Rank Newbie Needs Help

[Gutbucket]

^OK that's good.  Able to go wider than I figured.  I'd prefer left/right symmetry but may start recommending that one as the best suited of those available off the shelf, of the fully adjustable ones I've come across so far at least.

When its not fully extended, does the 'Z' shape make it challenging to visually confirm that the angles of the two mics are the same?  Thinking that may be more difficult with one arm angling out to one mic from behind and the other angling out to the other from the front. And after that, to confirm the overall orientation of the entire rig?  Sometimes hard enough for me to get my straight, telescoping mic-bar (DIY) oriented perfectly parallel to the stage without walking over to the side for a visual check, then back over for a final tweak of the stand.

[VibrationOfLife]

I score notches in the side of the bar so it's set it and forget it.

[goodcooker]

Using your suggestions I'll have everything but the cables soon. My 1st rig is nearly complete. So it looks like I have about $100 left and I need a pair of cables. Seems to me there's a lot of comparable products in that price range.
Any more ideas? Thanks!

If you want something like a specialized pair of snaked together cables reach out to Ted Gakidis who is a member here. He does custom, build to order and likely has some ready made cables. He also has a Facebook page for his stuff - Gakables.

Otherwise, if you need to be thrifty I'm a fan of Seismic Audio. Their stuff is very affordable and I've had better luck with their cables than other similarly priced vendors. They ship from their Memphis TN warehouse and they answer the phone if you have questions.

[VibrationOfLife]

I realized that the bar I recommended was the new design.  I prefer the older one so you can slide the mics:

https://micbooster.com/product/grade-b-microphone-folding-bar/?v=0b3b97fa6688

My apologies.

[Gutbucket]

^ Yeah I saw that.  The slots make it somewhat lighter, which is nice hauling gear around, and relieves things when hoisted high up on a stand.  I suppose you might be extending it fully out and then positioning the mics along the slots to fine tune spacing width, but I can't see how the lack of slots should limit the effective spacing range able to be achieved with the newer design.  You'd just need to make is zig to some degree instead of keeping it fully straight to achieve a spacings narrower than the full 55cm.  With the arms folded in all the way, the minimum width using the outer mounting positions should be just over 18cm / 7", then if switching to the holes mid-way out it should range from right around 18cm/ 7" again all the way down to just a couple inches, should accommodate coincident X/Y configurations with the pair crossed.

[VibrationOfLife]

Functionally, yes.  But it's another angle to mess with.  It's so easy to line the bar up straight and then just slide in the mics.  Not a big deal, but it's an option that is removed for added weight.  Not an improvement IMHO.  Plus, with the cut out portion you can add more mic configs to it.