need help figuring out how to mount microphone to a stand
Hi all,
I currently am facing a bit of a problem. I'm trying to work out what to do with two technically functional mics which I am unable to use because I can no longer get them on a mic stand. I'm very much an amateur/hobbiest when recording, I mostly use these mics for Teamtalk/random game recordings, nothing really studio-oriented. I don't even use a pop filter or shock mount. So I'm going very minimalist for the time being.
So here's the story. A number of years ago, I bought the Audio Technica ATR2500 USb microphone. It's a large diaphragm cartioid microphone, which came with something which I think is called a ring mount. It's the part you use to attach the microphone to a stand. One end screws around the bottom of the mic, and the other is I think a 5/8 inch threaded thing you screw into your mic stand.
About two years after I got the mic, I noticed the microphone was starting to wobble a bit and there was a bit of a crack/seem in the left hand side of the mount. Within minutes, the mount cracked and split apart in my hands. I stored the microphone away for safe keeping and, thinking that I couldn't get a replacement mount without getting a new mic, decided to take the opportunity to see what other mics were out there. The ATR2500 is good for what it is, and I might use it again one day, but I had always heard good stuff about Rode. Even though it's more expensive, I decided to go with the Rode NT-USB. At first I didn't like it, but it has really grown a lot on me.
Well, it's served me well for four years, which is probably the longest time I have gone with a microphone I think. However, the dreaded wobble started showing itself recently, and sure enough, a few hours ago its mount snapped in half as well. So now I have two perfectly good mics, the ATR2500 and the NT-USb which are practically useless to me because I can't get them on a stand.
For the longest time, I assumed that these mounts were OEM parts so I could not get replacements. I vowed that if something ever did happen to my NT-USB, I would swear off USb microphones for good, and instead just use my audio interface, maybe get a Rode NT1A and use that. My thought was that surely if I start using standard microphones, then I can use standard mounts too, and just replace them if they break. Besides it would get me out of my amateur way of doing things and would, hopefully, make me tackle my fear of phantom power lol. But a friend of mine told me he doesn't think that'll actually help the stand issue; he told me when he saw the Nt1A, it looked very much like the NT-USB. Him and I both aren't very experienced with this though, so we're going largely on educated guessing which isn't really an option when trying to find compatible parts.
Compounding this issue is that my ATR2500 and my NT-USB actually have different end shapes where the mount screws in. On the ATR, it's rounded but with flat top and bottom, on the NT-USb, it's completely round, so the two mounts wouldn't even be interchangeable. So, I'm tentatively concluding that you need a Rode mount for a Rode mic and an Audio Technica mount for an Audio Technica mic. I"d like to get confirmation on this, to make sure I"m not missing some kind of stnadard, but I'm not really finding anything conclusive. In fact, Google has directed me to a few so-called universal mounts, but I can't see how these two different shapes can be represented in one universal part and how it could be secure. In short, I guess I should be asking how do people who use large mics in studios handle this? Do they have standard mounts which Is hould know about or do they have to get the manufacturer-specific one?
Then I have to decide if I want a shock mount or not. I saw a shock mount twice, and both times I had no idea what I was looking at, so when I see "shock mount" I'm drawn away because I'm afraid I won't be able to use it properly. It's probably very simple, I just never had the time or opportunity to work out how to use that web to hold/suspend the mic. Maybe now would be a good time to get one and try it, but I don't think that would solve my mounting problem... So not sure if it's worth it.
The good news is that Rode does seem to have replacement mounts I can get. I found a cheap one for $15 which is probably the one that came with the NT-USb, and they also have a shock mount which is supposed to be compatible with the NT-USb as well. So I do have Rhode options if I need them. I just don't know what exactly to think at this point.
And now I can't help but think about the cheap mics I used to have, I think they were dynamics. They were the long skinny ones you can just put into a universal stand clip and it'll hold the mic in pretty nicely. No hassle really. But I'm getting waaay in over my head with these larger condensers. So any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance.
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