Indoor Options?
 

ok people say there are problems with using shotguns in doors, what would you suggest using to record audio indoors than? Ok, so this has probably been asked a millions times, but here goes a million and one =D thanks for your time.

Generally a hypercardioid or supercardioid on a boom is recommended. The real consideration is the prevelance of acoustic reflections and how the mic's pickup pattern interacts with them. A normal office or residence is usually a pretty reflective place with sound bouncing off of ceilings and walls, hard floors, etc. while outdoors sounds don't have as many surfaces to bounce off of so much, But you can have interiors such as a soundstage that aren't reflective and you can be outdoors standing on concrete or next to a building and have 'em. Now the problem with conventional, so-called 'lobar pattern' line-gradient shotguns is their pickup pattern isn't uniformly directional at all frequencies and at some frequencies it's almost like a lumpy omni. That means it can hear those reflections and pass some of their frequencies, but not all, into the recording with a weird sounding result. Supercardioids and hypercardioids have a more uniform frequency response around their pattern and don't have the lobes of sensitivity to the side-rear that the shotgun does and that makes them less susceptible to the frequency distortions and unwanted room 'slap' you'd get with a shotgun.

thanks! =D so what would be a good mic for that? i still dont know liek all the freq. and stuff. I was thinking about the ME66. would that be a good option?

"That" being indoors? The ME66 is a shotgun and less than ideal for indoors for the reasons I mentioned above. In that general price class you might take a look at the Audio Technica AT4053a hypercardioid or the AKG Blueline with the hypercardioid capsule. And of course a boom, shockmount, etc so you can get the mic close to the talent - no matter what mic you get, at any price, you're going to have to get it within a couple of feet from the talent. Getting good results with the mic mounted on the camera just ain't gonna be in the cards.

If you already have the K6 module you might want to look at the ME64

Else, the Oktava MK012 is pretty good indoors, but you'll need to screen and mount it properly since it's very sensitive to handling noise and whooshing. The Rycote Baby Ball Gag works well on these mics when they are on a boom.

Hi Loren:

I own the Sennheiser ME-64, 66 and 67 capsules along with the K6 Power Module. I will shill my own article http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage..._brockett.html that was posted this week. Read it and you can hear sound samples of a shotgun versus a cardioid, hyper and super cardioid in an indoor interview situation and you can compare the sound for yourself.

Honestly, this newer crop of mics sound better than the ME64-66 setup. If you are on a tight budget, I highly recommend comparing the Oktava MK-012 with the Audio-Technica AT-875r, both are in the article and both sound superb, but different.

Good luck,

Dan

thank you all for the replies, was just about to buy the Senhieser today too =0 realy doged a bullet thanks. ok so Dan you said that the AT-875 was good. I couldnt find it here, were i have a gift card too =D... so would this be good also? http://www.samysproaudio.com/product...emNo=AUDIAT897
it has a higher model number so does that mean its better =D ahahahah. thanks for al your help

They are different mics with different characteristics. Check them both on the Audio Technica website.

That's not the same mic. That mic is 11 inches long and the 875 is 7 inches long. I believe you want the 875. The 879 is a different mic, better or worse depends on your exact use. The newer 875 that Dan Brockett reviewed is kind of in a special class by itself, what with its excellent sound, small size, low price and excellent handling noise characteristics. The review has caused me to buy one even though I also have some higher priced mics.

But good luck! I just called the store where you have your gift certificate, and they have the 875 in the warehouse and will have them in the Sepulveda store on Monday or Tuesday. For more information or to reserve one call Glen at the Sepulveda store in the Pro Audio department:
http://www.samysproaudio.com/contact.php

=O thanks jack, thats prob one of the nicest things anyone has done! ahahhaha
than i think ill have my dad go and pick it up for me one day after work, being as he works out there i thinkk. Thank you all very much and i believe the 875 is my choice =)