On-Stage: MSA-9508 Side-Mount Mini-Boom

Kurt Ballou [Tape Op #76] showed me these gadgets a few years ago. They’re simple, 7’’ boom arms with a clamp that securely holds the boom on the shaft of a mic stand (or pipe, railing, etc.). Next to the clamp is On-Stage’s trademark Posi-Lok knob, which allows the boom to be rotated 300°. I use these regularly on snare drums — attach one of these to the stand that’s already holding the snare-top mic, then mount the snare-bottom mic without having to squeeze in a second stand. Same goes for mics under toms. My one complaint — adjusting the clamp location and arm rotation is usually enough to get me where I want, but once in a while, I’d like a telescoping boom. And, of course, Andy Hong has a hack: buy an On-Stage MSA-9505 Posi-Lok telescoping mini-boom, and swap the boom sections. There are lots of places you may want to create a mic stand where one doesn’t exist (cool trick: drill a hole in a $3 spring clamp, and attach a gooseneck), but for $15 a pop, these are worth it just for the simple drum application.