TO/PPA Ribbon Mic Shockmount

[joelpatterson]

It would be a miracle if you see this, because I totally forget how posting images works.

[joelpatterson]

This should be it, hopefully...

[eeldip]

whoa, thats a lot of stuff going on there. sure that isnt a torture device??

[winky dinglehoffer]

Joel
If you're still wondering about the thump issue (can't find the old thread, so I don't know what other folks said): my suggestion would be to try different types of mounting "strings". Maybe you could find something with less of a propensity to transmit vibrations to the mic body.

A really dumb & ugly thought: suppose you used some sort of cushioning around the base of the mic body itself & then strapped the whole kit & caboodle in your mount. The first thing that popped into my head was a modified drink cozy--I don't know how well it would fit the mic, & it would be ugly in a very unattractive way, but it might be good for killing the vibrations.

Tom

Edit: I can't totally figure out the mount from the pics--the more I stare, the more puzzled I am. So my suggestions may not even be useful with this mount.

[joelpatterson]

And... a "TapeOp" drink cozy, there must be one by now.

Actually, I think the loosely lagging braided elastic from the fabric counter at WalMart does a fine job, but you're right, the different styles of that stuff have different properties.

What you're looking at is a U-shaped channel of aluminum and the "yoke" of the mic slides right down into it, holds it upright to you can still tilt the mic with its little knobs. Out to either side are "goal post" things, bolted to a square aluminum tube that's bolted to a threaded stand adapter. The elastic drapes from either goal post and holds the channel steady. Maybe $20 in materials for both stands, and lucky I've got a hardware store where I can just wander aimlessly, bolting stuff together and trying out this or that, and they don't call the police.

If you really want to delve into the nether reaches of shockmounting, you create something that has two layers of elastic, the mic holder elasticked to a frame and then that frame elasticked to another frame attached to the stand.
Then you know you're really on the borderline of madness, and don't it feel good.

I was going to tell Nady about this... but eeldip, you're right, I should also contact the Bush Administration.

[winky dinglehoffer]

Do you have any cushion where the yoke goes into the channel? It seems like this could be a big point of vibration transmission. Maybe some rubber washers or grommets would work there. Or something else. That hardware store might have something useful. A doctored piece of weather stripping perhaps?

Tom

[joelpatterson]

Yes, you're onto something... a cushion of weatherstripping at the contact points. I got some "marine" grade weatherstripping not too long ago, looked black and professional.

"Marine" grade weatherstripping, right, it's going to hold out the ocean.

The work of the scientist is never done, always the next refinement to be made.