Beware! Ultimate Support stands MC-125

Dang. Sorry to hear that, glad you didn’t lose any valuable mics, and thanks for the heads up.

I got a couple of those in trade, they don’t hold well unless the counterweight is balanced. Have thought they probably need replacement.

Edit - yes they did and the design is improved.

Ultimate is a solid company, they’ve bent over backwards to help me and a few other people over the years that had those larger stand break (they send free parts for me a few time and in two instances, I’ve seen them completely replace the stand for people). That stand just is not a good design… Every time I have people ask about them, I say save your money and go with a Latch Lake. If you’re putting nice mics up high, I just can’t trust those Ultimate stands anymore, they are going to break on you at some point, and it’s going to be an expensive lesson…

I had to give up on the 125’s when I had a Lauten Oceanus bite it on one and dent the crap out of a nice Zildjian cymbal. Head basket on the mic was toast, everything else was fine. It’s a bad stand, they need to redo the design. I would literally take one of the cheap guitar center mega stands with the metal cogs on it.

Those AKG are probably relabeled K&M so no surprise there, the old Atlas are probably only out done by the current Latch leaker.

Ironically for years most of the ultimate were K&M, they got greedy and went with a cheap OEM after everyone assumed Ulitmate meant K&M.

I got a whole gaggle of K&M stands a few months ago from Guitar Center when they were liquidating stock from their PA rental unit. 7 or 8 stands for like $150 or something nuts. 

I feel totally confident in putting anything on those.

But at some point I'm going to to need a Latch Lake for overheads that can handle tube mics. $800... whew boy.

Well I had an inside guy so I went and picked out the choicest puppies from the litter! Haha.

Thanks for the tip! I’ve had a different issue with a Hercules stand…one that has the quick release clamp where the boom meets the base. It rarely stays firmly attached no matter what I do, boom easily falls off if slightly tipped/run into. Thankfully I’m the only one adjusting anything in my studio, but would be really dangerous for a pricey mic if it were in a studio with multiple people using it…although they’d probably get rid of a shite stand immediately (unlike me). These days I only keep a 57 or green bullet on it, and Latch Lake’s for my ‘gentle!’ mic’s.

Sorry to see that Christian. I'm glad nothing pricy got hurt in the process.

If not going Latch Lake, the On Stage big booms have treated me quite well. I like the geared clutches, and locking wheels.

I mean no mic got hurt! My friends Sony 800G broke when his stand collapsed though!

I'm going to look into latch lake, although spending 1k on a stand feels a bit excessive haha! The K&M 21430 stand i have now feels sturdy, also its allot more stable because of the wider base. I just wish there where a safety pin to hold the extension. Those things usually sag over time so some additional safety would be good.

I’ve been very happy with Hercules.

Their stands mic, guitar, iPad holder etc all very solid and so far reliable.

Been happy with K&M too.

The Hercules clutch is very good - good range of positions and cannot slip as it’s geared.

For heavy-duty stands, I have three of these that I've had for well over 15 years. Two are in daily use (literally), and one is for extra OH mics on-demand.

on-stage.com/hex-base-studio-boom-mic-stand

Around $200. if I recall. Base is cast iron and heavy; counterweight is 7 lbs, IIRC. No issues ever, either with imbalancing or durability.  The clutch is geared (or toothed, depending on your choice of terminology), and never slips/sags/droops.  Same for the mini-boom extension at the end of the boom arm.


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