I have a Sennheiser 416 and do voice overs sometimes for my work and I think it's time for me to stop leaning my boom pole against my homemade sound booth.

Can anyone recommend a trusted, sturdy mic stand w/ arm? Does much thought need to be put into this purchase, or is it just a matter of getting what you pay for?

K+M, Beyer (pretty well the same product) and if you want cheap but good - Studiospares (http://www.studiospares.com) have their own brand which also looks very similar to the other two. I've got some of all these, and can't say a bad thing about them - and I really abuse them. The studiospares ones are really silly money at the moment - so probably worth a look. These products are easily available in Europe - obviously Studiospares isn't much help if you're in the US.

Just pop in to any music / pro audio store and look at what they've got for mic stands. Unless you're dealing with a very heavy mic or need an abnormally long boom, it's pretty easy to find a decent stand for cheap.

I agree with Jordan. At the local music store you'll be able to do a hands on comparison and find the best performance and value. As long as the stand doesn't tip over or break, the suspension mount and a pop filter are the more important components.

My favourite is a small K+M tripod stand that collapses small enough to fit in a suitcase, with a boom arm so it can get very low or high enough for a standing announcer.
... and of course it you are using it on a video shoot then it should be black.
A second useful stand would be a large studio stand with a boom that can reach high above the set and be used to replace the need for a boompole op. for a fixed mic position.

You might look here: Catalog - On-Stage Stands (http://www.onstagestands.com/catalog/land) Most of the on-line music stores sell this brand (americanmusical.com, musiciansfriend, zzsounds, etc)

I have several of these, not pro-studio quality to be sure, but servicable, the heavier duty ones being more secure and having better threads; the cheapos have bad threads....

One thing you might consider with anything smaller than their studio stands is a weight on the base, to prevent your nice Senny from hitting the concrete....I have used a small sandbag across the leg opposite the boom to secure my studio mike and have felt much better for it....hth / Battle Vaughan/miamiherald.com video team

I ordered a mike stand from Guitar Center after months of rigging a mike to a photo light stand. For some reason I thought that it would be expensive.

It was not! The one I got was around $19.00US and it is a boom type stand, and has made life a whole lot better. It also collapses and goes into a tube case with my other stands. Plus I now can use my "old" mike stand for what it was meant...to hold a light :-}

I digress. Heres's a link:

Musicians Gear Tripod Mic Stand with Telescoping Boom and more Microphone Stands and Booms at GuitarCenter.com. (http://www.guitarcenter.com/Musicians-Gear-Tripod-Mic-Stand-with-Telescoping-Boom-451052-i1323840.gc)

Jonathan