I'm a big fan of the On Stage CM01 Video Camera / Digital Recorder Adapter, which allows me to use a mic stand as a camera "tripod" when I visit studios to do interviews, or to support a Zoom recorder for interviews or those oddball remote sessions. A 5/8-inch socket fits onto a typical mic stand, a ball-joint allows a wide range of positioning with locking knob to tighten it down, and the 1/4-inch thumbscrew fits right into my camera base. After our recent review of the Tama Iron Works Studio mic stands [Tape Op #126], my pal Billy Barnett [#66] from Gung Ho Studio in Eugene, OR, dropped a line about another product he finds helpful. The MM01 has male and female 5/8-inch threads (so your mic clip mounts on it) and a ball-joint mount, like the CM01, that allows you to pivot the mic into position with 360° rotation and 180° tilt.
"If you have heavy mics to hang at 90°, here is a $10 accessory that will make all the difference in the world. It's especially useful where the mount and cable are integrated (like an old Neumann U 47), as you can spin the bracket independently of the stand and mic mount to tighten or loosen. This usually is more of an issue with large, old school, roll-around Atlas studio booms, where spinning the boom itself is quite difficult."
We reviewed the Audio-Technica AT8459 swivel mount in issue #120, which serves a similar purpose but with two ball joints and wider range, but the MM01 is simpler and much cheaper, and it's easier to spin the male thread into the mic mount than the AT version. I'd say buy both. It's a simple problem solver, and it's worth having a couple of these around!
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