Microphone Stands
I first became aware of the importance of good microphone stands when I started playing theremin. Back before then, I would use whatever mic stand was available. Usually, I would be gigging somewhere and just use the house stands. After all, for me it seemed like one was as good as the other.
That all changed with the theremin. You see, the model of theremin that I used was mounted on a microphone stand. It was a lot bigger than your average microphone, and quite a bit heavier too. As a result, it needed a very heavy-duty stand. Otherwise, you could run into trouble. Sometimes, tension in the cord would cause the microphone stand to turn. It wouldn't have a very solid base, so the theremin would spin this way and that resulting in a lot of problems playing it. Other times, I had even worse problems. Some of the microphone stands would lower no matter how many times I tried to tighten them. One almost tipped over in the middle of my performances. I could've been a real problem. The instrument could've hit someone or could have broken on the floor.
I decided to break down and get my own microphone stand. I wanted to order one online, but I knew that I had to be completely sure that it would work with my theremin. I started going around, trying out different microphone stands to see which one works best. I actually had a lot of trouble finding one at first, but finally I found a good quality one. It had a heavy-duty, weighted base that simply would not be moved. It also locked more firmly than most of the microphone stands that I had used before. It was a lot to haul around, but it was worth it. In music, you try to minimize the amount of gear you have to carry since there is always so much, but I knew it would make a big difference to have a steady platform for my performances.
Since I stopped just using whatever microphone stands they had in the club and actually invested in my own high-quality one, my performances have been better. I don't have to worry about my gear accidentally tipping over in the middle of a performance. I can really play with confidence now, and that confidence has really positively affected my playing in ways I never suspected it would..
