This 3D printed wireless mic holder makes it easy to go handheld for interviews

Almost everyone seems to have a tiny wireless microphone these days. From TV to TikTok, we see Rode, DJI, Sennheiser and a bunch of other tiny wireless microphone systems. A lot of the time, though, we see people holding them when talking into them or interviewing other people.

There is a better way. In fact, Rode even has their own Interview GO ($29) handheld adapter for the Rode Wireless GO (and Pro) series microphones. But if you’ve got a 3D printer, you can just make your own. Like this very stylish one from Johan V.

Why do we need handles for wireless mics?

These compact wireless microphone systems are still fairly new to the market. The first was the Rode Wireless GO, released back in 2019. Rode recently released the Rode Wireless GO 3rd Generation, and now there are lots of similar systems on the market from a whole plethora of competitors.

But these systems are designed primarily to record the wearer. Either you clip the transmitter to your subject’s chest, or you plug in a lav and the transmitter’s in a pocket or on their belt. For recording yourself, this is fine. But if you need to record other people, perhaps in an interview type situation, you can’t just be putting wires up peoples shirts.

So, this is why handheld mics are needed. The problem is that there are very few wireless handheld microphones compatible with these small 2.4GHz wireless systems. Rode’s Interview Pro, released in April this year, is actually the only one that immediately springs to mind.

What’s the solution?

Well, the unofficial solution seems to be just holding the transmitter up to the person’s face like you’re feeding them a cookie. But the problem with this is that the handling noise from whoever’s holding it gets transferred into the microphone. They’re not exactly designed to be held.

The official solution is to get the Rode Interview Pro ($249). But there’s also a cheaper official solution, too. Rode makes the Interview Go, a $29 adapter that turns your Wireless GO/ME/Pro transmitter into a handheld microphone. For those of us with 3D printers, we don’t have to be limited to these two options.

There are a few handle designs out there, but Johan’s is by far the most elaborate I’ve seen. He warns that it is tricky to print. You can see in the photos and the video clip above that it has an intricate frame. I expect this design helps give it a level of “springiness” to combat handling noise.

You’ll want to take care when printing it and have your support settings dialled in. Johan shows his print in use with a Rode Wireless GO series transmitter, but he believes it should also fit DJI mics, too. I expect it will fit quite a lot of them, as many follow a similar form factor to Rode.

Where to get it

You can download Johan’s STL file now from Printables. Again, Johan warns that it’s not an easy print. Removing it from the build plate can be a delicate process. If you have the ability to print soluble supports, you should probably do that.

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