Hi all,

At my studio, I use an EV RE20 through a DBX 286a voice processor, into a Mackie, and then to our Tricaster system. This the sound we currently have: UH-OH: The Trump N-Word Tapes ARE REAL?! - YouTube

I am developing a mobile setup wherein I'll be using a Teradek Cube to send my video over IP from remote locations back to our studio. As much as I'd love to have the same audio setup, dragging around a DBX 286a isn't practical because of its size, but at the same time, I don't like the sound of the EV without running it through a voice processor...too much room noise without the gate, and just generally it doesn't sound great.

So, I'm looking for another mic I could use when I am remote that would sound tight without a voice processor. I was once recommended the Shure Beta 87c but am unsure i there are other options to try out. What would you recommend that would give me a good sound run directly into a small Behringer mixer?

A decent quality wired lav will isolate your voice from background noise. Wireless if you are moving.

What would be some examples of the quality wired lavs you are referring to?

What would be some examples of the quality wired lavs you are referring to?
I consider $200-300 mid range or decent. I use the Audio Technica AT899.
Curtis Judd gives a great review of lavs you can judge for yourself. You will also learn that from him that the proper technique is equally important.

Lavalier Microphone Comparison Results - YouTube

interestingly I have an AT899 and tested it earlier today with this setup and the background noise was horrifying

What do you mean by background noise? Do you mean the self noise of the microphone or the ambient sound in the room from the ac, traffic, people talking, etc. No other type of mic isolates better than a lav. I often have read here people are trying to do things that exceed normal practices that no equipment can realistically solve.

yeah room tone and general hollow/echoey sound

Sounds like the room acoustics are exceeding what mic is capable of isolating. You need some sort of portable sound booth solution. Could be as simple as a blanket or a more elegant portable sound booth product. Technique is often more important than equipment.

The traditional method is a lip mic, used by commentator at sporting events,

https://www.canford.co.uk/Products/92-392_COLES-4104-MICROPHONE-Lip

Coles 4104B - Broadcast Ribbon - Pure Wave Audio - YouTube

Ya, Coles lip mics are cool and work great.

You could also look at headset mics...ie, headphones with integrated boom mics. I've worked with various Sennheiser, ClearCom, and Shure models (that I recall), but don't own any.
https://www.bswusa.com/Headsets--C253.aspx

On some gigs, we'll have headsets for most of the day, with lip mics just in case... Like these two:
https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/52fa5aeaeab8ea037df92b4f-750-398.jpg

We don’t see the Coles lip mics much on this side of the pond. Not saying they’re not here, they may be, but I’ve never seen one at retail or rental.

I’m a big fan of the Countryman e6i “earset” mic. It’s a lot like a lav in its engineering, but, the placement an inch or two away from the mouth makes a huge difference in handling ambient sound and room reflections. And, it’s a very good sounding mic. Its available in configs for various wireless transmitters, and, for XLR wired operation.

I first became aware of it for on-stage work when presenters would wander the stage. A conventional lav’s sound varies a lot, and it may feedback on-stage, depending. The e6i is very solid, because of that rejection of ambient sound, including feedback.

Granted, it’s a little intrusive visually, but it does work really well!

https://www.countryman.com/e6-earset-microphone/

There are hundreds of configs for this mic - it’s available for just about any wireless set, in several different colors (black, or skin tones), and 2 different cable diameters. The 3-pin XLR version does require phantom power, IIRC.

...I'm looking for another mic I could use when I am remote that would sound tight without a voice processor. I was once recommended the Shure Beta 87c but am unsure i there are other options to try out. What would you recommend that would give me a good sound run directly into a small Behringer mixer?

Most people / local news outlets use lavs for this kind of work. If you want to find out what it sounds like, I'd suggest an Oscar Soundtech 802 (http://oscarsoundtech.com/services.html) mounted on your lapel about sternum high or between the second and third buttons on your shirt. I've got a couple and they work a treat for me. Get the "power supply - XLR" that lets you power the lav like you would a normal condenser mic (it converts phantom power from an XLR cable into plug-in power for the lav). If you like using a lav, learn how to properly mount it using a strain relief loop.

