- [Tom] So you've got your microphone. You've got it connected
but before you can use it, it's important to understand what makes an outstanding Mic Stand. (upbeat music) Terrible puns, not withstanding. I think I got that all out of my system. I'll just put the rest on standby. When you're dealing with
video and audio equipment, the support gear is often overlooked but incredibly important. Tabletop Mic Stands are a great choice because they're versatile and inexpensive, but they also pick up every sound if you happen to touch or hit the table that the microphone is resting on top of. So that's where a boom arm
like this comes into play. This is the Rode PSA1, this is sort of the iconic, standard boom arm mic scissor mount stand. These sell for about $100. I own two of them personally, and over the past seven years at my job, I think we've ordered about 15 of them. And in that time I've never
had one break or fail. They're incredibly strong. They're spring loaded, which
I actually forgot about because this morning when I was taking my microphone off of this stand so I could use it for this video, I forgot about the spring
and the stand flung up and hit me right in the face. So that was a great reminder, of just how strong these stands are. And these stands are great because they can hold a lot of weight. They can hold something very
heavy, like the Rode PodMic, but you can also use them for small lights and even some cameras. They do have tension
screws at these points here that you can tighten up and
that will make the stand more able to withstand a higher payload. So if you want the easiest solution to which microphone stand to buy, just spend $100, get a Rode PSA1, and you'll never have to
buy another stand again. And in addition to the stand itself, it comes with this very
sturdy metal clamps, you can attach it to a desk and this opens up really wide so that it can fit a wide variety of tabletops, counters, mounts. But in addition to this, the PSA1 also comes with
a, I don't know, grommet, whatever it's called, a Wallace. And then you just can drill a
hole directly in your table. If you know that you're gonna put the microphone somewhere permanently and you can mount this
flush on the surface, which will make it very easy to remove the Mic Stand or put it in place. So that's a pretty cool option as well. And that's everything
you get for your $100. And if you've seen any
of my previous videos where I talk about inexpensive gear, you know that I believe in spending money to buy the best gear you can afford. And in situations like this, the money will be well spent because you're gonna get this Mic Stand. And you're never gonna have
to think about it again. But I also know that spending
$100 on a Microphone Stand might not be super practical for everyone. Or if you're just trying to
figure out what you're doing, you're doing some work from home setup, you're doing, you know, maybe a podcast or some simple streaming. Maybe you don't need heavy duty gear. You just need something
to get the microphone kinda out of the way and off the desk. So what are your options? Well, you have a lot of them. If you go to any music
website or a site like Amazon, you can find Mic Stands everywhere. So I went to Amazon and I searched up the least expensive boom arm I could find. At the time this one costs $13. Amazon prices do fluctuate. So that could be cheaper at the time you're watching this video, or it could be more expensive at the time you're watching this video. But this is a Neewer
Professional Recording Stand. And you can tell it's
professional because, it's got a pretty
professional Photoshop job of this lady who is clearly
not wearing those headphones. I know that has nothing to
do with the microphone stand, but I find it hilarious. So I do wanna see how this compares to the more expensive Rode PSA1, but I also wanna see how it
stands on its own, right? Is it worth $13? Is it something you can trust? Is it something you can use? Is it gonna last for at
least a little while, until you can upgrade to
something a little better, or maybe it'll just last indefinitely, and then this'll just be your Mic Stand. So not unlike the Rode PSA1, you get a clamp, which is just
significantly less sturdy, but this is all metal. And it opens up pretty wide, not as much as the Rode, but pretty close. The top part has a little
rubber pad, same with the Rode, but the bottom part, these screws, I always like to put a
soft furniture pad there. So that way it doesn't mess
up the bottom of the table that you mount it to. And then you can just attach that mount to the side of the desk or the table that you're gonna be
using with the Mic Stand. Now, aside from that, we
do get a couple things, get a little microphone mount, depending on what kind of
microphone you're using, you may or may not be able
to use this one with it. This would be great with
like a Shure SM58 or 57 or a Samson Q2U you kind of a more standard handheld microphone. So it is all metal, but it is obviously
significantly lighter weight than the Rode PSA1. Okay. So this does not have
the same tension as the PSA1, but it can just go right here. This is pretty thin like aluminum, but I mean, you're probably not gonna be abusing your Mic Stand,
hopefully. So it should be fine. The best way I can describe this is that it kinda feels like a desk lamp, not unlike this lamp right here, where if you've ever used a
lamp that has a Scissor Mount, it sort of feels the same way. Like it's kind of sturdy, but it's not, you know, I don't know, not incredibly sturdy or anything. And then you would just put this on here and you would be all set, if that's the kind of
microphone you're using. I typically use this with my PodMic, and it does already have a
three-eighths inch connector, all metal so that can just
go right into the PodMic, The reason I wanna use the PodMic is because it's so heavy. And I think that's gonna be a good test. I can already feel things
sort of drooping a little bit, but that's not necessarily bad. Let's see if I tighten this down. Okay. You could get it there, but realistically, if I were using this with the PodMic, I would probably want it
positioned more like this. I mean, I think there's two
ways to look at this really, there's the way of, does this feel like a high quality product?
