Topic: 3/8" vs. 5/8"

[spcyrfc]

i know some people prefer one over the other and they are standards for different continents.  which is better and why?
i am mostly 5/8" but much of that is due to adaptors.  just decided to go with it so everything is now 5/8".

thanks.

[John Willett]

The 3/8" Whitworth (UK & European) thread is vastly superior than the 5/8" (American) thread.

This is for good technical reasons.

The Whitworth thread has the engineering perfect tpi (threads per inch) for greatest strength and the thread angle, etc. are also the engineering best.

The 5/8" American thread is a fine thread - this can cause it to bind up with dust and dirt far more easily than the coarser 3/8" thread.  Also (as has been mentioned to me by an American manufacturer) many mic. clips (especially Chinese copies and the like) are made of very poor material that does not mate very easily with others and can be quite a problem.

Personally I use all 3/8" threads on all stands and clips and use adaptors where necessary.

All mics tend to come with 5/8" threads with supplied adaptors (some clips, like the Rycote InVision) are the other way round with 3/8" threads and supplied adaptors to 5/8".

Euro stands are 3/8" and American are 5/8".

If I were in the USA I would fit 3/8" adaptors to alll my stands and standardise on the 3/8" thread for everything.....

For good engineering reasons and absolute reliability.

 

[page]

It also makes it easier to mix-match clamping and connection options. If you standardize to stud and 3/8th threads, then a large chunk of the Bogan and clone catalogs are open for options.