While scouring Sweetwater's website for a stereo bar worth purchasing to try out, I recently stumbled across the Shure A27M stereo microphone adapter. Note that it's not referred to as a "stereo bar" because it's not a bar; it's a tube-shaped metal thing. One end of the tube has a 5/8-inch threaded opening to fit on a mic stand. There are two 360º swivel-able segments on the tube with 5/8-inch threads and hand-tightenable knurled nuts on them for where the mics mount. The tube's top has a knurled cap that can loosen or tighten the swivel-able segments and hold them in place. It should be obvious, but the adjustable swivels set the angle of the mics against each other, depending on where the clips end up pointing them. This mounting system is adjustable in many ways and allows me to get an X/Y pair in position quickly. The hand-tightenable knurled nuts on each mount means you can use any 5/8-inch threaded mic mount without issues. The top cap allows me to tighten the mounts down firmly with no mic drift. It's perfect for the typical X/Y type mic setups I use, though it wouldn't work for a Blumlein or widely-spaced pair like the Royer Labs FlexBar does [see review above].

Am I finally happy with a small stereo mic mount? I think so! Shure came up with a unique mic holding solution with the A27M, and it's been saving me time (and worry) in the studio. Perfect.

Tape Op is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to the art of record making.

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