condenser mic and stand set-up

is a boom arm necessary for a condenser mic placement or will a condenser mic work just fine with a mic stand? which set-up is used most in recording studios.

what's a shock mount and is it necessary to use with a condenser mic.

btw, this is for vocals.

A boom arm is helpful for mic placement - it allows you to put the mic in the best spot. A standard mic stand is good for live sound. It can work, but isn't optimum for all situations. It is actually nice to have a selection of stands, but if you have only one a boom is the way to go.

A shock mount is farther down the list of things to get first, unless you have a tendency to record loud sources that vibrate through an old wooden floor, jump while you play or other bad tendencies (or live next to the highway). As glen sez, it keeps any vibrations from the floor from getting into your mic by holding it with rubber bands, basically. I don't have one here at home for my acoustic recording. I do have a wooden floor which is pretty solid, and just put a doubled rug under the mic stand (tripod and boom) and singer to stand on. I seldom have issues, but I don't record too many third parties so I can keep it under control. Lots of musicians will tap their toes, so a thick rug is necessary to have. Shock mount would be better, but the rug works fine for me. A thick, twilled cotton rug from Target.

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