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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: mountaintaper on December 21, 2021, 02:37:13 AM
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After what I just spent on a pair of U89's, I'm trying not to spend the $349ea Neumann wants for their shock mounts, what y'all using?
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If I just dropped that much bank on a pair of "German Submarines", I'd use their high quality German shock mounts and avoid screen dents.
Dented screens will drop a mic's value by at least 1/3 in my experience
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I would go with one of the Rycote options. I'm not sure if this one fits the bill, but something similar if this one wouldn't work.
This mount is adjustable and has a locking collar so that you can run your mics in a "vertical" orientation. I have a similar mount for my Gefell UM70's and it works great and provides shock protection.
https://vintageking.com/rycote-invision-studio-usm-shock-mount?gclid=Cj0KCQiAk4aOBhCTARIsAFWFP9E4toq0wi4fzn56d5zwWhdr91krSqrBGakqd0exkvK7ptI7_15l2pMaAtS_EALw_wcB
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After what I just spent on a pair of U89's, I'm trying not to spend the $349ea Neumann wants for their shock mounts, what y'all using?
I'd check with waltmon to see what he's using for his U89s.
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Rycote!
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They are internally shockmounted....the cages are so huge to drag around, I use the low profile mounts
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Rycotes here. The internal rubber mounts are better than nothing but really not that effective. The Rycotes are smaller, more robust and more effective than the Neumann mounts. They're also adjustable to take different mics.
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(as a former U 89 owner, endorsing what 0vu said) Try listening over headphones and tapping on the body of the mike to get an idea of this. All that a manufacturer can do is put the capsule on the end of a somewhat flexible "stalk" inside the capsule head. Its material has to last for decades without deteriorating or stiffening. And the stalk has to be short unless you make the capsule head extra large. So the total benefit that can be had is rather minimal--a few dB of isolation at best.
When Neumann introduced the U 89 their idea was to create a more versatile successor to the U 87, including its being smaller and lighter. I don't know whether you've ever seen the actual capsule of a U 89 but it's oddly about twice as deep as any of Neumann's other capsules. If the microphone is dropped or struck, the capsule can smash against the screen, distorting its surround and ruining the tension setting and the distance to the backplate. One of my U 89s had visible waves (regularly spaced wrinkles) in one of its membranes when I bought it on eBay, which is a symptom of this type of accident. Unlike most other manufacturers, Neumann doesn't repair capsules, so the only remedy is to replace the capsule.
Thus there's a narrow limit to how soft an internal suspension can be. And if the body of the microphone is vibrating for whatever reason, the capsule picks up those vibrations acoustically anyway. (Imagine being trapped in a bell tower--one of my favorite older mystery novels has that as the method of murdering someone.) All in all, "internal shock mounting" can never substitute for a shock mount that isolates the entire microphone and some length of the cable attached to it.