While audiophiles might spend gazillions of hours finely honing a microphone stand that isolates their equipment from the trials and perturbations of the world, most of us who use a microphone don’t need anything so elaborate. Hackaday contributing editor [Jenny List] hacked together some thrift store finds into a snazzy adjustable mic setup as you can see in the video below the break.
Using the flexible neck and clamp of an IKEA Kvart as a base, [Lists]’s mic stand looks like a simple, but exceedingly useful tool. She first removed the lamp, shade, and cord before designing a 3D-printed mount to attach to the lamp’s neck. Since the bolted lamp end of the connection goes straight to an action camera mounting system, we can see this being handy for mounting any number of other things besides microphones. Another 3D-printed mount attaches the Logitech gaming microphone to the action camera connector, and the whole thing can either be bolted together or use a printed pin. All the parts can be found in a GitHub repository.
Looking for more microphone hacks? Check out this DIY ribbon microphone or the Ambi-Alice ambisonic mic.
The problem with these types of mounts is that they transmit all the vibrations. In practice, they don’t work.
A little hobby-store felt will go a long ways toward isolating the vibration.
And fill up the tube with something that absorbs vibrations, sand maybe?
Of course the trouble is the low frequencies, so you’re going to hear thump thump thump as you type on your keyboard or bump something against the table.
Depends on what you’re clamping it to. If you’re clamping to your desk and reading a script off the laptop, or clamping to a windowsill and using the desk, probably ok. If you’re clamping to the desk and typing away at the same time, probably not.
Also the mic will have an impact. An old style dynamic mic will be less sensitive to vibrations than a condenser/electret.
Still going to depend on the desk as well – some materials are pretty good at absorbing those vibrations rather than transmitting them, and where on the desk you clamp as well. Then should it be a problem adding a little rubber/foam to the clamping faces on the desk and perhaps between the mic body and clamp as well likely solve it.
So in practice it probably doesn’t matter enough to worry about for most, even if they are heavy typers… You will hear the buckeling spring in all its glory through the air just fine no matter what you do (if it is in the mic’s pickup orientation anyway), but a mushy soft membrane is probably not loud enough for it to matter even with no particular isolation between the mic and desk, and probably isn’t loud enough to matter compared to the sounds you intended to capture. As a desk stand mic is still massively more removed than the laptop microphone, and many of those still do ok at rejecting the keyboard noise (though generally sound awful in other ways).
Why would you use a mechanical keyboard in a recording setup?
Scissor switches are quiet to start with, quieter even than soft dome keyboards, and the laptop mic doesn’t pick up low frequencies well anyhow, so there’s that going for it.
It’s too bad that few companies these days make good slim profile silent keyboards because everyone got sold on the clicky clacky sounds (even while gaming with headphones on) and tall keys/switches that simply increase your physical effort to type. Most such makers also switched to soft domes and island keys because they’re cheaper to make. What I want instead is this kind of keyboard with a better layout:
https://the-gadgeteer.com/2014/05/30/rapoo-e9070-wireless-ultra-slim-keyboard-review/
I used to have that keyboard, but it broke when I spilled drink on it, and then I couldn’t find another one.
There are many great reasons to go for a mechanical longer travel keyboard that have nothing to do with how it sounds – the tactile experience is entirely different and rather widely considered better. And many reasons to have a microphone and keyboard in the same space – not every recording setup is about perfect sound as it might be in music production etc.
You get your video game streamers as an obvious example. They will want a decent microphone so they sound like humans, and a keyboard that is good to use in their game(s) of choice.
Using mine, I haven’t had an issue with this, as my environment is quite solid.
But ti should be easy enough to CAD up a suspension mount to action camera fitting if you need one.
I found a baby bottle holder. I can’t find if it is still being made. It starts with the clamp you see here but has a ball on top. Two ball and socket arms a foot long attach to the clamp. On the far end is a spring clamp. The balls can be locked with turn screws. It makes a great third hand for on end live open board inspection and cleaning soldering etc.
It is on the left end of the bench. Out further are 2 IKEA style desk lamps 2 times the size of the the holder. They would make a better mic holder, much like pro models I see in radio stations. Instead of ball joints they are double arm double jointed with braking screws.
Definitely a hack.
I need to slip my pedantic sound engineer’s hat on for a moment…
That is known as a gooseneck stand. Horrible things. They creak like mad when you bend them.
A patient went to a doctor: “Doctor, it hurts like hell when I press here.” Doctor: “Good grief, don’t press there!”
Couldn’t resistPatient: “It hurts everywhere I press; my head, my knee, my foot…”
Doctor: “I think you have a broken finger”
You don’t want to adjust any mic whilst it’s live. Goosenecks are very common in lecterns and work absolutely fine. Just don’t fiddle with it whilst you’re using it!
Fortunately this one is a set up and forget thing, I don’t move it while using it. But yes, I’ve spent my time as a sound engineer too, and they creak like mad if you bend them.
IKEA KVART 10€ (+3D printer + filament + time)
Ready made microphone mount with gooseneck and desk attachment 20€.
My Kvart was £4, but yes.
Good solution.
“While audiophiles might spend gazillions of hours finely honing a microphone stand that isolates their equipment from the trials and perturbations of the world…”
Hyperbolic lede aside, good shock isolation for mics isn’t that hard, or necessarily expensive. The $5 shockmounts from the usual far-east suspects are pretty good. The spider/basket suspensions that come with the clone “studio” or USB mics are usually effective. Slices of 1″ or 1.5″ rubber hose can be used for DIY isolation. Lots of other DIY shockmount ideas out there.
And most of these can be used on the end of a gooseneck, including the subject one.
DIY shockmount example:
https://content.instructables.com/FPP/4VSM/LAJNMOPH/FPP4VSMLAJNMOPH.jpg
Kvart was discontinued years ago.
And mic stands are not that expensive.