I have an akai adm8 mic. It sounds awesome and is quite small which has its plus points. Unfortunately as its so slim, small and dead straight with no bulges I find it can be hard to hold for a long period. Has anyone, for their own purposes, made some kind of a grip for a small stick mic? I was hoping that someone had come up with a more elegant solution than adding a wad of blue tac! ;)
How are you holding the mic? When I hold stick mics, I tend to use only my ring finger and little finger to hold the mic. As a result I don't get any cramps. When I'm not playing I'll hold it lightly in my hand to give my fingers a bit of a break as well. Jason Ricci has a video on YouTube on holding stick mics that may help you.
Take the mic to your local hardware/plumbing store and go to the tubing aisle. I once made a "bulletizer" out of a clear piece of vinyl tubing that fit my SM57 perfectly. It worked great till I got an actual Bulletizer. There has to be something in the plumbing world that would fit.
Hakkan posted a vid once of him using a piece of bicycle inner tube for the same purpose. Cut it long and roll it down a bit to make a ring that you can grip. ----------
A section of bicycle tube makes a great grip, and can also improve sound depending on where you place it on the mic. Just find a small sized bike tube to fit the Akai.
There is a certain kind of vulcanizing tape, often used for plumbing, that can give you a good sort of collar on the mic if you apply it liberally -- and rub the tape while doing it. This enabled me to get a much more comfortable grip on my old Beyer mic that tended to get a bit slippery in the heat of the night. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-amalgamating_tapee3r
Hey guys, living in Maine I just take a few wide rubber bands off lobster claws, slip them over my Shure 545SD and hold it like JR and Kingley. Must have been how Jason started, he's from Maine you know. Now he uses one of Greg's Ultimate 57's. (P.S. If you try this, cook the lobster first. That way their claws don't snap at you. :-)
Last Edited by ME.HarpDoc on Nov 25, 2015 11:51 AM
howdy all stick mic users. here is the easiest, cheapest way to make any stick mic easier to hold.
buy a turkey baster, lose the tube part. PUNCH a round hole a bit smaller than the top diameter of the mic in the center of the baster bulb. the sharp edge of a cheapo metal broom works fine, just remove the cap at the top of the broom stick to expose the sharp edge there. put it inside the bulb and pound the broom stick into the rubber bulb. it helps to do the punching on something that will allow the cutting edge to sink into it, something like softwood.
then, lightly moisten the stick mic at its base and slide the bulb up the mic. the rubber of the bulb will begin to curl in on itself as it reaches the larger diameter of the mic's top. keep pushing the bulb up to attain the "cup" depth you want. the result is a larger-diameter, cone-shaped top of the mic with a cup of about one inch, plus or minus a cut hair. one may always adjust the depth of the cup easily.
i like the "GOOD COOK" brand of turkey baster, it has a nice, maroon color, is pliable enough and, get this, it smells nice, too! i got mine at a local hannaford grocery store for about $1.75. there are other models around but they tend to be thicker rubber but the colors are cool, if that matters to anyone. i have seen black, hot lime green and yellow.
the mic is now very easy to hold, no more cramps in the hands. the cup also protects the mic's head.
i had an ADM mike i just got a small sink plunger took the handle out and then slid the mike into the hole.I think i had to trim the inside a bit to fit but anyways worked great for me.
Buy a nylon SHAFT COLLAR. It is a plastic ring designed to clamp on to a shaft. Run a google search. Prices vary widely, but if you shop around you can probably find one for about $8 US.
Get the correct diameter. If it is a little too large you can sand or file down the ends where the clamp meets to adjust the fit. I put one of these on my 545 Ultimate. I like it and other harp players who have used my mic seem to like it,,too.
