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[Rick Earl]

I have a DR Pro. Just got a Tama. The Tama is considerably more seriously constructed. It's heavy.

I have a 3 Tama stands, they will hold a heavy mic horizontal with no problems, built solid like a drum stand, best clutch design of any mic stand ever (IMHO). The two issues I have with them is the Euro thread and non-sectional boom.    I mainly use them for  overheads and  piano vocals.   The rest of my inventory is K&M

[Bob Charest]

The ONLY discount priced stand to consider is this one ^^^. The DR Pro tripod. Both tall and short. They are durable and about $60 each....

Agreed. I was (am) surprised at the build quality for the price point. Durable for us with constant usage.

[ra byn taylor]

Absolutely.  As others have said, Atlas round bases and straights, K&M booms for professional use.  If I had my 'druthers' there would be at least one MS-20 big round base/straight for Elvis.

This is one of the best "buy once, cry once" situations to be found.

I would agree with the Atlas recommendation until they shipped their manufacturing to Mexico. The last stands I purchased from Atlas were total crap. Some of the threads were jacked right out of the box. Ultimate Support makes some stands I've seen recently that seemed on par with the high end K&M. My one complaint with K&M is that eventually the threaded bushing slips. A while back I emailing K&M for a solution hoping there was some sort of compression tool I could buy but they suggested using a screw driver & hammer to re DING the factory compression notches
Not what I was going for.

At this point, I can fully recommend high end K&M. Old Atlas is great. New Atlas is garbage unless something has changed since my past purchase. Ultimate Support is worth looking into. They make some stackable straight stands that I like a lot. I've had some of my old Atlas stands for 20+ years. One downside is managing bases. I think my next straight stand purchased will be the stackable USS.

ra byn (robin)

[Dan Richardson]

Ultimate Support is worth looking into. They make some stackable straight stands that I like a lot. I've had some of my old Atlas stands for 20+ years. One downside is managing bases. I think my next straight stand purchased will be the stackable USS.

I haven't tried their standard clutch stands lately, but the Ultimate one-hand clutch stacking stands are unrepairable. K&M make stacking one hand clutch stands that you can field repair without tools. Ultimate, in general, has headed in the same direction as everyone else. Race to the bottom.

My test case DR Pro boom arm tightening threads stripped out after a year. Unimpressed.

[Mark G. Hinge]

I gotta say I like the Hercules mic stands- they pivot at the bottom and no boom arm sticking out or joint there to go bad.  Hand clutch works well, too. 

I think they’re ~$70, but often can be found cheaper. I don’t see much of anything that can go wrong with them, and they angle enough that you can play your guitar/bass while singing. 

[Adam Cooke]

I would agree with the Atlas recommendation until they shipped their manufacturing to Mexico. The last stands I purchased from Atlas were total crap. Some of the threads were jacked right out of the box. Ultimate Support makes some stands I've seen recently that seemed on par with the high end K&M. My one complaint with K&M is that eventually the threaded bushing slips. A while back I emailing K&M for a solution hoping there was some sort of compression tool I could buy but they suggested using a screw driver & hammer to re DING the factory compression notches
Not what I was going for.

ra byn (robin)

I "re DING" those threaded bushings on K&M stands with large bolt cutters, which works well once you get a feel for the pressure needed.


I get the impression that Atlas has been switching things around with their manufacturing lately. I've had some batches a while back that were not as well made, and some more recently that were much better. Their pricing has increased dramatically too, maybe because of fluctuating steel and fuel costs?

[Jason Glass]

I "re DING" those threaded bushings on K&M stands with large bolt cutters, which works well once you get a feel for the pressure needed.


I get the impression that Atlas has been switching things around with their manufacturing lately. I've had some batches a while back that were not as well made, and some more recently that were much better. Their pricing has increased dramatically too, maybe because of fluctuating steel and fuel costs?

I usually place a couple of nails or 1/16" pins in the swages and squeeze them in a bench vise.  Works great.

[Chris Matz]

I have a bag full of the cheepo stands..been using them for a few years. I can not say i love them, But have not had a lot of serious failures other than singer with no brain stepping on the tripod legs with all his weight..he got a cast base after that. a couple have stripped out or broken plastic off the screws...easy solution Our ace hardware sells 1/4-20 thumb screws for under a quarter each. run through the hole with a tap and your good. a stand breaks once in a while but i have gotten 2 years out of most of mine...I do have a nice DR stand that somehow my helper has a really hard time finding in the bag..He NEVER grabs it! I will be buying good ones as i replace these cheepos as needed. they are low quality, but if a bit of care is used they can hold up well enough for what they cost. another point, a good stand is many times more likely to walk off during tear down than its cheep cousin.

[Scott Wagner]

I have a bag full of the cheepo stands..been using them for a few years. I can not say i love them, But have not had a lot of serious failures other than singer with no brain stepping on the tripod legs with all his weight..he got a cast base after that. a couple have stripped out or broken plastic off the screws...easy solution Our ace hardware sells 1/4-20 thumb screws for under a quarter each. run through the hole with a tap and your good. a stand breaks once in a while but i have gotten 2 years out of most of mine...I do have a nice DR stand that somehow my helper has a really hard time finding in the bag..He NEVER grabs it! I will be buying good ones as i replace these cheepos as needed. they are low quality, but if a bit of care is used they can hold up well enough for what they cost. another point, a good stand is many times more likely to walk off during tear down than its cheep cousin.

Getting two years (maximum) usage out of a stand that costs half of a real stand's cost is a bad investment.  The real stands will last a minimum of 10 years.  That is a five fold increase at twice the cost (ie: a bargain).  After 10 years, your cheap stands will cost 2.5 times what my real stands cost.  What do you get for your (2.5 times my) money?  Cheap stands.

[Chris Matz]

I think i only bought 2 of them..the rest were cast offs from another sound guy...and i have had them more than 2 years...and if the high $$ stands walk off when they are 3 mos old?  now that i have seen there are better options out there Ill probably pick up a few as needed, but My experence with them is not as bad as you guys talk about

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