Topic: Seeking stand advice

[willyp523]

Seeking guidance for my next possible purchase 

Have only owned stealth gear to this point, but plan to hit a couple open festivals and possibly one or two open shows this summer...and I'd really like to not have to *wear* my mics.  Snagged an inexpensive 8.5 foot stand on ebay but am now thinking I might like the mics a little higher, maybe 12'-15' .

My questions are...is 8.5 feet enough?  Would an extension be a good option?  And would an extension attach to a top stud, or is a clamp required?

Another option I'm considering...found a 13' stand at Calumet Photo for $70 shipped.  Given the few open gigs I see, wouldn't want to spend more than that.

I'd appreciate any opinions, suggestions etc.

TIA 

[Gutbucket]

Depends.

..on a few things.  The kind of festival and where you will be taping in the venue for one.  At a laid back bluegrass type event you won't need to worry as much about drunken blather than you would at say, an outlaw country fest or a huge Bonnaroo type event so you wouldn't need more height.  Same goes if you will be up close FOB and low to avoid blocking sight-lines.   In those cases the stand you have is plenty tall and you may even run shorter than it's max height.  If back in the section with a rowdy/chatty crowd you might want to go taller.  Sounds like you are planning on using your existing mics which are probably small & lightweight, in which case it won't take a heavy duty stand to hold them up securely.  If that's the case then an extension can be a viable option to get a higher reach out of your existing stand.  If your stand has a 3/8" [edit- 5/8"] threaded top you can buy a piece of all-thread rod, a coupler nut and some regular hex nuts and make your own extension.  Quite simple to do, search the site for examples.  Have a good time.

[willyp523]

Thanks for the response.  All the venues are outdoor...Dunegrass which is pretty laid back. No concerns about the crowd there.  The other, Rothbury, I expect to be much different.  No idea where I'll be setting up...hopefully with a bunch of other stands.

A DIY extension?  Hadn't thought of that...yes, it should be simple.

Yes I'll be running my stealth mics for now, but in the future I see a set of Peluso's or something similar.  So perhaps my best bet would be to get the 13' now and not have to upgrade later.  I can always run it lower if needed.     

[halleyscomet8]

stick with what you've got. get a windtech clamp for the big shows (rothbury) as there should be tapers with taller stands around. and if it is a non taping band you can run the smaller stand. all i have is a little bogen 3373
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/512196-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_001B_001B_3353_3373_Nano.html

rarely do i feel that i am not high enough.

[Gutbucket]

Agreed, don't worry about a bigger stand.  I've got that same little  001B Manfrotto.  It's really nice to have such a compact stand.  That one is way shorter than yours and with two 18" threaded rod extensions I can go as high as I've needed.  Typical small diaphragm mics will be fine on what you've got too.  I also have a 10'er, but I've never used it that high.  I just use it for the stability of supporting heavy large diaphragm mics.