When you start recording anything, you are going to need a few pieces of equipment.
You will need something that can take the audio you record, a program to edit the audio, a quiet space, and a microphone to capture the audio, to say the least.
These things are not that difficult to find or procure, but the last one can come with some caveats. That is when you buy a microphone you need it to be stable and held at the correct angle.
For most people, this means that they also have to buy a mic stand and/or a mic clip to put that microphone in (also see, ‘Best Podcast Mic Stands‘).
When purchasing microphone stands or a microphone clip, it can be overwhelming to sort through the many options available.
You may find yourself wondering if they are all universal or only compatible with certain microphone types.
Today, we are going to find this out.
|
|
|
|
|
Primary Rating:
3.5
|
Primary Rating:
3.5
|
Primary Rating:
3.5
|
Primary Rating:
3.5
|
|
$99.00
|
$10.99
|
$19.49
|
$20.99
|
Can All Mic Stands Be Used With All Types Of Microphones?
To put your mind at ease, it is practically impossible to find a standard mic stand that is not universally compatible with all microphones.
For starters, even if a company were to put out a microphone stand that had its own compatibility, this would only be a detriment to them.
This is because not one company has a monopoly on the microphone stand industry, which is what is required to make this kind of move work.
As such, all microphone stands are universal and that is not going to change anytime soon.
Despite them having a universal mic thread, that does not mean they are all easily attached to a stand. There are two sizes of microphone clips that hold a microphone in a stand, which are screwed in via a universal thread.
These are the 3/8” size and the 5/8” size. You can screw either of these mic clips into any microphone stand, and they should work.
Yet, it is important to note that there are several different kinds of stands and each of these may perform better with a different size of microphone.
Luckily, most microphones that are good quality come with a specific attachment clip and information about what kind of stand is best suited to their weight, size, and purpose.
As such, we can consider microphone stands universal, but they may work better with different types of microphones compared to others.
For best results, a shock mount should be used in conjunction with a high quality microphone stand (also see, ‘Best Mic Shock Mount‘).
Shock mounts help to reduce any vibrations or knocks that could cause the microphone’s sound to become distorted, ensuring an optimal recording experience.
This is especially important when using a condenser mic or a drum kit, as they are more sensitive and require a good shock mount for best results.
Types Of Mic Stand For Different Purposes
Since microphone stands are better for certain purposes, we decided to compile a list of the different microphone stands and what purposes they are best suited for below:
Standard Mic Stands
This is the most common type of microphone stand and the one you are all probably most familiar with.
They are frequently used in recording studios and on onstage performances when someone is doing vocals. They have an upright design with clips allowing for the microphone to be pointed horizontally, slightly down, or slightly up.
These microphone stands are considered best for live vocals, as an amplifier, and for speeches. However, they can be cheaply made – which although good in one area – means that they can be prone to falling over or not being too stable when you need them to be.
Boom Mic Stands
These are for the microphones that are designed to sit above the source of a sound, normally through the use of a boom arm that moves overhead. This allows them to pick up the sound that they are seeking to capture as it rises.
A tripod stand with a boom arm and adjustable height is used to hold the microphone in place (also see, ‘What Is A Mic Boom‘).
These microphones are incredibly stable and have a remarkable reach, being able to reach over 6 feet if necessary.
This kind of stability and range makes them great for drum recordings, choirs, and bigger orchestras, but they might be a bit much or a bit expensive for anything more than this.
Short Mic Stands
These are the microphone stands that are closest to the floor and tend to only be used to record smaller drums, kick drums, and bass amps.
This is because other microphones would not catch the full sound that these make in recordings, and so the actual sound that is trying to be created from recording these bass sounds would not come through as well.
Desktop Mic Stands
Desktop mic stands are the smallest of all the microphone stands that you can, with most being between half a foot and a full foot in length.
The reason is that they are designed to hold a microphone, with a tabletop serving as the foundation. Considering that most tabletops are only 1 or 2 feet below a mouth’s height, they do not need to be too big.
The obvious drawbacks to these microphones are that they are small and require a level surface to sit on.
However, they can be moved to most level surfaces and are fairly cheap to buy, often coming with a microphone. These types of microphones are used for podcasting, interviews with guests, and voice-overs for certain videos.
As you can see, there are generally only 4 types of microphones that people use for the purpose of recording, with many variants coming under these different microphones.
Choosing one can be difficult, but if you know what you are using them for it can be a lot easier.
Conclusion
Microphone stands are universal to all microphones, however to be able to use all microphones on a stand you have to change the clip to the correct measurement for the microphone.
Considering there are only two sizes of clip, this is not too difficult, and you should have no problem recording on your stand in a very short time.
