Re: Mic For Picking Up Cheering
 

Hey Again. Well, football season is over, and basketball season is starting. Ive got about $100+ for a mic (planning to buy one on eBay) I'll be inside a basketball court, and Im really leaning tward the Azden SGM-1X. Heres my scenario:

Ive got a GL1 with a Beachtek DXA-4P. I put on an XLR Y-Splitter \ Combiner. I'll be putting the 2 commentator mics on the Splitter and then using the other XLR Port for a mic. I need a mic to pick up cheers, crowd excitement, etc. However, I go to Dallas, TX every year to shoot the CPL Cyber-Athlete Games, as well as many other venues where a shotgun mic would be perfect for these applications.

Tell me honestly, will the SGM-1X do at least a half decent job at getting cheers and noises. Im shooting it for community TV, so the audio quality will be lessened to start with. The way it is now, you can not hear anything from the fans, which makes it a very boring shoot.

Lots of people watch the games I shoot, we've got great former college-football & basketball commentators, and a need for a great mic that will pick up on fan cheers. As you all may know, what you shoot is a reflection of you. If you do a half-bag job, It'll show. Thanks everyone for your help.

I'd probably reach for a Sanken CS-3

Regards,

Ty Ford

I see. Thinking twice....I realise I do not need a shotgun. Let me rephrase.

I need a mic that would pick up noise that the on-board camera mic normally would, but that is better sounding. (Im guessing I definitely need a Omni-Directional) Any ideas?

I used an audio technika 897 shotgun on my gl1, with good results. I ran it through one channel of the beachtek, and used the sennheaise g2 wireless on the other channel.Now I'm using it mounted om my xl2.
Bruce yarock

the russion octava with cardioid or hiper cardioid capsul would be perfect- but then you need ph power .
there are no so many good mikes which run on internal batteries .
tyou have the sennheuser k6 model with cardioid head 65-
or look for old senheise ku-3 or 2 on ebay with me 64 or me 80
working on 6 v battery .
very good option is the schoeps self powered mike -but it a llitlbit more expencive then your camera:-)
another option is sony 672 short shotgun which run on 1,5 v ( rearly on ebay - but exellent for your perpes

Some other choices:
Audio Technica ATM10a omni, or ATM31a cardioid. They are currently $100 to $110 for the omni and about $130 for the cardioid. They can run on either AA battery or phantom.

I see, Thanks a ton guys. Not many of those options are on eBay but I will keep checking. Again, Thanks alot! Now do I mount these to a fishpole with a shockmount? Is there a way to do this? Theres some applications where a boom pole would not only look good < ;) >but also be very functional as well.

Was wondering if the ATM10a can be used handheld?

ElectroVoice 635a L

Dynamic, omni, long handle.

Ty Ford

Thanks, Ty

Don't necessarily need handheld but
was curious seeing as some seem
to sell it as a handheld mic.

Was looking at a similar AT mic, the
AT3032 omni, with 132 dB dynamic range. The
ATM10a is listed at 113 dB dynamic range.
Is this a significant difference that you
you could hear the difference when
recording music?
Have you heard anyone mention using
the 3032?

Any mic you can hold in your hand is a hand held. Any mic you can mount on a camera is a camera mount.

You wanted an omni. It's an omni. :)

Ty

You could use the ATM10a as a handheld omni, however it has distinctly different characteristics versus the classic handheld dynamic omni like an EV635L. The AT will be much more sensitive, although handling noise is still pretty low, and it will have a much wider, flatter frequency response. It will also be more sensitive to wind noise, although again not as sensitive as some other condenser mics. You'd need to have either phantom power or a fresh AA battery.
The dynamic needs nothing but a properly wired cable, but won't have sufficient sensitivity or high frequency response for some tasks. It's designed for those times when low sensitivity and a vocal frequency response in a rugged, low-noise mic is exactly what you want.
The AT3031 cardioid and AT3032 omni are several jumps in sound quality over the ATM31a and ATM10a, despite the fact that the 30-series costs only a little more money. For most musical applications the 30-series would be noticeably better than the ATM line when comparing the two directly. They do require phantom power though and aren't designed to be used hand-held.
The ATM's are very good mics, the only thing comparable in price that can run on a battery and give better quality is the Rode NT3 hypercardioid.

Maybe the Rode Videomic would work for you?

Hotshoe mount, integrated shockmount, foam windshield
9V battery

I have never heard it myself, although the Rode name might indicate a decent sounding mic. DSE/spot has a review of it over at VAAST.

Dave, what camera will you be using?

I noticed that, that the AT3032 is only a little
bit more than ATM10a.
I use a Sony PD and I have one channel open
to get some better ambient, so stereo isn't an
option.
I originally was planning on getting the ME62
capsule (already have the K6 powering
unit) but then I read where (I think it was
SPOT) said that he really wasn't that impressed
with the lower priced Sennheisers, and then
there was mention of the ATM10a. I could
get a whole nother mic (AT3032) for what it
costs just for the ME62 capsule. (I've never
heard the ME62.)
I do like that the ATM can be battery-operated
which could come in handy, but when I think
of the ATM having a lot less sensitivity, more self
noise, and much less SPL ...
I think the next step up in the AT line as far
as omnis (4049) is a pretty big step in price ($500).
So you think there'd be a difference in sound
quality that I could really hear, 3032 as compared to
ATM? Have you ever heard the ME62?

I have seen the ATM10a as low as $99 at online vendors, and the ATM31a as low as $129. The AT3031 is about $150 to $160 at the lowest but I've never checked too closely on the minimum for the AT3032.
The ME62 would have very high output, which can help cameras with poor mic preamps. For cameras with sensitive mic inputs it can be a problem in loud situations. The 3031 would be in the middle and the ATM's would be lower sensitivity.
The 3031 has a much more balanced frequency response than the 62 or 64, which have a peak in the highs. I think you could tell the difference between a 3032 and an ATM10a for music recording, but for an ambient track the main concern would be whether the ATM10a could have enough sensitivity to cover your camera's noise floor in a quiet situation.
Which one would sound the best all around would depend on your camera, what you were recording and the location, and how closely you were micing and how you mounted it.
The main reason to have an omni is for music and the cleaner off-axis response it gives. For video production, it's hard to imagine a time when you dont want to have the null-point of a cardioid to cancel out some offending sound.
I don't think there's a clear-cut answer, each of the mics has their advantages and disadvantages based on what you do the most.

Thanks, Jay, that was informative and covered
some points I hadn't considered.

I decided to try out the 3032 instead of the ATM10a.
For anyone looking for a good value in mikes,
the AT 30 Series seems to offer a lot for the money
when you take a look at the specs and features.
I see they've even got a large-diaphragm tube mic
in the 30 Series, which doesn't even require any separate
power supply for the tube other than regular 48V
phantom. Wonder how that tube mic sounds.

That would be the AT 3060. Sounds OK. Not thicky and tubey; more clear and aggressive.

Regards,

Ty Ford

I would still recommend getting a shotgun. I found that I could cut out alot of noise from the stands using mine. Sometimes, you do not get the ideal position either, so having a little more 'reach' helps. It will also minimize operator noise. ;)