Rode PSA-1

TLDR: Hinges and internals are not greased from factory which causes unnecessary wear and noise upon use.

I have experienced what seems to be an "issue" with ALL PSA-1 arms. It squeaks and there's a metal grinding noise. One of the hinges can be oiled from the outside (which should not be ungreased/unoiled on such an expensive product) but there's a pin that is also ungreased on the inside that requires light disassembly to get to which is ridiculous. Once all this is done the arm functions properly. This is not a "problem" per se since Rode seem to not do this at the factory and are obviously aware since this happens to what seems to be everyone that bothers to even check their product before use, if they do not later notice it during. This will most likely never be fixed because of how long this product has been on the market.

The quality itself is closer to a 4 but gets a 2 star because of the problem above. Stability is decent but is a bit wobbly if your desk isn't stable.

As part of a studio rebuild I bought four of these booms to replace some aging and very twangy booms of dubious origin! Our main studio uses the SM7B and the PSA-1 supports these very well, balance is perfect and with a little patience feeding the mic cable through the channel in the upper leg of the arms and down through the centre of the base spigot gives a superbly sleek finish. As our guest positions were a custom made desk it was great to to use the circular flush desk mount drilled into the surface with its neat nylon collar (to avoid metal on metal) and a chrome bezel with the Rode logo on it. Nice touch of quality from end to end. The SM7B is hung from the spigot in it's classic formation and looks the part but he only point to note is the microphone's XLR connector casting restricts the horizontal movement a little at extremes but this isn't detrimental to normal use.

Overall the Rode quality is present and these booms represent excellent value for money. They have an adequate reach and style without being overly like staring at an angle poise lamp draped across the desk. Every house should have one!

This desktop stand works well.

I used the standard base to clamp it to my desk (instead of the option to drill a hole in the desk) and this is stable with zero wobble in the base. Everything seems well made and sturdy.

Without a mic when you move the arm the springs move it toward a neutral position when you release the arm. After mounting a mic, that stops.

I mounted a Rode NT1-A Complete Vocal Recording on the end. With that weight on the arm, it is nicely balanced, easy to move, and stays where I put it without adjusting any clamps. It has a reach of more than a metre, and rotates very easily - the arm turns smoothly on the base, and the mic turns freely on the arm. Nice and flexible.

One minor downside - the arm has parallel metal bars which move closer or further apart as you move the arm up and down. These have squared edges and you can nip your fingers a bit if you hold that wrong.

Very happy - very good stand

Iv been in quite a few studios and there is nothing worse when you need to move the mic arm while live and you can hear it moving.

I have this setup at home with the Rode Procaster and PSM1 mount and im really happy with how it sounds.

One piece of advice is to take note of the warning when your unpacking the arm when it says that its spring loaded. I managed to catch my thumb in it.

Before I attached the mic I was concerned that the mic wouldn't be in the right location as the arm kept sticking up in the air due to the springs, however once I attached the procaster mic the arm sits exactly where I want it to be.

When the time comes to add further mic's to the home studio, the PSA-1 will definitely be on the shopping list.

Fixed it to my kid's table and to a bookshelf, stays in place perfectly. It's built with some strong springs, have to watch your fingers when no microphone is mounted, the mount will straighten itself. Some lighter microphones can't be used with it unless you add some more weight to the mic -- a shockmount, pop filters and xlr cables will do :)
Rode Podmic (weighing almost 1kg) stays perfectly still on it. An Audio Technica AT2035 on its shockmount is just the right weight, a couple dozen grams less, and the mount wants to unfold from whatever position you try to put it into.
Overall a very good product for its intended use :)

The upper part of the mic arm, started making metallic noises when moved, after 2 months of usage. I must say, I did not expect that from Rode. I'm experiencing the same issues that another customer described in one of the reviews. I searched for this specific problem and found out that this metal to metal friction issue happened to even more people that bought the PSA-1. I guess that some of them are badly manufactured? I contacted Thomann's customer support and we reached to an agreement. Ignoring the issue I had, as a mic arm the PSA-1 is very steady and an almost perfect pair to my SM7B. For some weird reason, whenever I move the mic left and right, it becomes a bit loose and then have to tighten the screw that connects it to the arm.

I use the Rode PSA-1 with a Shure SM7B, which is a quite heavy microphone. The PSA-1 is perfect for this. It's stable and easy to adjust. Doesn't make any noises when you move it around (like some cheaper alternatives do) and stays into place.

I have just one small complaint, and that is the placement of the screws to adjust the tilt of the microphone. When using a SM7B, they come in the way of the cable attachment, so the microphone can't be turned more than 90 degrees or so. If you need it to turn all the way around, you will need an extension tube (like the Shure A26X).

When it comes to boom arms for microphones, you can read all the reviews and online commentary you like... You're going to come back to this microphone stand if you're looking for the absolute best in performance. When I first went to install it with the screw down mount setup, I was concerned because the boom kept extending out so much and wouldn't hold a position; little did I think about the fact that I should probably mount the microphone! I mounted the Rode M2 microphone along all to the Rhode PSA1 and couldn't be more satisfied. No matter where I place this microphone, whether up, down, left or right, it just stays put and doesn't sway. This is the Cadillac of microphone boom stands. If you want the best that just works flawlessly, go no further.