completely in favor of – I hope he thinks to design a mic clip with a screw that won’t constantly loosen as he fiddles with the mic. After every rehearsal I see that mic clip drooping down, after Andy has worn out the screw once again. I tighten it up knowing that it’s only going to be loose again the following week. I’ve seen this cat up close for nearly 35 years, and I bet no singer puts more strain on all components of the mic and mic stand. Another classic move of his is pulling out the mic cord as his fiddles around during our 14-second solos. And people wonder why we don’t do long jams…
I see your “orthopedic” rationale, Scott, but in a fair world wouldn’t mic stand designers make taller straight stands for you to choose over any boom?
The boom mic probably ranks higher than the mic’sthe kids today use, right? The ones that look like John Boy’s mole? I think those make singers look like now that they have two hands free, they don’t know what to do with either one.
For sure!
I greatly prefer the Paula Abdul mic stand:
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/celebrity-invention-paula-abduls-microphone-stand/237012/
That’s right. Did Sam Cooke have a mic stand? Otis? Stevie? Robert Plant? Nope. Only Paula Abdul. That’s right, take that, Aretha.
What about weird custom mic stands, like Julian Cope used to have?
I’m with you on the straight mic stand. Except when I’m not. Straight for lead singers, for sure. A singer with a boom stand might as well be holding a keytar. And if I were a cooler guitarist, I’d opt for the iconic straight stand. But alas, as history shows, I bump my guitar into them constantly when I come up to the mic to sing. After a while I couldn’t take it anymore. Might as well put me in shorts and give me a PRS guitar with 8’s on it.
Straight stands all the way! Bruce must have his welded In place at each arena. He leans back holding it, runs the strings of his Tele on it, and the thing never moves. Kinda like Little Steven’s bandana.
http://www.vh1.com/celebrity/files/2009/02/brucetop.jpg
http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.119405.1313964270!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/alg-springsteen-van-zandt-jpg.jpg
um ……Lemmy! = both tripod and boom, tripod for balance and boom for height. http://goo.gl/VWAabg
When I am singing lead and playing guitar, I prefer the same. It makes things easier for me to use a pedal board. I’m kind of aggressive on the mic so my biggest pet peeve is when the boom is either stripped of not tight and the mic starts to float. It makes me want to hurt people.
If I’m just singing, then straight stand round base.
I will say that if you are playing in front of an enthusiastic crowd, like mosh pits or with stagedivers then a straight stand with a round base will guarantee that you lose teeth. If you are singing and somebody falls into the stand, the ball of the mic will hit you directly in the mouth. A tripod boom will collapse and if it does hit you it wont be full force.
have you seen the guy from KORN and his H.R. Giger designed stand. http://www.edu-hq.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/giger_mic_stand.jpg
what did Johnny care about a mic stand?
I know that Joey used a custom straight stand with tripod legs. It was extended taller than he was and he would tilt it to sing.
It’s like a stripper pole: http://i.imgur.com/lf3AC.jpg
If I were a singer, I’d want a mic that lowers from the ceiling like they used to have for championship boxing matches. It could just hang there while I sang into it without any of the mucky-muck on stage.