Painters pole adaption

Noiz2

Noiz2

Sound Ninja
I would not recommend this for regular use but I have an occasional need for a long boom. I wanted one of the K-Teck ones but then reason prevailed and I instead bought an aluminum painters pole and machined a new end for it. It seems to work fine and it was $15 and some time in the shop as opposed to around $300.

The down side is it goes from about 6' to about 12'. So it never gets very small. It is also less rigid than my "real" boom (that only extends to ~5'). But I have the real boom for that.

I also made a boom mount for one of my Rycotes, saving the weight of the maple handle I was using with it. If I work out the logistics I will post pictures.

Where there's a will there's a way.
 
Oleg 2,

I'm not that religious...;~)

If I didn't say it clearly enough above I am not recommending this as a working alternative to a real boom pole for production. I made it as a backup for a shoot that is coming up where the rental was in question but my use of it will be so that I can stand a safer distance from things like skidding cars and rushing trains. I have found that a 5ft boom pole is a little close for comfort when recording a car skidding to a stop coming at you. This is a very different and much less demanding use than production recording. I will also be trading up because for practical purposes a boom that doesn't get any smaller than 6ft is definitely in the emergency gear category.

Also for most people it wouldn't be as big a bargain. I happen to have a small shop in the basement, so machining the parts was more fun than work.

As always, I bow to your holiness ;~)
 
As long as the person who decides to make a painter's pole a boom is the one who has to use it, more power to em. It annoys me when someone gets a painters pole and then hands it off to some poor slob to use. I know people like that are doing low budget stuff but have a little respect for people who are helping you out.

I can't remember where but I once saw a BTS pic of some people who forgot their boom pole using a tree branch as a pole; somehow had the shock mount gaff taped to the branch. At least they understood and cared to get the mic in as close as possible.

Cheers
 
Now I feel compelled to post pictures. This is an all aluminum pole and probably weighs less than then the real deal because it has fewer sections. I am all about quality but give me a break. There are folks that don't have the cash for the industry standard devices. Some things you can skimp on and some you cant. Even when I had little cash to spend I bought a Black Audio Devices Preamp. It was pricey but it was important!. A pole is a pole. What you get with a well designed pole are things that are worth it if you can afford them. Very much like zeppelins. It's not rocket science. I have made both. Some of my designed have worked better than what is commonly available. And I am not talking about a stick with a mic gaffed on!!! I only brought this up because a pole is something you can spend a bunch on that there is a decent alternative for. I assume the adaption kits are giving you an adapter for the roller to mic. I replaced the whole end of the pole with a machined part with a threaded insert.

You cant get away with crap anything. But you can get decent work done with QUALITY alternatives. Sound Devices was/ is a cheaper alternative to what was the "industry standard". So give it a rest. Crap is crap and quality is quality. You can make many things hardware related and some electronics related cheaper than you can buy them. For most pros in most situations it's not worth it. I'm one of those. I can design and build a pre cheaper than Sound devices, but it';s not worth it. I have done it in the past. Then it was worth it to me, not now.

I made zeppelins that worked as well or better than the rycotes I use now. I changed because I Could and because it looks more professional, and that is part of the biz. But I liked some of them better. So if your renting yourself out get a proper boom pole, it looks better. But when push comes to serve a light painters pole properly modified is just about as good as a real pole. if it had more sections and would collapse o the same size as a proper boom pole you would have a big argument on your hands. As it is the painters pole takes a distinct second in convenience. Functionally they are VERY close.
 
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