No, totally doesn't. But is this worth $13?
Yeah, it seems like it is. Especially if you're not gonna be like abusive towards your equipment. Now, the thing I am really
curious about though, is the ability to increase the tension. And if I'm wrong about this, please just let me know in the comments or let everyone else know. But the instructions which are actually right here, right here. No, this is just customer
service and it's blank. Okay. The instructions which are just in the back of the box say that if you need to enhance the load bearing of the suspension arm stand, you can lock the pull position button to a different screw holes
so that you can enhance the stretch strength of the outer spring. Then you get the effect. And the thing is, as far as I can tell, without like disassembling this, which I just wouldn't
recommend doing on a $13 arm, there's nowhere else that
you can attach the spring to. So they're basically
saying you should be able to take the spring off
and put it somewhere else. So that way there's more tension, and that's gonna make the
arm, either tighter or looser, but as far as I can tell, there's nowhere else to mount the springs. So I think that's just
a design change from the instruction on the box to the actual product that was shipped. I could be wrong about that,
but I mean, I'm not a genius, but I feel like I'm smart
enough to figure out where a spring can connect, and I cannot figure out where
a spring can connect here. The other thing is these
little tightening arms, like the one that's right here,
on the end of the microphone and this tension on here,
these are almost useless. They're so incredibly
lightweight plastic that I, if you've really tried to tighten it to the point that you want, it'd be super easy to just
break this off right now. Now the PodMic does
weigh a couple of pounds, so it's probably heavier than a microphone that this stand was
intended to be used with. And that kinda goes to a good point too. If you spend hundreds of
dollars on a microphone or thousands of dollars on a microphone, it's usually a good idea to
just spend a little extra money on the stand that you're
gonna use it with. There is a tightener on the
clamp to keep the arm in place, and it's sort of flimsy. And I should say that I don't
really trust this clamp. It does feel like it tightens
pretty securely to the table, but it doesn't take much
movement from the arm, to knock it loose, which could potentially cause your microphone
to come crashing down. But I do wanna give credit
where credit is due. What I will say this
microphone stand feels very like tight and tense in a good way, because that's gonna
help you stay positioned wherever you place it and
that's a really important thing. Now, the Rode PSA1 is also a
significantly larger Mic Stand, which is important if
you need extra reach, but at the same time, these
smaller newer Mic Stand, might be easier to place anywhere that you have limited space, depending on where you're
gonna set up your microphone. If you want a large Mic
Stand or a small Mic Stand, but there's a pretty
giant difference in size between these two Mic Stands. Now the thing about the PSA1, and you can kinda see just how easy it is to position and move around and maneuver. Once there is weight counter balancing the tension of the springs, this thing will just
stay wherever you put it, and it's very easy to use. This one you kinda have
to work a little more. My biggest concern
would be that over time, the neewer would start to become loose, and then it might not stay
as tense as you want it. And you could end up, you positioned the microphone where you want it, and then over time as you're using it, it starts drooping away
and changing your sound. Whereas the Rode PSA1, once you have it positioned
where you want it, it will just stay there until you move it. So what's the final verdict on
the Neewer Microphone Stand? It's not bad. And if you've got $13, and you need an arm for your microphone, especially if you have a
limited space to use it, this is a great option. But I also wouldn't expect it to last for years and years and years. And I wouldn't expect it to work with super heavy microphones or anything else like lights or cameras
or anything like that. And to sort of negate that last
point I just made entirely, when it comes to gear, I've been getting a lot of questions from people who want the cheapest option. You know, they see something
like the Rodecaster Pro and they're like, that's awesome. What can I get for $200 instead of $600? They see something like the Rode PSA1, they think that's awesome, what can I get for $13 instead of a hundred dollars. Those are reasonable questions to ask. But realistically, if you're serious about the stuff that you're making, and you wanted to save yourself that headache in the long run, you need to invest
money at certain points. It doesn't mean you need to always get the most expensive thing in the world, but there is usually that point where you go from the cheaper sort of like cheesy options to the more professional, more reliable options. And even though they're
more expensive initially, it's usually a one-time investment. And once you've made that you are all set and it gives you peace of mind because you've got a piece of equipment that you know you can rely on, which means you don't
have to think about it. You can just use it as it's intended, and do the things that you need to do. But hey, sometimes we just need to get the most budget friendly options. I have seen so many of these
Mic Stand ads on Amazon. I wondered what they were like. Sometimes you'll find a microphone pack that comes with its own boom arm. And it's probably gonna be
the exact same arm as this, even if it's branded
with a different name. And it's basically
exactly what you'd expect. It's probably not the
best slogan in the world. Neewer, exactly what
you'd expect, but it is. And that's neither a good
thing nor a bad thing. It is what it is, and it can
definitely get the job done. So if you wanna know more though, about podcasting gear and all that stuff, check out this playlist and I will see you over in one of those videos. (upbeat music)
