Beware! Ultimate Support stands MC-125

You guys are scaring me. I bought one three years ago specifically for my REDD. The mic has been on it ever since. Sounds like I need Plan B before it takes a dive. Sounds like it’s a matter of time.

I know I've said it before around here, but my MC-125 is the only mic stand I've ever used where it just literally fell over. It had my Soyuz 017FET on it at the time. The center of gravity where the base contacts the wheels is too high. Compare it to the On-Stage one where the base is at the level of the center of the wheels (or maybe even lower). The main clutch on the boom arm of my Ultimate worked fine, and the counterweight was good, but the telescoping part of the boom broke within a year of light use. And then eventually the whole stand just flipped over one day. Bananas.

I bought a LatchLake 1100 after that: no wheels or anything, but that stand ain't flipping for nobody.

Just looking at that design, it looks way over-complicated. It's like a german car.. 80 parts in place of something that 5 parts would be fine just to make it function 2% better, until it breaks after 5 years and then it's 5000% more expensive to fix.

I still use a bunch of the old rubber washer squisher types that used to come 10x for 100$ back in the day. Still work fine although I've had a few of the plastic tensioner things for the main shaft break over the years because I tend to over-tighten them.

I also have a few of the On-stage toothed-cam types which I guess are a bit more similar to what the OP is using.  They're a pain to reconfigure but they'll never droop or break at least.

It's harder for me to tell people "spend a little bit more on the Latch Lake" now, as the prices have gone up significantly. If you've got mics that are getting up there in price (like the Chandler REDD mic) I know you've got the money to buy a nice stand. You're just being stingy, be honest  . I'm not judging, I've been there and done the same thing. If you're just going to rack it straight up on a stand and do vocals in your bedroom, you don't need something big and expensive. The Guitar Center DR Pro stands are well under $100 and are just as good as a K&M or anything else in my opinion for mild use. If you're going to record drums and do overheads or something stupid and crazy with an extended arm, set aside 10% more of your mic budget and get a nice stand that's going to last you a lifetime and can be repaired. 

I splurged a few years ago and got two of the Latch Lake 1100's, one of them as the package with a few of the Xtra-Boom arms. Guess what I don't think or worry about anymore? Mic stands... The mics go where I want them to go, I can leave them up all week and never stress about it. I know I can do what I need to do with it and I know it's not going to break my mics. If you're spending thousands of dollars on mics, buy at least one really nice stand that isn't crap. If taking your mic stand budget from $300 (for sub par) to $500 (for top of the line, spare no expense) is too much for you, don't spend more crazy money on microphones...


Ya the Latch Lakes are freaking expensive. You know what's even worse? That punch in your gut when your crap stand gives up, breaks your stuff and you go "I'm an idiot...". I've been there and done that, you never stop feeling like an idiot sandwich even years after it happens.

What about the Triad-Orbit stands? Anyone using them with good results? Cool stuff
www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TOPack4--triad-orbit-complete-kick-drum-system-microphone-stand-system

www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TOPack2--triad-orbit-drum-overhead-system-microphone-stand-package

I suggest a more appropriate word is "suspect" rather than "know". Some of us have personal studios that generate no income, and thus have limited funds. Mine are currently invested in mics and outboard, and I was stingy on none of it. I bought the MC-125 because at the time it seemed more than adequate for my requirements and was within budget. It's apparent I may now need to reconsider its continued use, but to "be honest", it's a big assumption that I have another $500-$1K available. 

I have (2) of these stands, and have never had any issues with them.  Now, I'm not an active professional studio as some of you are.  I'm either recording session vocal work, or for myself.  That said, I did take one apart for my move.  The hub part everyone is talking about had to be put back together very specifically, or it would not work, so I imaging if one of the parts within it failed, that this could absolutely be an issue.  Even when the stand does work, it requires the counter weight to be properly balanced or it will move a bit, even when locked.  


crillemannen do you know which internal part of the hub failed on you? Just curious, as I'll want to keep an eye on my stands. 

If you do live work, metal hubs really help. The plastic ones do break. (You never know what order or how a roadie throws in the stand and heavy equipment into a vehicle. And soft stand cases will not protect those plastic hubs.) For a studio, the Latch Lakes with the heavy bases rule.

I have 3 of the MC-125. I got them probably 12-15 years ago. I had a problem with one of the knobs and one of the clutches and back then, Ultimate had a "lifetime warranty" which changed to something shorter (it's on the website but I think it's 5 or 6 years now). Anyway, they sent me parts and I made them send parts for all 3 even though only 2 had different issues... But that gave me extra parts. I have 2 of the stands semi permanently over drums and no issues. The other I use for heavy mics but I don't ever leave them unattended.

It is important to use the counterweights, but I also don't use mine heavily so they are not completely worn out yet.

What's up, Tony - it's been awhile.

Yeah, C-Stands can work well, and you can (and should) sandbag the tall leg on the base, and then it's definitely not going anywhere. I use these for lights all the time. Lights that are much heavier than any microphone. Tony, which adapters for mics do you use? I haven't actually seen very many that I like.

Someone with say a nice Atlas metal lathe could crank those out, but I haven’t had one in 35 years so that leaves me out. We really need to find someone who owns a machine shop and likes to record, so many cool little bit we could use.

(Note: The below response is meant for future forum users as much as or more than Tony)

Ah, gotcha - I thought maybe you'd found the holy grail that I've never quite managed to find: a grip stud with a male 5/8" screw on the end, ready to receive a microphone clip (ericn, THAT'S what we need our mythical machine shop to make!). If you're currently using a spigot stud as listed above, I would recommend something like this instead:

www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1340616-REG/kupo_kg012512_3_5long_5_8_baby_stud.html

That's a baby pin stud that's actually designed to go into a grip head / knuckle (if your C-Stand didn't come with an extra knuckle, you can get those separately here: www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/371923-REG/Impact_KCP_200_Grip_Head_2_5.html)

You can then use a 3/8" to 5/8" adapter like the one from Sweetwater above - except I wouldn't use that one from Sweetwater, as it's made of plastic. You can find brass ones that won't degrade, burr up, or fail.

Or I guess for you folks in Europe, is it true that 3/8" is your standard size for mic clips anyway??