Shock mount

S

scottfs

Well-known member
Any good brands out there? I have an AT universal with the rubber bands. I have my terrible me66 hooked up on the carbon fibre boom pole using this shock mount. That was a cheap and crappy e-bay buy for about $20 or so if I remember correctly.

Are there better choices out there? Be nice, now... We aren't all rich and can spend $200 for a shock mount. Maybe up to $75 or so.
 
scottfs,

For a more economical choice, you might look at the AT8415. There are several other similar mounts on the market for similar prices. KTek make some improved silicon bands for these also which are a nice improvement. This mount will work well with any small condensor and small to medium shotguns. If you go this route, you will still need some wind protection like a slip on softie. If you need the whole shebang for breezy conditions, you might want to consider a Rode blimp. The Rode is huge, but a pretty good value since it will cover most anything you might encounter for $300. Rycote probably has a econo kit with similar pricing.

Grant

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...nica_AT8415_AT8415_Universal_Shock_Mount.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/292948-REG/K_Tek_K_SUS_K_SUS_Microphone_Suspenders_Pair.html
Looks like Pearstone is also marketing the same product

Grant
 
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Doc Bernard said:
This is the one I use: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/263721-REG/Rycote_033702_Medium_Hole_Softie_Lyre.html

I use it with my shotguns and pencil mics, and it is quieter, IMO, than most suspensions with rubber bands I have used. I am impressed with it because it uncouples pretty well from handling noise.

It's less than your 200 dollar ceiling, but more than your 75 "optimum".
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:thumbsup:

The Rycote Lyre shockmounts are the best there are and are considerably cheaper than a lot of other mounts.

I have now converted all my shockmounts over to Rycote Lyres - even the ones for my Neumann mics (and the Rycote was about one-fifth of the Neumann price for a technically better mount).

No contest - go Rycote. :thumbsup:
 
John Willett said:
:thumbsup:

The Rycote Lyre shockmounts are the best there are and are considerably cheaper than a lot of other mounts.

I have now converted all my shockmounts over to Rycote Lyres - even the ones for my Neumann mics (and the Rycote was about one-fifth of the Neumann price for a technically better mount).

No contest - go Rycote. :thumbsup:
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then how about windshield? As far as I know, Rycote Lyre is shockmount only (universal one), models with full windshield (S-series for example), use other types of shockmount.
 
Actually Rycote has gone to the lyre mount on their S-series and I think the full wind kit as well, plus they've made retrofit kits avaiable for customers with wind kits using the old style mounts. They're not the only game in town but IMHO you have to go way up in price to get better (take a look at Cinela mounts, for example - $300 a pop!)
 
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Steve House said:
Actually Rycote has gone to the lyre mount on their S-series and I think the full wind kit as well, plus they've made retrofit kits avaiable for customers with wind kits using the old style mounts. They're not the only game in town but IMHO you have to go way up in price to get better (take a look at Cinela mounts, for example - $300 a pop!)
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really? I checked their website and the product picture still shows normal shockmount (similar to invision series), including s-series and full windshield kit, all look like invision...
I'm planning to get one from Rycote but I need to confirm this.
 
I have been using the same PSC mounts for maybe 25 years. They are made of aircraft aluminum and weigh nothing. Replace the O Rings with black ones if desired and they evaporate from the image.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/256865-REG/PSC_FPSC0035D_UCSM_Small_Universal.html

The PSC website
http://www.professionalsound.com/specs/shock_mnts.htm

They used to be pricey but are now $50 and come in two sizes. A great price for a pro shock mount. The material is non-reflective, black anodized 5051-T6 Aluminum with custom silicon bands. The larger size is great for shotgun mics. They have several plusses: they are ultralightweight, have no nasty surfaces to color the sound owing to an "open" design, and are reasonably durable. You can also order the model with the camera shoe, looks cool on a cam. I haven't seen a design that has less reflective surface in a super light frame. The surfaces are all curved away from the mic, so no direct reflection is possible. The AT 8415, as ggrantly notes, is a very good mount. At the same price, I prefer the PSP as the capsule end is farther from reflective surfaces. The AT is also very light.
I have not used the lyre, but it looks like it hits the right notes as there isn't a lot of metal crap near the capsule to reflect the sound. The clip may grab a bit better on the lyre, although I have never had an issue with the PSC. The clip of course conducts slightly more sound through the suspension, which is why the clip free designs have better isolation. Not a big deal, and I assume Lyre has addressed this in the design. More than twice the price of the PSC, and a bit more bulk, but if John likes them I'm going to have to buy one so I don't fall behind. The specs on the Lyre are 300 grams vs 60 grams for the PSC, but I haven't weighed the lyre, I'm just going by their website. Not a lot of weight either way.
One of these days I'll do a sound isolation shootout, to see what the real world differences are. My feeling is the Neumann clips for the MKH 80s would do pretty well, as that is a super sensitive mic and the clip works fairly well. The bands are very thin and slightly slack. If John traded his in, the Lyre must be better :) The stock silicon bands work well on the PSC, and you can replace them with a thinner or thicker O Ring for pennies, and repair them with a rubber band if the band breaks in the field. I had one band break in 25 years, I called PSC, talked to a real person who mailed me replacements same day.

If you need a long, hanging bar, you can attach several of these to an aluminum angle iron, paint the bar black or tape it, and you have a super cheap setup for auditorium work. I have also used them to make aluminum Decca trees and surround trees that will stand on one manfrotto pole and fit them with detachable mic capsules for a black, minimalist look.
 
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marvinhello said:
then how about windshield? As far as I know, Rycote Lyre is shockmount only (universal one), models with full windshield (S-series for example), use other types of shockmount.
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Actually the Rycote S-series does use a Lyre shockmount. It was the first Rycote product to use the Lyre - Rycote have since incorporated the Lyre into all their shockmount products.
 
DrDave said:
I have also used them to make aluminum Decca trees and surround trees that will stand on one manfrotto pole and fit them with detachable mic capsules for a black, minimalist look.
Click to expand...

Now there's a term I have not heard in awhile! Decca tree. Some days I miss going out to do live sound in a theater/venue. Thanks for the reminder of the good ol' days, DrDave.
 
Chadfish said:

It has the lyre now.
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The S-series have always had Lyres.

It's on;y the old versions of the full windshields that had rubber O-rings - Rycote changed all these to Lyres a few years ago and owners of older windshields gan buy inexpensive upgrade kits.

Every shockmount yoi buy from Rycote now has Lyres - the sole exception is the stereo mount inside teh Stereo Extended Ball Gag.
 
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