Interview Mic
 

Hey,
I just bought an XL1s, and loving it so far. Anyway, I need to be able to interview people in/out the front of loud nightclubs. What kind of mic do you recommend? I've been recommended a Sennheiser MD 425. Is this a good choice and what connection does it have (XLR?), can I plug it in to my XL1s without buying the M100 or M200 adaptor?
Cheers,
Mark

I recently purchased the m100 adaptor, hired a shure vp64a and shoot some great footage at a nightclub. we interviewed people and the mic worked well. we couldn't get a md425 sourced in time for our gig but the shure worked well. does anybody know of any other mics that would do a good job in this situation or have you used the md425 or vp64a and would like to comment?
Cheers

I have had good results with a Shure SM58 in loud environments,it's a cardioid so it can be pointed away from the source of the noise (if that's possible in a club) and it sounds good in a close-up position to the talent if you don't mind getting it in the shot (which is not unnatural for an ENG-style interview). Some experts suggest the EV 935 too.

my buddy from "this american life" radio doc show uses at835b for interviews...

thanks guys for your answers, has anyone else got any recommendations>?

I see this thread is getting quite old now, im in the market for a handheld interview mic for very loud nightclub environments, using XLR adapter, so whats the best solution out there at the moment?

A dynamic mic such as the Electro-Voice RE635N/D or RE50N/D is a good rugged choice and not overly expensive.

I am using the Shure SM58 and Rode Videomic. I have used the SM58 in very loud surroundings with excellent results. The Videomic is pretty good too, but it kinda picks up a bit of everything, so it won't be as good in loud surroundings. With the Shure the voice sounded very clear and the loud music sounded like low background music. I recommend it. It's not expensive either. I see it listed on Amazon for just 100$.

A mic that I used as a last resort ended up being a future staple of my kit. I had a Senny wireless 100 go on the blink and I dug out an old J.W. Davis DM904D mic I have had since band days some 20 years ago. This is musician's mic - Low Impedance Dynamic Microphone - something the lead singer would use.

I plugged it straight into the XLR adapter on my XL1s and I was expecting to just get by. But it was phenominal. I was running an Audia Technica shotgun on the rig on one channel, and the Davis on the other. The Davis was so quiet in comparison. The only thing is you must be very close to it. And that might not be a good thing to hold the mic 2 inches from your interviewees face.

But if you want low noise in a really loud environment, one of these musicians mics will do the trick. I keep it with me all the time now. Just in case.

I understand that the DM904 is quite similar to the Shure SM58.

As a dynamic mic, the output will be lower for the same sound pressure level than most condenser microphones, and it will have a much lower noise floor thanks to the lack of internal electronics. Thus it will sound quieter, and work well for voice when held close to the mouth, giving separation between the speaker's voice and loud ambient sound.