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Originally posted by coats:
I would like to purchase an overhead mic stand with no boom for location recording.

I have been looking around a bit and they don't seem to be standard items at most shops. Does anyone know where I could find such a stand? 12 to 15 ft. tall?

Thanks.

I too need high stands for classical recording. I have tried various solution including building one myself out of an aluminum speaker stand, an aluminum tube I salvaged from a pool cleaning scoop and a broken mic stand. I use the Decca Tree for most of my recording so I need a heavy duty stand. This works well and does what I want. For the cross bar mounting I went to our local surplus store and found a 90 degree 1.5" tubing clamp adapter that had been used for medical or xray equipment and is very heavy duty.

For some of the recordings I do I use a RODE NT-4 stereo microphone so I also need a good light duty stand that is easy to carry. I went to the local camera store and found a nice selection of light stands. Some of them are very expensive but I found one that was made in China that is very well made and sets up easily. The plus with this stand is that the top section of the stand is the same size as a normal microphone stand (5/8") so I just bought an Atlas adapter and put it on top of the stand replacing the stand adapter that was already there. It works great and cost less than $60.00 for a 15 foot stand. They also had a 20 foot stand for $20.00 more. Some of the BOGEN and other manufactures have nice stands but they start at $150.00.

If you really want a top quality stand a good place to look is http://www.wesdooley.com/aea/Modular_Microphone_Stands.html. They also have positioners for stereo and Decca Tree setups.

Hope this helps.

Thanks. Now I need to decide.

I have also run across K&M stands at West Coast Sound [out of Fresno, CA].

Thanks again for the links.

The Manfrotto stands over at MicSupply appear to be the same type that I use for studio photography, under the Norman name.

Very well made and durable. Mine have lasted since the 1970s without complaint.

When I got into micing for live performances, I did the OnStage stand thing. They are OK for the money, but the mechanisms leave a lot to be desired. My standard OnStage stands have height issues. Not very good for kick and down-low mics, and very unstable for high over heads.

Specialized stands are better suited for these applications. If you have a pair of TLM-103 for overheads, be sure to get a big, robust stand that won't let your babies crash to the floor if bumped by a clod in the studio.

Just ordered the Manfrotto 11 ft. Quick Lock stand. Looks like it will do the trick very well.

Should be able to hang anything on it without any strain.

Thanks.

Haven't I seen the Manfrotto name on some of my Bogen stands? I do not have one here right now but seems like Manfrotto may be Italian company that works with Bogen. I also use Bogen light stand here for Stereo pairs. BTW a sandbag tied to the base adds a lot to the stability and my nerves with some of my mics flown that high.

If you do look at photo light stands watch out for the thread on the top. A couple of the guys that posted elsewhere said theirs had 3/8" thread but I had to get one of our machenists to make me an adaptor because mine was 1/4" thread. Then I could use a readily available 3/8" bolt to mic stand thread adaptor on top.

Another point for adapting the photo stands is most any city has a photo shop with them in stock. That way you can see what you are getting first hand even if you go in browse and leave to mail order it. Then you at least know how solid the product is on its base.

Another thing (off topic)I wonder how many of us come with a photography background. Paul Buff of White Lightening strobes was an engineer at one time way back and had a couple of big popular hits under him when he went to manufacturing strobe systems. Want to say it was the Ventures sound way back that he made. Also I think I read where he sold his studio to Frank Zappa. He had for recording worked on the development some of the voltage controlled amp stages used in a lot of gear.

The Manfrotto that come from micsupply.com have a Bogen stand fitting at the top [purchased separately]. I'm not sure if there's any association between the two companies.

Had a chance to look at my Bogen stand since last post. Label says Bogen in red but under it is Manfrotto in maybe a couple of points smaller type in white. Also says Made in Italy so my memory was not as bad as I thought.

After a look at both companies site it appears that Bogen is the US importer of Manfrotto. That's not directly said but its implied that way.

'Manfrotto, It's how you say Bogen in Italian.'
That's the slogan that came with my new stand. On the shipping box it says "Professional Lighting Supports". It's beautiful!

I guess both of us proved my memory correct.

BTW no matter which of the two names are on it, it's still a great stand for either their purpose or our off label use. And if I get the hankering to blow the dust off my White Lightening strobes I can still use it to attempt to be a photographer again.

I searched for years for just this stand specifically for recording large orchestras. I wound up going for a photo light stand, and as sturdy as it was, it did not meet all of my needs. Believe it or not, recording classical music you will occassionally need a boom. For example, when the front row of audience seats is only a few feet back from the front of the stage, you can tilt the boom backwords to gain a couple extra feet of distance. (Just make sure you add some ballast.)

I switched to an "On-Stage" brand stand and on its second use, the PLASTIC clutch broke sending a pair of Schoeps crashing 15 feet to the floor. OUCH!

I now use, live, and swear by the QuikLok brand. Both the A85 and the A50 are awesome stands and will get around 14 feet high. They don't cost much at all, as a matter of fact, I own 8 of them. They are very sturdy and their customer service is EXCELLENT! They are extremely versatile, but quite heavy. (Not so heavy that you can't carry them, just enough to make you feel more secure.) You can get these stands just about anywhere - Sweetwater, Musicians Friend, Guitar Center.

BTW, if they aren't quite high enough for any particular application, these are sturdy enough that you can comfortably mount the boom off of one of your standard floor stands to give it a couple more feet.

Enjoy!

Jeremy

:c:

I might look into QuikLok for my next purchase. I found an old boom that I've had in a closet that has a 5/8" clamp mount and works well with my Manfrotto. This is one of those huge cast iron adjustable ballast things that we don't see much anymore. I can clamp that boom on my Manfrotto with it's 42' tripod base and swing 8 lbs of LD mics on a stereo bar over piano hammers without any stability problems.

Thanks for the input! I'll look into QuikLok.

I think the QuikLok are also Italian manufacture. I own the premium QuikLok double tier keyboard stand for my Hammond and synth keyboards, and it is built like a tank.

I've owned Norman photo light stands for years, because they hold my big strobes and umbrellas without worry. I hang a camera bag on the long boom for ballast as noted above. I'm pretty sure the Norman stands are Manfrotto/Bogen under the covers...