TheAT8459is a product that encourages you to say, “How did I ever live without it?” It’s a compact, double-socket arm with mic threads on the ball ends. After you screw on a mic clip to the male-threaded end, and attach the female end to a mic stand or boom, you can articulate your mic into whatever angle you desire. It’s amazing for aiming a snare mic just perfectly, even if the mic stand is limited in placement by the drums and hardware. I use it in conjunction with a Primacoustic CrashGuard shield [Tape Op#80] surrounding my expensive condenser mics; without theAT8459, it’s often impossible to move the shielded mics into the desired positions. I also use theAT8459with a large, spring-mounted clamp that’s big enough to attach to handrails and furniture. The spring clamp has a fixed mic thread, so without theAT8459, I don’t have much control over mic angle. Durability wise, theAT8459is bombproof. It’s all metal, with the only exception being the tough plastic of the turnhandle molded onto the metal center bolt. Once you tighten that handle, the balls do not slip within their sockets. I’ve even used theAT8459to hold various large-diaphragm condensers without slippage. Every studio should have at least one of these.

$69 MSRPwww.audio-technica.com –AH