Topic: Fave shock mounts for your SDC mics

[waltmon]

Just curious what peoples preferences are. Also looking for a small stand mounted shock to put under an active set-up.

Thanks.

[ScoobieKW]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/867204-REG/Avantone_Pro_SSM_SSM_Professional_Shockmount.html

replacement O rings available in your local hardware store's plumbing section.

[waltmon]

I have a set of these...love them.

[Ultfris101]

Just started using Rycote Invision INV-6's and they are great. Made for short bodies like the Neumann KM-100s but as was suggested in another thread they work fine with Schoeps CMC6's.

Expensive of course as so many things in this area are, but they are worth it and a lot of other folks seem to agree.

What type of active mounting are you thinking of?

The INV-6's work well if you have actives in a delrin DIN/ORTF bar or similar. One of them can hold the bar just fine.

And the cable management clip is icing on the cake.

[page]

Rycote Invision INV

qft

If you need shockmounts that do the job, they are it with the Shure A53 donuts coming in second (and everything else a distant third). If you just need stuff to keep your mics in the air, then you have options.

[waltmon]

I'll be running 150's with the ds-120 Nuemann mount or a vark bar.   I will eventually be running 4 channel. 

[DigiGal]

Doesn't get any better than Rycote INV's.

[Ultfris101]

I'll be running 150's with the ds-120 Nuemann mount or a vark bar.   I will eventually be running 4 channel.

So that's with the active cable and a non shock clip down to the km-100 in the bag? in that case it's like I run my Naiant AKG actives and my current very cheap solution is to use a cheapo windtech shockmount with a delrin riser stuck in it. Point the mount down so the screw in the riser is pointing straight up and then screw a delrin vark clone or any other stereo bar into then. Then I can mount my actives with the Audix micro mounts which have no shock absorption and be in good shape.

Or I imagine you could use a pair of the Rycotes designed for actives which have a 19mm lyre in front and a much smaller one to hold the back of the active.

An upgrade to an appropriate Rycote invision mount to replace the windtech at some point will happen but for now this works. Rycote is no doubt superior.

[cd2go]

Doesn't get any better than Rycote INV's.

another vote for rycote

[cashandkerouac]

Doesn't get any better than Rycote INV's.

another vote for rycote

+1 for the Rycote INV series.

[DSatz]

My two nominations for audio products of the decade would be Rycote's InVision shock mounts and Neutrik's "EMC"-series XLR connectors; I fail to see why anyone would choose anything else.

[DSatz]

Jon, let's please limit the off-topic conversation in this thread, but I do find pin 1 problems quite often in portable recording equipment, particularly (though by no means exclusively) in low-cost items made in the far East.

Like the honest person who can't bring himself to suspect other people's motives, the care that you take to avoid this issue in your equipment may have given you a touch of false optimism about what the rest of the world is doing ...

--best regards

[adrianf74]

I'm running Actives with Superlux HM-30's on a bar -- call me cheap but they work.   Not sure how much of a shockmount they truly are.  The Avantone one looks pretty decent.

[DigiGal]

My two nominations for audio products of the decade would be Rycote's InVision shock mounts and Neutrik's "EMC"-series XLR connectors; I fail to see why anyone would choose anything else.

QFT

[John Willett]

Just curious what peoples preferences are. Also looking for a small stand mounted shock to put under an active set-up.

When it comes to SDCs there are, IMHO, just two options worth looking at:-

First is the Rycote In-Vision series (the INV-7 will hold almost every SDC on the market).




Second is the "donut" mount as made by Shure, Gefell, etc...  These are not quite as effective as the Rycote, but are pretty close and rather better than the rubber O-ring / elastic mounts.  There advantage is that they are pretty unpbtrusive.



These are the most effective.

The Cinela Osix is also excellent, but is equally effective as the Rycote, but more expensive.

It's well worth reading this article "Keeping Microphones Quiet", as it tests several suspension types.

[John Willett]

My two nominations for audio products of the decade would be Rycote's InVision shock mounts and Neutrik's "EMC"-series XLR connectors; I fail to see why anyone would choose anything else.

This is exactly what I use. 

[waltmon]

http://www.fullcompass.com/product_image.php?imageid=145510


INV stereo kit  (139.00 with T-bar

[tgakidis]

Cheap and reliable...
http://www.joemeek.com/accessories.html

[voltronic]

Even cheaper ($16 shipped):
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=166001.0

It's 22mm, but I added a few self-adhesive felt buttons to the cradle and it holds my 19mm bar nice and snug.

Never having seen the Meek in person though - what's the size of the cradle?

[DSatz]

Shure rubber donuts are nice as far as they go; for wireless microphones they'd probably be just about perfect.

But for microphones that are used with cables, a shock mount should isolate some length of the cable along with the microphone. And the foot or so of cable where it enters the microphone needs to be fairly slack, so that it doesn't become a conduit for vibrations. It also should not restrict the freedom of the microphone to move within the range that the flexibility of the shock mount allows.

There seems to be a lack of awareness about this among live sound engineers, unfortunately. It's common to see a microphone sitting in a shock mount, where the cable comes out of the microphone without a slack loop being "pinched off" at any point--and the cable is then wrapped around the boom arm. This defeats much of the purpose of the shock mount, unless you think of it mainly as a fancy decoration.

--best regards

[cashandkerouac]

where can i get one of these?

[tgakidis]

Never having seen the Meek in person though - what's the size of the cradle?

Not sure but they fit 21mm akg 480's perfectly.

