A couple of weeks ago I went and turned in my change jar at CoinStar for an Amazon gift card as I usually do and I had been debating on what to spend the money on.
Well I figured it out last week and on Sunday I ordered the Rode PSA-1 Studio Arm
(Amazon Link). Up until now I’ve had the mic on a desk stand which was inconvenient in two ways, one it was in the way on the desk with it’s big heavy base and two it was too short for my tallness. I would have to lean over to talk into it which wasn’t very comfortable. A taller mic stand would solve one promblem but woul still take up desk space, the solution a mic boom arm.
The Rode PSA-1 comes with two different mounting options. A temporary clamp and permanent drill a hole in your desk mount. I went with the clamp as I’m not up to drilling holes in my desk. The clamp is sturdy and allows the arm to swing just fine.
The arm itself is a bit springy, do pay attention to that caution sign, until you get the weight of the mic on the end then everything settles down.
The arm feels very sturdy and the elbows have a nice tension to them. It is not overly difficult to position the arm where you want it and once you do it stays there. I couldn’t run the mic cable the way they show on the box, but then again I’m using an XLR mic not USB. Overall I’m very pleased with my $99 investment and only have a few of small complaints.
The included Rode branded velcro strips used for cable management are very short giving you only about a half inch of over lap. Which makes them a bit hard to put on over a thick XLR cable. For the permeant mount I’ve would have included a washer for the back as well. While there is a big clamping surface on the top on the bottom you are relying on only the nut. If I was to use the through hole mount I would get washer and spread that clamping force out. Lastly the mic mount swivel is overly loose in my option but is not a major issue.
So if your looking for a mic arm and don’t have a lot to spend give the Rode PSA-1 a look.
