- in Production by Bobby Owsinski
New Music Gear Monday: Royer Flexbar Dual Microphone Utility Mount
When it comes to studio gear we tend to obsess over the bigger purchases but take the smaller ones for granted. Yet, sometimes its these smaller purchases that we use every day, and if we choose poorly, we suffer accordingly. Mic stands and mic stand hardware fall into this category, and I bet everyone who’s ever recorded has struggled mightily when it comes to setting up a stereo pair. The clever folks at Royer Labs are on it though, and they’ve come up with an easy way to not only set up any stereo configuration, but multi-mic setups as well. It’s called the FlexBar.
The FlexBar is a universal microphone holder designed to hold two microphones on a single microphone stand, but it has additional flexibility far beyond traditional stereo bar capabilities. Constructed from aircraft-grade aluminum and finished in matte-black, the FlexBar is lightweight and handles most microphone types.
Unlike traditional stereo bars, the FlexBar’s two movable arms provide a wide range of mic placement options, from the traditional Blumlein and spaced pair positions to multiple mic setups on snare drum, guitar amps, piano, and anything else you can think of. To make all your settings repeatable, each arm has engraved gradient markers in centimeters for precise distancing between the microphones.
If the FlexBar construction looks familiar, that’s because it was designed in conjunction with Triad-Orbit (perhaps the leader in microphone stand technology) and accepts all Triad-Orbit accessories. For instance, if you want additional horizontal adjustments of the entire FlexBar unit, the Triad-Orbit ball-swivel adaptor added between the base of the FlexBar and a microphone stand lets you angle the mount in just about any direction that you want.
The FlexBar is priced at $199, which isn’t too much more than traditional stereo bars currently available, yet it will do so much more. Not only that, it’s built like a tank and will last a lifetime. This is one smaller purchase that you’re going to thank yourself every time you use it.
You can find out more here, or watch this great video narrated by Royer’s John Jennings below.