THANKS for an incredible SOUND year!

[Matt Gettemeier]

I've spent the last 3 hours devouring all the sound posts we've all done over the last year. For the most part I've been reading posts pertaining to the mkh416, mkh60, me66, at4073a, mk41, cs1... and several others, but my searches focused mainly on higher-end shotguns.

What I've found is AMAZING!

Have you guys forgot how much ground we've covered since about a year ago this month?

Many of us were just getting our feet wet... still others were finally breaking away from the me66... which we all felt was the best we should have for DV...

A bunch of us did sound bites and comparisons of various mics...

If you do a search of the mkh416 or some other specific mic and just start reading, you won't believe it.

Thanks to Dave Largent, Beas, Ken Tanaka, Jacques M, Jerry, Jay... and a dozen or more guys I don't know as well...

Man what an amazing year! I can't believe how far I'VE come since a year ago... I honestly thought those days were from YEARS ago... not just last year...

We've all gone nuts and joined the GSA whether we intended to or not!

[Charles Papert]

I'll do that search when I can Matt, but in the meantime, since I own a 416 and couldn't tell from your post...thumbs up or thumbs down?!

[Ken Tanaka]

Indeed, Matt, we've assembled a very robust body of information on good mics in the past year. I hadn't really considered the time frame but you're right; it's really built up nicely during the past 12 months or so.

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

Amen to that. I've only been a visitor for a year, busy here since December is all....but damn! the quality of info, posts, people, and overall forum is awesome.

[Matt Gettemeier]

Charles... I'm waiting for my 416 right now... it probably won't be here until next week. I'm trembling with excitement. Isn't that pathetic? I'm hoping to give it a resounding thumbs up... do you?

Please do tell... whether you like it or not. I figure I've got 30 days to be sure. A grand is a pretty significant chunk for a mic... at my level of production I never woulda' guessed I'd spend that much for ONE mic!

That's the segue that led me to start this thread. The winter before last I had just upgraded to an me66 and I "couldn't believe how perfect the sound was"... I happily used that for about a year before getting an at4073a last fall... I was hesitant about the cost of the AT mic, but on receiving it my worries were over... it blew the me66 away...

Well there's been a TON of other mics cycling through my gear bag over the last year or so... but not many changes in shotguns... The bevy of mics that I've experimented with... then sold at a good discount... has been quite the education for me. I went from not really understanding the different types of mics and their uses... to being 100% confident in how to get the best sound on any project.

The mkh416 is a pinnacle purchase for a man of my means... or the lack thereof... but after ALL the experiences... and shared knowledge (thanks AGAIN guys)... I can honestly say that I consider a 416 to be somewhat of a bargain. Strange but true.

Thanks Ken and Douglas... I'm very glad to have made your aquaintance... It's ironic that something as basic as this forum has had so much worth to me over the last year...

So Charles... since you know I'm waiting... do you love the 416 or what? Above ALL else, be truthful.

[Jacques Mersereau]

Don't worry about Charles, Matt. YOU are gonna love your new 416!

I will also say that I consider this board and all the contributors INVALUABLE!
I've been around the block and this list has some of the highest signal
to noise ratios.

There is nothing, and I mean, NO-THING as great as first hand knowledge
and experience in culling though ALL the pit falls, traps, and mistakes one
can make in this business.
We all have limited resources, so EVERY cent needs to be spent
well. Each dollar leaving the wallet needs to bring back VALUE and not purchase
trouble.

Most of us have limited time, so to have a resource you can count
on to bring home the "real deal intelligence" quickly is very cool.

Thanks ALL and especially Chris Hurd who's leadership and style
have made us all come together and work as a team.

Okay, that's enough grandstanding . . . the studio needs dry mopping ;\

[Charles Papert]

Jacques speaks the truth, Matt: definitely don't worry about me! I'm more of a "eye" guy than an "ear" guy to begin with; my musician background has simultaneously made me more sensitive to the concepts of good audio (and studio production) AND created a measuarable notch in my hearing thanks to a few years of proximity to a damn loud drummer in one of those bar bands.

Most of what I know about location sound is gleaned from working alongside boom operators and chatting to sound recordists during downtime on set. I'm actually known as a particularly "sound friendly" camera operator; it seems that a lot of my brethren are somewhat indifferent to the needs of that oft-maligned and discredited department, but I try to be a help! While I was on "Scrubs", I quizzed the sound folks about which mike they would recommend on a given budget. The recordist recommended that I look for a used 416, which I found on eBay (they also hooked me up with one of their old boompoles, a nice vTek, which has been great). The mike cost me around $400, and it arrived DOA which was annoying but only cost about $75 to fix (an internal wire had broken if I remember correctly). It's an older T-power version, and I waited a while to find a used T-power module, finally giving in and buying a new Deneke which brought the total up to close to $700...still a pretty good savings, and the mike has been great.

I know there are newer and better units out there, and if you are serious about sound recording you should have a range of mikes for different applications, but for an all around workhouse, I like it just fine.