Stop Your Microphone Stand From Falling Over
Does your microphone stand keep falling over or isn't very supportive? Perhaps it is during your recordings, or after you have positioned it in a certain way. We've put this short article together to help you stabilize your microphone stand. This article goes over all the solutions that you can try to stop and prevent this from happening.
How To Stop Your Microphone Stand From Falling Over? Microphone stands usually fall over when the weight isn't counterbalanced. To fix this you'll need to balance the weight. You could do this by adding extra weight to the stand or by positioning the microphone stand in a different direction.
There are a few of things you can try to stop your microphone falling over:
- Try positioning your microphone stand's leg in the same direction as the extendable pole. This will give it extra support and stop it from falling over. For more information look at solution 1.
- You can try positioning the pole in an upright position. Instead of the extendable pole leaning outwards, this will give the boom stand extra support.
- You can also try using heavy objects, such as books and sandbags by placing them on the legs of your boom stand. This may help your stand keep its upright position and stop it from falling over. It isn't a permanent fix, but it may work for the short term.
- If you've tried all the solutions above and still don't have any luck. There isn't much you can do, apart from buying a lighter microphone or buying another microphone stand that is heavy duty and reliable. Do not cheap out on your microphone stands. Non-expensive stands tend to be more flimsy and give your microphone less support.
Solution 1: Change The Position of Your Microphone Stands Leg
This a widely known boom stand trick and is a very simple, short solution to stopping your microphone from falling over.
When you're positioning your boom stand, make sure the extended arm is above one of the legs. This way the leg is giving the upper stand extra support and should hold the microphones weight. This is probably the reason why your stand isn't standing up properly.
Just remember that your stand can still fall over, and is in quite a vulnerable position. So if you're not comfortable or don't trust your stand fully, we would recommend you try out solution 2 and solution 3 first. Microphones can be very expensive, why risk breaking your microphone when you can add slightly more support with the solutions below.
You can see from the image below.
If this solution hasn't helped or you're wanted more support, give the next solution a read.
Solution 2: Position Your Stand in an Upright Position
This is another widely known, easy to do solutions for stabilizing your microphone stand. Another solution is to position your microphone stand in an upright position. This is great for when you're recording your music.
It can be slightly difficult to perform like this but it is a good solution to your problem. It is fairly easy to get used to and shouldn't cause you too much hassle when using the microphone.
When recording vocals you should keep a good distance from the microphone, therefore this solution shouldn't cause too many problems.
Positioning your stand like this will almost always keep your stand standing up. If your microphone stand is still falling over, skip to the next solution.
When I'm using my microphone, this is the position it is in half the time and I have never had an issue with it. I have a lot more faith/trust in my microphone stand when it is positioned like this.
Solution 3: Heavyweights to Keep The Microphone Stand Up
You can always place a heavy object, such as a sandbag and books, on one of the legs. This will add extra support to the stand and will stop your stand from falling over. If you are still having problems, skip to solution 4 or 5.
You could also use weightlifting plates or dumbbell weights to counterweight the microphone stand. Although sandbags work great too.
Another alternative is to use a large bag of rice or a bag of cat litter. There are many solutions to stabilizing your microphone stand by using heavy weights. You can be as creative as you like, as long as it adds extra weight to the base and therefore stops it from falling over as often.
By placing extra weight on the base of the stand will ensure that the upper stands support will be greater. By doing this you can stop the microphone stand from tumbling over. This is a great temporary fix but isn't the ideal solution. It reduces the portability of the stand as now you have to bring extra weights with you too.
Imagine having to take 3 library books or a bag of sand for your next session.
Solution 4: Buy a New Microphone
If you're really determined to keep this microphone stand (if you are not that determined skip to solution 5), then you can always try buying a lighter, less heavy, microphone.
An expensive solution which is why you I recommend you skip to solution 5 and buy a new microphone stand.
The Rode NT-1A is a great, non-expensive condenser microphone.
All in all, this isn't a great solution, and we would recommend you buy a new microphone stand as they are much cheaper compared to a new microphone.
Solution 5: Buy a New Microphone Stand
Still falling over? Just buy a new microphone stand. You can buy stands relatively non-expensive these days, but please make sure you do your research. Less expensive microphone stands happen to break much faster and are often less supportive.
Buying a new stand will most likely put an end to your stand's stability problems. We recommend the Hercules MS533B Microphone Stand as it is extremely sturdy, easy to adjust, great support, fantastic feedback and it is reasonably cheap. Unlike with the slightly less, non-expensive stands, this microphone stand is yet to break on us, therefore we recommend any musician who's having microphone stand problems, to try out this microphone stand.
