The old saying goes, “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.” Every once in a blue moon, a leap forward in technology allows a simple but extraordinarily annoying problem to have an elegant solution. Sure, you can kill mice the old fashioned way, but wouldn’t you rather have a robot that killed and collected them for you?
Robotic technology has been around for a while, as have Wi-Fi and mobile apps, but combining them to create the world’s coolest and easiest-to-use mic placement robot came together in the form of the DynaMount just around 2 years ago (as reported by media mogul and trustworthy news outlet Gear Gods). It was initially a (successfully) crowdfunded endeavor that has gone on to become available from such retailers as Musician’s Friend, Sweetwater, Vintage King and more. I predicted that it would very quickly make its way into pro studios around the world – I don’t know if I’m quite Nostradamus, but if this list is any indication, I was at least mostly right.
The DynaMount made an otherwise arduous and annoying task not only easy, but fun. The app is intuitive and simple while still being very powerful, and although the initial setup takes a little patience, you only have to do it once and then you’re off to productivity island. There are 4 different versions of the robot – the flagship X1-R (which is one of the ones we reviewed – it has the most options in terms of movement on 2 axes and 360° rotation, $679.00), the X-1 (2 axes of movement but no rotation, $449.00), the V1-R (the other we reviewed – a single axis of movement and 360° rotation, $419.00), and the V1 (single axis of movement, no rotation, $279.99).
The best thing about the DynaMount was taking the guesswork out of the process. Hear a placement you like? Save it as a preset to recall at any time. Want to see what it would be like if one mic was 45° off axis? Just a swipe of the finger and you’re there. The app on both mobile and desktop were easy to use and did exactly what they
The point here isn’t just to make mic placement easier – I’ve already seen imbecilic cries of “lazy!” “why don’t you just get up and move the mic?” and other ignorant whining when we initially posted the news of the DynaMount. Although that’s a great upside, it’s the ability to experiment on the fly and dial in the perfect tone, not just “close enough” because you’re sick of running back and forth, or settling for the tried-and-true instead of new horizons and innovation. There are also super practical applications – if you make cab IRs commercially, the ability to set presets for different settings to get the same result every single time is priceless and will save you enormous amounts of time.
The nature of the design also allows for updates and upgrades, some of which are coming soon according to the DynaMount folks. The next update due out in late March promises the following:
1) Introducing a new feature called “Blind Mode”. The goal is to help people focus on what they hear, not what they see. It will allow the user to blindly A/B multiple positions without knowing which one they are listening to, thus allowing the user to chose a placement entirely based on what is heard.
2) Improvements to “Offline Mode” – This is especially big for people who want to use it for live sound on tour. We have made the setup faster and easier by allowing the user to look up the IP address from within the app (not applicable for standard use with internet).
3) They will now be offering premium features for a nominal fee – it will include more presets and the ability to save multiple sessions each with their own set of presets.
So if you are a studio owner or engineer who wants to improve the quality of their recordings and save an incredible amount of time and hassle, I highly recommend investing in at least one DynaMount for your studio. They’re not particularly cheap, but it’s a fucking remote app-controlled microphone robot. This is the most high-tech solution in studio recording since digital modeling, and I can’t believe they’re not 3-4 times as expensive and a pain in the ass to use. They’re an absolute steal for what you’re getting and what you’ll get out of it, and I think it has the power to transform your experience in the studio when it comes to mic placement. They work exactly as described and are worth every penny. This is your better mousetrap – and I suggest you beat a path to DynaMount’s door.
