In Praise of the AmpClamp

[RAILhead]

After years of searching for the perfect solution and giving up... to getting tired of having my mic knocked out of position the last 2 weekends and not knowing it until I hear how crappy I sound through my in-ears... I have found the mic clamp/stand that works for my gear: the AmpClamp.

I bought 2 for the home studio, both with the AB609 Adapter, and I'm totally loving them. I'll be buying one for my amp at church, as well. I bought the removable S Series, but it also comes with the mount plate, which is nice. I'll be using that plate at church, for sure.

Here are a few pics from ground-level, trying to show the setup:

The adapter lets you mount 2 mics at once, and as you can see, it's holding the heavy AT mic plus the 57 with no problem. The optional plate gets screwed into the cab wherever you want, then the whole clamp slides into it.

Simple and ingenious. Crazy low footprint for my crowded home studio. No booms sticking out to get bumped. I like my condenser mics about 3 fingers away from the grille cloth, and this clamp provides that PLUS more.

I'm not affiliated with the guys, just a fan of their work. Check 'em out!

 

[kev324]

I've been looking into these as I don't care for the Cabgrabber. Nice pics!

 

[jkokura]

I like this post. I've been thinking about rigging something like this, but it's good to know there's a product already available!

Jacob

 

[Grenville]

I've had one for ages, a great concept.

 

[alivegy]

do you not get bad phase problems with the distances between the mics and the speakers being so different?

 

[danonbass]

do you not get bad phase problems with the distances between the mics and the speakers being so different?

With some experimenting, you could resolve phase issues by adjusting mic placement and/or hitting the phase reverse button on whatever console you're using.

 

[tibbon]

Interesting. I'm worried with something like this that the amp with shake/resonate the mic too much, but maybe I'm worried about nothing.

 

[alguit]

I use one too and love it!

 

[danonbass]

Interesting. I'm worried with something like this that the amp with shake/resonate the mic too much, but maybe I'm worried about nothing.

You'd have the same problem with the cab grabber and other similar products. And you see those on stage at major concerts all the time. So while I think could be an issue... I think it's more an issue for pro recording not live work or home stuff.

 

[RAILhead]

do you not get bad phase problems with the distances between the mics and the speakers being so different?

I simply trigger the phase invert in Reason 6.

 

[RAILhead]

Interesting. I'm worried with something like this that the amp with shake/resonate the mic too much, but maybe I'm worried about nothing.

I haven't run into that issue, and I've been recording my Triple Rectifier, high gain, through my HIWATT cab, clocking around 70-75 decibels. Even with palm muted bass, I haven't noticed any issues.

 

[spence]

Does the adapter lock on to the main shaft or does it just tighten with a thumb screw? I'd be worried that it would start rotating on the shaft and slip down from the weight of the mic.

 

[RAILhead]

Here are more pics showing how the removable version is attached:

The removable clamp works best (IMHO) on the bottom, because gravity works to its benefit by more securely holding everything in place. As mic weight and gravity pull down, the clamp seats better. This pic shows the clamp lip partially slid into the optional permanent base. It also illustrates how downward force helps hold the clamp into place.

That said, it ships with a plate you can screw onto your cab. You then slide the clamp into the base, and you're set. I opted for this removable version with the clamp because I can have the extra security of the base plus top tightening. Here's a pic of that setup:

 

[spence]

Great pics RAILhead. My question was about the AB609 adapter (I should have been more specific). Does it lock on to the main shaft or just tightened with the thumbscrew? Unless it's locked on, I would think it could slide or rotate on the main shaft under the weight of the mic. It looks like a thumbscrew in the second pic from the top.

 

[RAILhead]

Great pics RAILhead. My question was about the AB609 adapter (I should have been more specific). Does it lock on to the main shaft or just tightened with the thumbscrew? Unless it's locked on, I would think it could slide or rotate on the main shaft under the weight of the mic. It looks like a thumbscrew in the second pic from the top.

Yeah, it's a compression/vise clamp (or that's what I call them, anyway). You can see it here (the arrow is pointing to the split end):

As you can see, it's supporting my heavy AT-3035, and it's not budging a BIT. Did I tighten it tight? Yep. Did I really kill it? Not at all -- just tight, and it's holding just fine.

 

[RyanFromQA]

Wow, that's one of those brilliant why-didn't-I-think-of-that inventions.

 

[Chad]

My biggest concern with the AmpClamp is range of adjustment. For those who have used them, how much range of adjustment is there? Looks like the clip type could move across the horizontal plane easily enough. But what about the vertical axis?

 

[stellablue]

Interesting. I'm worried with something like this that the amp with shake/resonate the mic too much, but maybe I'm worried about nothing.

You could easily add a shock mount in place of the mic clip.

 

[rhoydotp]

My biggest concern with the AmpClamp is range of adjustment. For those who have used them, how much range of adjustment is there? Looks like the clip type could move across the horizontal plane easily enough. But what about the vertical axis?

i was thinking about the same thing

 

[Chad]

My biggest concern with the AmpClamp is range of adjustment. For those who have used them, how much range of adjustment is there? Looks like the clip type could move across the horizontal plane easily enough. But what about the vertical axis?

Anybody?