Latchlake Mic King Mic Stand...Unbelievable! My quick review.

[Rob King]

Just thought I would share my thought on my newly aquired Latchlake Mic King Music Stands. First off, The pictures on the website do not do justice to these things.

Aside from my one great Atlas stand I have, I have about 10 crappy mic stands that I have been using over the past 10+ years. I felt I was do for an upgrade if some sort and after reading the specs on the Mic King for the last couple of months I took the plunge. Sure they are very expensive considering you can by a stand at the local music store for $20-$30 but seriously, these are another level completely.

After putting the stands together (About 3 min) I gave them a look over. The build quality of these things are unbelievable! These things collapse down to under 5ft and can go to 16ft+. Every single latch is a quick release solid metal pressure lock. nothing to twist at all. The two stands fit in the corner of my small live room with ease taking up maybe 2 ft. The counter weight is actually quite nice to look at being solid chrome and again with a quick slide pressure lock. I opted for a couple of the extra boom arms and those are awesome too! I reccommend anyone with any stand (like an Atlas) to get a couple of these. Great for making a Decca tree.
The base is really cool. All the bases can lock together and you truely could mic up an entire drum kit with 2 stands and a few extra boom arms. They also have a pair of wheels to roll them around the room.

I can't compliment Latchlake enough on the build quality of these things. Hands down the best Mic stands I have ever used or seen for that matter. I fought with myself for a few months deciding if I really needed to spend this much money on mic stands, but now I am the farthest from buyers remorse that I could be.

Seriously everyone needs to see this stand to believe it. I know these things will actually make my recording life easier. They can easily hold 6+ LDC Tube mics with ease. Also in the field they would be a gem. For someone doing location Foley recording this stand is so perfect it isn't even funny. For instance a gun recording (we'll see how this works next month), you could have 1 stand with 4-5 extra booms capturing high, low and close perspectives with 5-7 mics all in a small controlled space. For Orchestral recordings these things go super high. Put the booms low and you can put 2-4 mics on an amp cablinet with absolutely no weight worries.

OK, I probably sound like a crazy person getting this excited about a mic stand, but to me they have reinvented the wheel on what I use to think a mic stand was.

Kudos to Latchlake for making an outstanding product and one's that I will probably have for decades to come. So when you think about the fact that these stands will be with you for 20 years or more the price seems more than fair.

Cheers

Rob







P.S. I have retired my 10 crappy stands as of today.

[tmcconnell]

I have never found a stand that does what I want it to do. its a game of inches - and bad stands sag, or worse, fall over - or are just plain persnickety. I agree, you are not crazy. ted

[kt66]

I got my pair of Latchlake stands about six weeks ago and share your sentiments Rob. These things are absolutely fantastic and well worth the money. My only regret is that I only ordered four extra booms - I need at least two more!

Jack

[Sunbreak Music]

I've had mine for a year, and it's worth every penny!

Good guys, too. They've changed one of the pieces from the original design, and volunteered send the replacement out for nothing.

No more tiptoeing around mic stands.

[Lynn Fuston]

I saw Jeff of LatchLake just last weekend and he's showing his new stand. Slightly smaller base and almost half the price of the original. $495 for his new stand. All the functionality, just with a few cosmetic changes that make it less expensive to manufacturer. Like no bright chrome on the counterweight.

I was in the studio just this week cursing several Atlas big boom stands. Seems the stuff that should stay stationary moves (like the pole coming out of the base and the head) and the stuff that should move won't budge. Very frustrating.

[Lynn Fuston]

Here's a tall LatchLake at full extension as a crowd mic for a live video shoot.

http://www.3daudioinc.com/3db/attach...7&d=1150465107

Here's another shot from the other side of the stage.

http://www.3daudioinc.com/3db/attach...0&d=1150475979

And there are lots of pictures of what they can do here:

http://www.3daudioinc.com/3db/showthread.php?t=1086

[Jeff A. Roberts]

Originally Posted by Rob King

These things collapse down to under 5ft and can go to 16ft+.

Rob,

Thank you for your exceedingly kind words. It's nice to know that our efforts are appreciated.

BTW, your stands actually can extend to over 20 feet in height.

It also sounds like you have a pretty good case of what I call "Xtra Boom Fever". That happens when you figure out how handy, strong and compact the Xtra Boom is and you can't go back to using piles of tripod stands. It just seems so uncivilized........

Once again, thanks for your post. Is is the highest praise we have ever seen.

(Blush)

[Rob King]

Well deserved Jeff. Thanks for the great design man! Yeah, the piles of tripod stands are a thing of the past now. The space I save in my small tracking room is priceless. You need to get some of these in retail stores so people can actually see them. The photo's don't do them justice. Cheers!

[Jeff A. Roberts]

Originally Posted by Lynn Fuston

I saw Jeff of LatchLake just last weekend and he's showing his new stand. Slightly smaller base and almost half the price of the original. $495 for his new stand. All the functionality, just with a few cosmetic changes that make it less expensive to manufacturer. Like no bright chrome on the counterweight.

Lynn,

You must have had a little bit too much fun at TapeOp, (like I did). The MSRP of the new stand is $450, not $495.

Or maybe it was a jetlag thing. Thank you for posting your pictures.

[J.S.Vega III]

Is anyone using AEA mics with Latch Lake stands? The 5/8" female thread on my R84 seems to not be compatible with the 5/8" male Latch Lake thread... it screws in about two or three turns and then jams up.

The Latch Lake screws fine into my other mics. Also I have thread adapters that screw perfectly into the AEA.

[cl516]

yeah the only stand I can use with my AEA R44 is the Latch Lake, no problems here...

[Jeff A. Roberts]

Originally Posted by J.S.Vega III

Is anyone using AEA mics with Latch Lake stands? The 5/8" female thread on my R84 seems to not be compatible with the 5/8" male Latch Lake thread... it screws in about two or three turns and then jams up.

The Latch Lake screws fine into my other mics. Also I have thread adapters that screw perfectly into the AEA.

PM sent. We will send him a replacement part that should solve the problem as soon as we get an address.

Paul Pegas, the production manager at AEA has contacted me about this matter, and would like to be kept abreast of the situation.

J.S. Vega III, your problem will be solved.

[Musiclab]

I've said it before , I think they are works of art. Beyond sturdy. My only complaint about this stand is the wheels. I wish you made a stand where the you didn't have to tip it backwards to move. But I guess that's the price for a sturdy base that's not gigantic

[J.S.Vega III]

Originally Posted by Jeff A. Roberts

PM sent. We will send him a replacement part that should solve the problem as soon as we get an address.

Paul Pegas, the production manager at AEA has contacted me about this matter, and would like to be kept abreast of the situation.

J.S. Vega III, your problem will be solved.

Many thanks for your attention Jeff and Paul, I have PM'd you my address Jeff.

Best regards

Martin

[Jeff A. Roberts]

Originally Posted by J.S.Vega III

Many thanks for your attention Jeff and Paul, I have PM'd you my address Jeff.

Best regards

Martin

A custom part is on it's way to Martin now. It has especially forgiving threads which should fit anything with 5/8"X27 threads.