Mic stand threads

[revbobuk]

I have, as I guess everybody does, a large collection of mic clips. And a lot of stands of different sizes. And I find myself wondering about the history of the two different threads. Why has the industry never managed to settle for one unified thread size? Why does someone always manage to screw the thread adapter in very tight and the wrong way round, so you can't ever remove it again? Do you store your clips with the adapter in, or do you superglue the adapters onto the stands? I like the 3/8 thread because it is coarse (16tpi) and thus quick. Why did 5/8 appear, and why is it so much finer? And why do cameras use yet another size? Why is there no metric alternative? I know none of this matters at all, but I am curious.

[sandall]

3/8" for everything - any old or oriental 5/8" stands have 3/8" adaptors glued on.

 

Supplementary question - why do so many people leave clips, particularly the hard-plastic brittle ones, on the end of boom-stands, rather than back with their mics?

[Lamplighter]

It's worth remembering that 3/8 Whitworth threads are interchangeable with 3/8 UNC. Stockists of Whitworth nuts and bolts are becoming rarer but UNC seem readily available.

 

 

 

 

[Dave m]

And don't get me started on camera base threads. All smaller cameras are 1/4" whitworth and throughout the world all cameras fitted all tripods

Then someone invented a clever quick release clip based on professional cameras where you fitted a base to the camera and a quick release shoe to the tripod

After about ten years the tripod manufactures cottoned on and produced their own built in shoe system but everyone developed their own design. This meant that they abandoned the hundred and fifty? year old screw on the tripod so that if someone leaves the base on a camera, the tripod is useless. Then you have to search through the myriad of shapes to find a replacement

[TonyMitchell]

Supplementary question - why do so many people leave clips, particularly the hard-plastic brittle ones, on the end of boom-stands, rather than back with their mics?

 

A few reasons - ours would be:

• Mics travel in their own compact flight-case which holds up to 24 x 57/58 et al shaped mics with grilles facing up and a space in the middle for fatter/stubbier kick & tom mics, etc. No room in that box for clips.
• Stands travel in a compartmentalised flight-case where the clip attaches to one leg of the mic stand, keeping the stand together in one piece
• Unwinding clips off stands takes longer than unclipping a mic from its stand

We do avoid brittle mic clips though.

 

[TomHoward]

We leave the clips on the stands, but we do fold the boom downwards rather than retract it, so the clip is in the middle of the stand when folded rather than stuck at one end to get bashed.

[ninjadingle]

I always remove mic clips and keep with the mic - means when I get a stand out I know I can put anything on it straight away rather than have to remove a mic clip first to then use with a different mic (think Beta 52 or a 604 without a clamp), then find somewhere safe for the removed clip to go, and remember to put it back on at the end of the gig (unlikely).

 

Speed is only just slower - leave the mic in the clip and use it as a bit of a lever to undo the clip. Takes maybe 20 seconds longer.

 

As for the different size threads - I'm guessing US / European differences may have been a factor?

[paulears]

Opening the mic stand case and finding naked stands that somebody has taken the clip off means the clip is lost. I understand those that pair the clips with the mic, but I don't and find it so annoying. It also means that I recognise where the stand is going. Grab a stand, look at the clip and know that's front line, or snare, or hats, or overhead etc etc etc. The clips kind of label the stand once you see if it's short, long, extendable boom or something else.

 

Like everything else - one persons solution is somebody else angst!

[Alec]

I'm firmly in the clips with mics camp. I might be different if I was working with the same act every night, but not convinced.

 

Next question when storing (which others have mentioned) - end up or end down? For me, it's always end up.

 

And, back to the original question, I like everything 3/8, so adapters live in mic clips. US folk are mystified at those "European adapters" that come with every mic, and which they have to keep throwing away. Yes, wouldn't it be easier if we had a single standard, with no adapters...

 

If we're not careful, it'll be velcro vs LX tape next...

[sandall]

Interesting. I can see the point of keeping the clips on the stands if you flight-case the stands (Tony) or always travel with the same kit (Paul), but if the stands travel loose & the mics travel in their boxes or bags it's a nightmare. One venue I work at have their own kit, but instead of being in the bag with its mic the clip you need could be on any stand in any room. Most likely it will be on a Chinese desk-stand with a 5/8" thread, so even if you find a clip the right size it will have lost its 3/8" - 5/8" adaptor !!

