How to mount Blue mic

[DC-Choppah]

I just got a used Blue microphone - bottle shaped (Bluebird). It did not come with any accessories. Is there any way to mount this to a regular mic stand with a clip or do you always need one of those shock mount gadgets (I don't have one yet)?

That leads me to another question - what does the shock mount do musically? I've never used one.

I do have a singer coming over in a few weeks. Does the shock mount matter for singers only?

I mainly want to use the Blue mic for capturing the drum set as a room mic. But I guess sometimes other stuff too, like my singer.

Thanks in advance
DC

[ConcertinaChap]

The clue is in the name. Basically the shock mount protects the mic from shocks. The sort of knocks and clunks that can happen round the studio, from foot tapping to brushing against the foot of the mic stand. All these can sound through the mic stand, through a clip and into your mic and thence into the recording. A shock mount prevents that from happening and as such is well worth having.

There is a definite best buy at present in generic shock mounts in the shape of the Invision Studio. The matching pop shield is worth having as well.

CC

[Bob Bickerton]

The shock mount physically isolates the mic from stand and therefore floor born noise, which is very important.

Best option would be a Rycote lyre mount along with a Rycote pop shield.

Bob

[Tim Gillett]

I just got a used Blue microphone - bottle shaped (Bluebird). It did not come with any accessories. Is there any way to mount this to a regular mic stand with a clip or do you always need one of those shock mount gadgets (I don't have one yet)?

Sometimes these mics have a thread in their base so you can screw the mic directly onto a mic stand with no mic clip.

Ditto for the comments on shock mounts. Some mics are far more prone to noise transmitted through the body than others. Adding a shock mount where needed should have no other effect on the sound.

Tim

[DC-Choppah]

I was wondering what those threads were for. But I don't get it. The threads are on the outside of the XLR connector at the base of the mic.

Good pictures here:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Bluebird?utm_source=G...

So obviously if you thread that onto a stand then you can't plug the mic cable in. What am I missing?

All the photos I can find show only a shock mount being used that grabs the big cylinder part of the Blue mic.

I really want to try this out but just can't mount it yet.

[Tim Gillett]

The second picture shows the shock mount basket. The big hole at the bottom fits over the threaded sleeve on the mic and probably a locking nut holds it in place. At least that's how it appears to work looking at the Sweetwater photo.

Cheers Tim

[TheReson8or]

Hi, The mic screws into the shock mount at the base. Dave

[ConcertinaChap]

That's quite a common way to fit a mic to a shock mount, and is usually used for proprietary shock mounts. For generic shock mounts intended to fit a wide range of mics some other mechanism is often used, so for instance the Rycote LDC shock mounts use grips that grip (no other word for it) the barrel of the mic and are adjustable for the width of the barrel.

CC

[DC-Choppah]

OK. Thanks.

I was hoping those threads at the base could be used to mount the Blue mic without a shock mount.

Here is a video from George Benson's web site showing him in the studio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f57nO8Sjswg

At 10-45 secs there is a good shot of his vocal mic. The goose neck arm screws right into the end of the mic where the mic cable goes. So it's a goose neck with an integral mic cable and connector.

Can someone tell me what this gadget is? I don't know what words to use to find it in a search.

[ConcertinaChap]

I've never seen one before and I'm not sure why you'd want to bother with it. It gives you no shock protection at all. Please don't try to avoid using a shock mount. They are an expense (not too large an expense in the case of the Rycotes we all recommend) but well worth the money.

I like drop arms (gadgets that allow you to hang a mic in an inverted fashion as shown) and you will find here a thread about my search for a good one. The latest SoS includes an article about the one I found.

Use one of those in conjunction with a Rycote shock mount and you're home and dry.

CC

[Bob Bickerton]

OK. Thanks.

I was hoping those threads at the base could be used to mount the Blue mic without a shock mount.

Here is a video from George Benson's web site showing him in the studio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f57nO8Sjswg

At 10-45 secs there is a good shot of his vocal mic. The goose neck arm screws right into the end of the mic where the mic cable goes. So it's a goose neck with an integral mic cable and connector.

Can someone tell me what this gadget is? I don't know what words to use to find it in a search.

Can't get that clip to play on my ipad, but integrated gooseneck/XLRs would be a waste of time, unstable and no shock protection. Go Rycote - end of story.

Bob

[TheReson8or]

Hi, It is always possible that the mic on this clip was placed like this for the video...hanging upside down is common , but that mechanism looks a little suspect. Dave

[Hugh Robjohns]

I was hoping those threads at the base could be used to mount the Blue mic without a shock mount.

Technically yes, but I don't think Blue make a suitable adapter. Plenty of other mic manufacturers have mounts of the kind shown below (this is a Neumann mount):



However, there is no standard thread for this purpose and different mic manufacturers use different thread diameters and pitches... so I can't recommend a specific manufacturer's accessory I'm afraid. You might find one that fits... but it will be trial and error, or a recommendation from someone who accidentally discovered something that fits!

In any case, it makes much more sense to mount this kind of mic in a proper shockmount. The Blue accessory is fine, although I'm also a fan of the universal Rycote offering.

The goose neck arm screws right into the end of the mic where the mic cable goes. So it's a goose neck with an integral mic cable and connector.

It's not a gooseneck. The image is of a vintage Neumann mic with the equivalent of an IC4 connector:



There are a few variations on this theme, but it is a Neumann-specific design (and unlikely to have a mating thread for the Blue mic) which integrates the XLR connector with a screw-one knuckle joint and stand adapter. They were supplied as standard with mics throughout the 50s and 60s and you'll see them a lot in vintage videos of studio sessions.

But... they offer no shock-mounting at all and, while they are acceptable in a high-end studio when supported from a massive and heavy studio mic stand on a solid floor, with trained professionals who know not to tap their feet or grab the mic stand, I wouldn't recommend them for an amateur studio with light-weight stands on suspended floors!

H

[zenguitar]

And I thought us country folks were the only ones interested in taping ferrets Hugh

Andy

[Hugh Robjohns]

Wow! How does the internet explorer spell-checker manage to turn 'tap their feet' into 'tape their ferret'?! It must have been aware of some of those other websites I frequent...

[DC-Choppah]

Ok Thanks all.

Got the shock mount. It seems to work well with the Blue. Here's a picture.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/21826238/001.JPG

[ConcertinaChap]

Nice one. You can include pictures directly in your post if you want by using the UBB code Image thus:



Cheers,

CC