[F.O.Bean]

A lil bigger than normal, but IMO the AT 8415's with the K-Tek K-SUS Heavy Duty rubber mounts have the best shockmounting. Period! The newer Rycotes are damn nice tho! I used the 8415s on a shure vert bar and it folded up really nice

[John Willett]

Shure rubber donuts are nice as far as they go; for wireless microphones they'd probably be just about perfect.

But for microphones that are used with cables, a shock mount should isolate some length of the cable along with the microphone. And the foot or so of cable where it enters the microphone needs to be fairly slack, so that it doesn't become a conduit for vibrations. It also should not restrict the freedom of the microphone to move within the range that the flexibility of the shock mount allows.

There seems to be a lack of awareness about this among live sound engineers, unfortunately. It's common to see a microphone sitting in a shock mount, where the cable comes out of the microphone without a slack loop being "pinched off" at any point--and the cable is then wrapped around the boom arm. This defeats much of the purpose of the shock mount, unless you think of it mainly as a fancy decoration.

--best regards

I absolutely agree.

I use the Rycote S-series XLR tail on all my microphones and tie the far end to the stand via the clip on the InVision mount or tied to the stand.  This decouples the microphone from the cable.

In fact having a thin and flexible XLR tail is more important than the shockmount.

[DigiGal]

Shure rubber donuts are nice as far as they go; for wireless microphones they'd probably be just about perfect.

But for microphones that are used with cables, a shock mount should isolate some length of the cable along with the microphone. And the foot or so of cable where it enters the microphone needs to be fairly slack, so that it doesn't become a conduit for vibrations. It also should not restrict the freedom of the microphone to move within the range that the flexibility of the shock mount allows.

There seems to be a lack of awareness about this among live sound engineers, unfortunately. It's common to see a microphone sitting in a shock mount, where the cable comes out of the microphone without a slack loop being "pinched off" at any point--and the cable is then wrapped around the boom arm. This defeats much of the purpose of the shock mount, unless you think of it mainly as a fancy decoration.

--best regards

I absolutely agree.

I use the Rycote S-series XLR tail on all my microphones and tie the far end to the stand via the clip on the InVision mount or tied to the stand.  This decouples the microphone from the cable.

In fact having a thin and flexible XLR tail is more important than the shockmount.

It should be noted however that adding a tail does add additional connectors which effectively breaks the twist and opens up the shield near the mic with a balanced cable.

[silentmark]

I've used just the STH100 & 120 mount & the overpriced schoeps a20 with kwon bars on the same bouncing floor and frankly never heard a difference, YMMV of course ...

[John Willett]

It should be noted however that adding a tail does add additional connectors which effectively breaks the twist and opens up the shield near the mic with a balanced cable.

Not necessarily.

I use Neutrik EMC XLRs and these do not open up the shield and keep a good RF shield throughout.

[DigiGal]

It should be noted however that adding a tail does add additional connectors which effectively breaks the twist and opens up the shield near the mic with a balanced cable.

Not necessarily.

I use Neutrik EMC XLRs and these do not open up the shield and keep a good RF shield throughout.

I also use neutrik EMC connectors, most people don't though. I actually edited my post to add opening up the shield since most people don't use these connectors.

Regardless the cable twist is lost in the added connector even if you twist the signal conductors internally. It is not necessarily wise to add connectors near the mic, it is after all a mic level signal. 

[John Willett]

It should be noted however that adding a tail does add additional connectors which effectively breaks the twist and opens up the shield near the mic with a balanced cable.

Not necessarily.

I use Neutrik EMC XLRs and these do not open up the shield and keep a good RF shield throughout.

I also use neutrik EMC connectors, most people don't though. I actually edited my post to add opening up the shield since most people don't use these connectors.

Regardless the cable twist is lost in the added connector even if you twist the signal conductors internally. It is not necessarily wise to add connectors near the mic, it is after all a mic level signal.

Personally, I think it preferable to add the connectors and properly decouple the cable from the mic., rather than having a cable direct to the mic. that transmits handling noise to the mic.

I have never had a problem with daisy-chaining mic. cables if I needed a longer length - but I do use good cable and god connectors.

[vwmule]

Just ordered a Rycote INV-6, based on this thread. So it'll hold a delrin active bar? I see a reference to the INV-7. Did I order correctly?

[DigiGal]

Just ordered a Rycote INV-6, based on this thread. So it'll hold a delrin active bar? I see a reference to the INV-7. Did I order correctly?

I put a delrin riser in my INV's and thread the delrin bar to the riser as in this photo demonstrating an articulating arm with clamp useful for balcony rail.  The shock mount in the photo is INV-7 MKII but I'll also use a regular INV-7 instead depending on conditions.  The MKII is more rigid, the standard INV-7 has more give to it.

[Ultfris101]

Just ordered a Rycote INV-6, based on this thread. So it'll hold a delrin active bar? I see a reference to the INV-7. Did I order correctly?

Most likely you're fine. This is a pic I shot of an INV-6 holding my follownbob all-in-one bar with ORTF ends

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ng9mpc3xarmt9ke/inv6_ortf.JPG

From this thread

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=166083.0

If you want to hold a riser vertically I agree with DigiGal you probably want one of the MKII's

[John Willett]

Just ordered a Rycote INV-6, based on this thread. So it'll hold a delrin active bar? I see a reference to the INV-7. Did I order correctly?

Personally I would have gone for the INV-7.

There are 3 mounting positions on  the 7 - wide (as supplied), middle and narrow (the narrow is the same spacing as the INV-6).  So, I would have gone for the 7 for the flexibility.