Computer/Digitally Controlled Mic Stands

[Link555]

What Brands, models, Types are you using/aware of?

I thinking about designing something for myself, but I am curious what other people are into.

The obvious advantage of this is the engineer gets to stay in the control room to fine tune the mic placement...

I am Interested to hear your thoughts.

 

[audiokid]

When I used to record choirs for the BC provincial music festival, I would have a huge boom reaching above the conductor that extended out to the choirs.
During the competition there would often be 5 different choirs ranging from a hundred to just 5 in a group.
Some where adult choirs and some were children choirs. You can imagine the challenge it was to get it best for each group.
Once the choirs started I couldn’t adjust anything until a break.
Moving... Example: Royer SF-24 a few inches would make a big difference so I always hoped for a way to be able to control the reach and tilt from the control room.

 

[Link555]

Good thought ....The next challenge is making it quiet enough to not hear the movement, just frequency change. So you could accurate it subtly during a performance.

 

[Kurt Foster]

check out skunk mics .... from the early days of sound for film.

 

[Link555]

Like this ?
https://reverb.com/item/3349330-rca-ku-2a-skunk-mic

Was this on a motor controlled mic stand?

 

[kmetal]

Im not sure of the make/model, but Eric Valentine (Slash, Queens of the Stone Age) was using a motorized mic stand that he bought from a company. It had a remote, and some sort of app/program to save the settings.

I'd search for it but my wifi is down and my data is slower than dial up. If i can search i will.

 

[Kurt Foster]

hand held boom with a manually operated pivot. white stripe on the mic was for visual orientation.

 

[Kurt Foster]

Im not sure of the make/model, but Eric Valentine (Slash, Queens of the Stone Age) was using a motorized mic stand that he bought from a company. It had a remote, and some sort of app/program to save the settings.

I'd search for it but my wifi is down and my data is slower than dial up. If i can search i will.

http://recordinghacks.com/2012/07/17/panda-studios-microphone-robot/

 

[kmetal]

Looks like the thing i had in mind was the "mo mic", and it appears their website isn't up anymore. Im guessing maybe they are out of business. If you Google it their press release comes up on gs with contact info. Maybe they have some stock left. Im guessing its different than EV's based on Kurt's link.

 

[kmetal]

Around the 18 min mark Eric gets into the mic robot briefly showing what it does. This was what i was remembering.

 

[Link555]

Thanks Guys. after looking at those I am thinking about 3 degrees of movement. I have a few H bridges around... boring video but it shows a few things I was messing around with for my router table motorized height adjustment I made a while ago.

I can use 3 bridges for x Y Z adjustment. Large mics, or mics with more mass will require larger more powerful motors...

What other features would you see as useful?

 

[paulears]

You could always look to video remote pan and tilt heads? There are even some quite cheap. Drawback is vibration and motor noise, but if adjustments are made before hitting record they’d work. Usually a different thread but just an adaptor needed.

 

[Link555]

Thanks Paul I will look into that, I was hoping to use small 2W or even less DC motors and gearbox like:
https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/...TO5FThxl6S0TYBggAm3JbwEB7cIIQcAJ5suNzo2CgSEkA

 

[paulears]

Those motors look interesting but for that kind of price you can get this kind of thing. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YT-260-M...912226?hash=item4226b00862:g:oDQAAOSwE~Rf2fuf

 

[Link555]

That’s certainly reasonable price wise. Possible use that as the finally mix mount, and add a rack and pinion style motor for movement of that unit in the x axis.