Microphone Stand Recommendation

I am looking for a recommendation on a good microphone stand that will hold a lot of weight (approximately 3-5 lbs). I have a Blue Microphones Yeti mic that is pretty heavy and the mic stand I have won't hold it when I boom it out about 2 feet (over my desk). I took a trip to Guitar Center yesterday and couldn't really find anything (that wasn't $200).

I would like to keep it under $100 if possible. Any thoughts on a mic stand that can handle some weight when boomed over my desk would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Dave

I put 10 lb. weights from a barbell weight set on the base of some of mine to hold them down.

Many years ago I posed a similar question on this forum after having my mic stand tip over and send my microphone crashing to the floor. I was ready to buy a larger boom, the kind with 50 lb cast iron bases and wheels, when somebody suggested weights. Problem solved, haven't tipped one since.

A separate issue is the friction clutch that maintains the boom's angle. You practically have to use a pipe wrench to lock them down so they don't sag when the boom's extended with a heavy microphone attached. (Especially annoying in a live setting!). I did once run across a product that addressed that problem, but I've forgotten what it was called. (It may have been made by Latch Lake Music, maker of heavy-duty - and somewhat pricey - boom stands.)

Why does this post make me hungry for vindaloo?

Oh, and what I do is always make sure one of the 3 legs is under the boom. In other words, don't line up the space, line up a leg. It will be a lot less likely to tip.

Many years ago I posed a similar question on this forum after having my mic stand tip over and send my microphone crashing to the floor. I was ready to buy a larger boom, the kind with 50 lb cast iron bases and wheels, when somebody suggested weights. Problem solved, haven't tipped one since.

Glad the weights solved the issue...


I bought two of the large boom stands described above... and while expensive... they are nice (especially for drum overheads).  Worth the expense in the long run (if you need them).


@OP:  You might try the type of (desk-mount) mic stand that DJs use.
Those typically hold an RE-20... which is heavy.

But the OP is stating the common problem, which is drooping boom syndrome ( we call it flaccid )  This is caused by the crappy small clutch they have, These Dixon's have a much larger surface area on the clutch and that's why the hold on. Try adding different types of rubber circles or some shoe goo. 

In the film industry lighting boom stands are always assembled and set up on location with the binding mechanism oriented so that as the boom tries to "fall" or slip on the pivot, the binding mechanism actually gets dragged so that it becomes tighter.

It makes it unlikely that the boom will slip.

Most mic stands have the binding mechanism on the other side so as the boom falls the mechanism actually gets looser and encourages the boom to fall.

Some mic boom stands allow you to pull the hardware apart and reverse the orientation... many don't.

When ever I set up a mic boom stand I think about how I would set up a light stand and I wonder why the idea isn't universal understood in the sound department the way it is in a lighting department.


best regards,
mike

It's not so much a design but rather a protocol.

If you set the light stand boom up "backwards" it will be more likely to slip.

Most light stand booms have pivots that are offset to the side... so I guess there is a design aspect:





Most mic stand booms are "one way" and set up so the musician can adjust with a right hand... if the hardware was set up on the other side, the way grip and gaffer protocol is followed on film sets, there would be less likely hood of boom slippage.




best regards,
mike