Gear, instruments and tools · updated 2026-08-16

SHOCK MOUNT

An elastic cradle that suspends a microphone so desk knocks, foot taps and floor rumble do not travel up the stand into the capsule.

Gear, instruments and tools — Top-down photograph of an Akai MPC Live standalone sampler showing its sixteen velocity-sensitive pads, touchscreen browser and Q-Link knobs — the hardware sampler workflow these gear terms describe.

Key takeaways

An elastic cradle that suspends a microphone so desk knocks, foot taps and floor rumble do not travel up the stand into the capsule.
It solves a problem no plugin can, because the low-frequency thumps it prevents are recorded at full level.
Put the mic in a shock mount and the stand on a mat if you record standing on a wooden floor; the rumble you never notice while performing is very audible on playback.
Watch out: confusing a shock mount with a pop filter.
Sits under gear, instruments and tools in this glossary, with 2 primary sources below.

Quick checklist

Can you define shock mount in one sentence without looking?
Can you point at shock mount in a real session, mix or contract?
Have you tried the practical move above at least once?
Would you catch the common mistake before it costs you a take?
Have you opened one of the primary sources below rather than a forum thread?

SHOCK MOUNT IN DEPTH

A shock mount suspends the microphone in elastic bands or an internal suspension so structure-borne vibration — desk knocks, foot taps, building rumble, a table being leaned on — never reaches the capsule. It solves a problem no plugin can, because the low-frequency thumps it prevents are recorded at full level.

How it works in practice

Put the mic in a shock mount and the stand on a mat if you record standing on a wooden floor; the rumble you never notice while performing is very audible on playback.

The mistake people make

Confusing a shock mount with a pop filter. One stops vibration through the stand, the other stops air blasts from plosives.

WHERE SHOCK MOUNT SITS

Shock mount belongs to gear, instruments and tools in the Sampled music glossary. The boxes, controllers and sample formats a producer is expected to know by name — from the MPC to a one-shot.

TEST YOURSELF

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3 quick questions on shock mount. Answers are marked instantly — nothing is sent anywhere.

1. Which statement best describes shock mount?
2. What is the mistake people most often make with shock mount?
3. In practice, which of these applies to shock mount?

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SOURCES AND CITATIONS

Free, primary references for shock mount — standards bodies, manufacturers, government offices and university course material. Each one lists the line of this entry it backs up.

Sampled — best condenser microphones for vocals
Primary reference · Sampled — best condenser microphones for vocals
“An elastic cradle that suspends a microphone so desk knocks, foot taps and floor rumble do not travel up the stand into the capsule.”— the claim this source supports
Why it counts: Published by the organisation responsible for the thing being defined, so it is a first-hand source rather than a summary of one.
AES — standards and publications (opens in a new tab)
Professional standards body · Audio Engineering Society
“A shock mount suspends the microphone in elastic bands or an internal suspension so structure-borne vibration — desk knocks, foot taps, building rumble, a table being leaned on — never reaches the capsule.”— the claim this source supports
Why it counts: AES writes and reviews the engineering standards and peer-reviewed papers this terminology comes from.

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