If this doesn't do enough for you in blocking room sound, the next step up is an ear-set mic like a Countryman E6. I'd use a cardioid or hyper for this duty because the mic is going to maintain the distance and orientation to your mouth no matter how you move, so it's safe enough. IOW, it won't give you problems with going in and out of pattern, nor will it give you any variable proximity effect.

If that doesn't do enough for you, you've got next to no choice but to start working on fixing the room.

If you really like the visual of the RE20 in the shot, you can keep it as a prop. Then you could boom a good hyper like a Schoeps CMC6 mk41 just above the top frame of the shot, pointing down at your mouth at about a 45 degree angle. This puts it around 45-60cm away from your mouth. If you don't want a boom op to boom it, then a c-stand, a boom pole holder, and a boom pole works fine too, as long as you don't move so much that you get out of pattern. But judging from the clip you provided, it doesn't look like that would be a problem for you.

No other type of mic isolates better than a lav.

I find it hard to understand why a lav (usually an omni) at 6" to 8" from the mouth would isolate better than a good omni announce mic, or a good cardioid announce mic with LF rolloff, located 1" from the mouth. (You'd need the rolloff to compensate for the proximity effect that results from working a cardioid mic too close.)

At 4" distance, the voice SPL arriving at the lav will be -12dB lower than that arriving at the 1" mic.
At 8" distance, the SPL level difference will be -18dB.
That means that a mic at 1" already has a 12dB to 18dB improvement in room S/N, compared to a lav clipped at 6" to 8" from the speaker's mouth.

(Of course you could use the lav 1" away from the speaker's mouth, if you're willing to hold it there.)

(Of course you could use the lav 1" away from the speaker's mouth, if you're willing to hold it there.)
That is called a headset mic. Increasingly seen everywhere. It was the very first suggestion in this discussion and the OP never responded to the suggestion. Still the best suggestion here IMHO.

It seems like people here have the need to out do other people’s suggestions. Like I said earlier finding the right approach for given situation is more important. In this case improving acoustics makes more sense than than trying to find a mic to over come them. I saw that he had created a thread before this one on the very same subject of the room acoustics. The headset isn’t a bad idea either, but it’s bad look if he is filming himself. At the end of the day there no substitute for a little common sense and being able to adapt. The claim that the AT899 mic is terrible is ridiculous. There a wide variety of mics that could be used for this situation but why run out and spend more money when he owns a perfectly capable mic.

A decent quality wired lav will isolate your voice from background noise. Wireless if you are moving.

In this instance I would agree that this is the best option.

The best option is to get the headmic. version (the DPA ones are excellent).

Otherwise tape the miniature mic. to your head using hypoallergenic tape/fixers - in the hgairline is a good place like they do in stage musicals. But use a little /\ "roof" of Caseline to stop any sweat rinning down the cable into the mic. - you will notice that most headmics have a little rubber O-ring on the mic. tube; this is the sweat stopper to stop sweat getting to the mic.

I'm intrigued by your view that you need the processor? Your EV without the processor, at the distance in the first clip is pretty much the kind of tone you get from many, many mics - a neutral, but blandish accurate capture of the subject. Your processed audio sounds so 'American' to my BBC tainted English ears. Not wrong or bad - but just messed with. If you like it and need it, then you're going to find ANY of the more distant mic techniques too thin and weedy for your taste unless you are a bit savage with compression and eq. Omni lavs don't sound remotely like an EV. The Shure 86 and 87 are very bright - the opposite of your EV. If it's all going down the line, can you not process it that end? If you like the EV/DMX combo - then you can't change it and get the same results.

IMHO, the question is phrased incorrectly.
It appears that what the OP is really seeking is a microphone that best increases the signal-to-noise ratio between the subject's voice and the unfortunate ambient acoustics. (Thus eliminating the need for a "voice processor").

And IMHO the headset mic is far and away the best solution for this situation. It is the solution that gets the microphone closest to the subject's mouth for maximum local sensitivity so that the voice is much louder than the ambiance at a lower gain setting. And it stays consistent no matter where the subject turns their head. Something no other solution can offer.