Topic: Lighting stands for mics

[yousef]

My trusty lighting stand is likely lost for the foreseeable future so I'm looking for a replacement.

Just wondering if there are any benefits or drawbacks to buying an air-cushioned model from the point of view of mounting mics.

Looking at videos it seems the air cushioning only acts to prevent an abrupt fall - so looks like it would make tearing down a bit slower, while also adding an annoying whooshing noise. Or am I missing a benefit in terms of potentially damping vibrations?

[EmRR]

The abrupt fall most often happens when you're taking the mics down and it goes faster than expected.....it can break mic capsule mounts and bend other internal parts, even if it all stays on the stand and in the clips. 

…see how you feel when you put $10k worth of mics up on a single bar.

[mccordo]

My first stand was air cushioned and the OPs assessment of how it worked is spot on. While you won't have your mics do a sudden drop, you also have to wait or try to force it down as the air escapes. It may be nice to have if you have a full on mic tree on the like Phish @ MSG, but if you're just running 2-4 mics on a mount it's overkill.

[yousef]

It may be nice to have if you have a full on mic tree on the like Phish @ MSG, but if you're just running 2-4 mics on a mount it's overkill.

Thank you! You've saved me from making quite an annoying mistake there.

[tim in jersey]

I happen to agree with mccordo, FWIW...

[anodyne33]

The big one I have is Amvona I believe, not air cushioned but has springs in each section. I've never had the sitch where it dropped but I can't imagine I'd have any problem if it did.

[Gutbucket]

Agreed. I find the slo-mo down of an air cushioned stand annoying, particularly so when a quick change/adjustment is needed.

Bump-stop springs seem a better functional solution, but do they increase the length of the stand when retracted?

[SMsound]

I have the best air cushioned (Manfrotto) and the best non-air-cushioned (Matthews, and some carbon stands).

I prefer non-air-cushioned.

I haven't found the air cushioning useful, and it definitely slows me down. Usually mics aren't heavy like a huge filming light that wants to crash down. Even when I use huge filming lights I don't care about the cushioning too much.

I prefer lightweight, compact, strong stands that are easy to carry and robust to breakage/wobbling.

How tall of a stand do you need? And do you need it to be compact to fit in a backpack/carryon (19"), or can it be bigger when folded up? Then I can tell you the best one from my experience.

[yousef]

My old stand probably went up to about 3m and had springs in each section. I bought it via ebay following a recommendation from here years ago and it served me well.

It's now lost somewhere in the house of the singer in one of my bands and may never be seen again. If I could find the same one again I'd buy it in an instant - lightweight, stable and tall enough for my needs. Size when folded up isn't much of a concern for me.

I've seen a couple of likely candidates on Ebay - will take a punt this week.