I Need a Mic Stand...
I have the perfect stuff. Maybe I should buy something else.
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I need a new mic stand.
Well, technically I don’t really need one, but I feel like it would be a nice thing to have.
My family and I are gearing up for a summer RV trip, but I booked a podcast interview that I’m going to record in the RV while we’re away. My podcast setup isn’t huge, but it’s not super portable either. It includes a tabletop mixer, a few cables, and my microphone.
When I’m home, the microphone is attached to a desktop boom. The boom could travel with me in the RV, but it feels like overkill. I was thinking instead that a tabletop mic stand might be something handy to have. It would be smaller and may also be more comfortable when working at the dining table in the RV.
The cheapest option from B&H (a professional camera, video, and audio supplier based in New York) is $9.99. The “#1 seller” version is slightly nicer and sells for $12.95. Both offer free shipping.
Even though they cost next to nothing, this feels like a wasteful purchase. Do I really need one more thing in my life? Is this really solving something for me or am I inventing problems to solve with stuff?
Maybe I’d feel better if I bought a used one. After all, lots of people started podcasts during COVID and aren’t producing them anymore. There must be an abundance of mic stands for sale on Craigslist. And if it’s used, I’m saving it from a landfill.
There aren’t any that near to me in the style I want. Somebody has one for sale in Brooklyn for $20. That’s more than a new one from B&H and I’d have to drive to Brooklyn and back. Plus, there’s the toll to cross the bridge, gas, etc. That $20 is more like $40 all in.
I suppose I could take the Acela. But when am I going to find time for that? And where would I park to pick it up?
There’s another used one in Kingston, NY, in the Hudson Valley, but it’s $22. Why did the seller take a picture of the mic stand with a dollar bill? Is it to show that the stand is heavy? Do I need a heavy stand? I didn’t think the weight of the stand mattered. Or does the stand come with the dollar bill? Craigslist is weird.
Wait, I think I actually might have a mic stand somewhere around here. I bought one at Radio Shack in high school. It’s got to be in a box in my attic. But which box? I tried to look but couldn’t find the box that I thought it was in. Maybe I sold it at a garage sale years ago? Or maybe it’s still in my parents’ basement? Why isn’t Radio Shack still around?
Maybe the problem isn’t the mic though- maybe it’s the mixer that’s too big.
When I launched my podcast three years ago, I bought a nice mixer that had a “mix minus” feature built-in, which allowed me to record phone calls or Zoom meetings without the guest’s voice echoing back at them. But it’s a tabletop unit- designed more for a studio than for use in the field.
Now the same company makes a super portable version designed for podcasters. It’s only $149. My mom has been asking me for birthday gift ideas lately. Should I ask for that?
Hold on, some reviewers say the mixer can drop recordings. That’s not good. I’ve never had that problem with my old mixer. I guess I’ll stick with the old one for now.
Or maybe I don't need a mixer at all. Maybe it’s the mic that’s the problem. The mic that I have now is an XLR mic, so it requires an external mixer or recorder to work. I suppose I could just buy a USB microphone and let Zoom record separate channels of audio.
The USB version of the mic I have now is $199. Remember Mom, it’s my birthday soon. Or maybe I’d rather have a shirt or a gift card or something.
Oh wait. The USB mic doesn’t come with a stand.
So I guess I still need a mic stand.
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