 

Over the years I have collected a variety of mics, with many different diameters, so the chances of grabbing a mic & a stand with the right clip in a hurry would be minimal. As for boom end up or down - mic end up - it's shorter for stowage, & the nut won't scratch the legs (I may be in a minority on this one).

 

As for 3/8" v 5/8" - back in the 70s you had the choice of Nickel-plated K&M (but sold as AKG, Beyer, etc) with 3/8" threads or cheap Japanese & Korean (no Chinese yet) Chrome-plated imports with American 5/8" (or 1/2") threads. I suspect the origins of both sizes go back to random decisions made in Germany & the US back in the 1930s.

 

Velcro every time. The venue that is always losing its mic clips has a habit of tying its mic cables with many turns of 2" wide hazard tape, with the end stuck down, so there's nothing to pull .

 

E2A: And you can never get all the glue off

 

 

Edited October 18, 2019 by sandall

[Stuart91]

I'm with Tony and Paul on this one. We keep SM58-sized clips on all our stands. Inevitably some are taken off in the course of a gig (particularly for kick mics and small condensers) but they're usually well in the minority. Fortunately almost all of our mics will fit in a standard clip.

 

I figure that this is a quicker way of doing it, and we break less clips on the stands than we would lose if they were kept separately. We store our stands in bags of six, and fold the booms so that the clip is facing upwards. This makes it easy to check at a glance whether there is a clip in place, and quick to replace any missing ones.

 

I'm toying with the idea of finding ways of "padding out" smaller mics so that they can fit a standard clip. Occasionally this has had to be bodged at a gig with multiple layers of insulating tape, but that obviously isn't ideal. Possibly bulking them up with heat shrink or neoprene...

[sunray]

I have, as I guess everybody does, a large collection of mic clips. And a lot of stands of different sizes. And I find myself wondering about the history of the two different threads. Why has the industry never managed to settle for one unified thread size? Why does someone always manage to screw the thread adapter in very tight and the wrong way round, so you can't ever remove it again? Do you store your clips with the adapter in, or do you superglue the adapters onto the stands? I like the 3/8 thread because it is coarse (16tpi) and thus quick. Why did 5/8 appear, and why is it so much finer? And why do cameras use yet another size? Why is there no metric alternative? I know none of this matters at all, but I am curious.

Well as far as I'm concerned the original thread was the 1/2", in the 50's we had (and possibly may still have) microphones by Trix, Lustraphone and Vortexion. We had (and possibly may still have) 2 mic stands to match and then the inevitable happened and a new mic in about 1962 had a 1/4" female fitting and an adapter was quickly sourced and fitted to make it compatible.

 

We stayed with that format until 1977 when Jubilee celebrations required loads of kit and suddenly 5/8" seemed to be the 'new' standard and we suddenly had a load of adapters of all sizes (and chaos). Then the lighting bolt size of 3/8 joined in.

 

 

By then all of the old mics were retired and allof our stands became 5/8".

 

We also had a massive stand with a heavy 1/2cwt cast base and matching big brass mic which had a much bigger thread, more like 1".

 

 

Users these days are soooooo lucky!

 

[fincaman]

3/8" for everything - any old or oriental 5/8" stands have 3/8" adaptors glued on.

 

Supplementary question - why do so many people leave clips, particularly the hard-plastic brittle ones, on the end of boom-stands, rather than back with their mics?

 

 

Simple to save time when setting up

[sunray]

I'm toying with the idea of finding ways of "padding out" smaller mics so that they can fit a standard clip. Occasionally this has had to be bodged at a gig with multiple layers of insulating tape, but that obviously isn't ideal. Possibly bulking them up with heat shrink or neoprene...

One guy I used to meet ocassionally carried broken clothes pegs to use as wedges

 

[Stuart91]

One guy I used to meet ocassionally carried broken clothes pegs to use as wedges

 

Certainly easier to remove than half a roll of insulating tape...