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REVIEWED


Audix CabGrabber AUDIXCabGrabber


Mic’ing up your guitar combo or cabinet is quick and easy thanks to this ingenious – and very tidy – alternative to a conventional boom stand…


Words: Tim Slater


Irrespective of whether you play regularly in small venues or larger theatres, mic’ing up your guitar cab is one guaranteed way to ensure that your guitar sound will always claim its fair share in the band mix. Lately I’ve been mic’ing up my guitar onstage almost every time my band plays live, mainly because it helps me to keep my onstage volume at a tolerable level whilst still allowing the audience and my long suffering band-mates the opportunity to enjoy my wondrous fret board acrobatics without having to resort to a full set of ear plugs!


AUDIX CabGrabber


SRP


All prices include VAT CONT


ACT


SCV London T:


020 8418 0624 W: www.scvlondon.co.uk 36 3pickup £60.00


One major drawback of mic’ing up my amp was lugging an extra microphone boom stand. In time- honoured fashion even the compact microphone stand that I purchased specifically for this purpose proved to be somewhat unwieldy. A timely ‘phone call from SCV London suggested that we check out the Audix CabGrabber, a purpose-built clamp that allows the guitarist to mic up their combo or speaker cabinet leaving the surrounding floor space entirely free of clumsy tripods and trailing cables.


Getting a grip… The Audix CabGrabber is a ‘U’ shaped steel tube whose telescopic spring loaded arm grips either side of your combo, depending on how you prefer to position your microphone (an XL version with a longer reach is also available for larger speaker cabinets). A mic clip isn’t included in the package but the CabGrabber’s speaker-facing end features an adjustable arm whose threaded tip will accept any standard mic clip or microphone shock mount if you prefer using a fragile condenser microphone over a more robust dynamic type. However,


unless you are playing through a very tiny combo we would generally recommend that you also use the optional extension boom arm. The boom arm’s telescopic reach extends to a maximum 12-inches and so provides ample room for an almost limitless variety of ways to position the microphone. Even a fairly large 212 combo like a Vox AC30 or a Fender Twin Reverb is no problem for the CabGrabber. Dealing with a fairly compact 112 combo, the boom arm still feels very useful due to the extra flexibility it offers.


Setting up the CabGrabber is very


simple, just pull out the telescopic tube until it is the same depth as your combo and the integrated clamps at either end lock the whole thing in place. There is still a bit of a knack to it, but the only important thing to really remember is to position the CabGrabber’s arm pointing upwards at an angle of 90 degrees so as to offer the boom arm the maximum amount of leverage. (See image above). The boom arm even includes a cable router to help keep the microphone cable away from the floor, so everything generally feels very tidy. PM


SHOULD I BUY ONE?


Previously, I have tried at least one other product that claims to do the same job as the CabGrabber but this Audix product feels superior. Its heavy-duty feel is compounded by a simple design with a minimum of nuts and bolts; virtually all you need to adjust are the large knurled locking nuts that fix the unit in place and once broken down at the end of a gig the CabGrabber stashes away neatly in the compact wheeled luggage hold-all that I use to transport my cables, microphones and other music- related peripherals. I’ve been using the CabGrabber for a couple of months now and it feels like a really useful and practical piece of equipment, I certainly wouldn’t want to have to find a way to manage without it.


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