My recommendation for finding less-than-common items like this is to set up an automated search on eBay. It will email you once per day on any day that someone puts up an auction for the item you searched for. I've managed to get a lot of rare and/or obscure stuff this way, though it can take months or even years, depending on the item.

That's a cool looking mic, though.

-Troy

New Wireless Mic
 

I am looking for any info on audio-technica's wireless mic (ATR288W). Is this a good wireless mic? Anyone out there using it? I will be using it mainly for weddings and sermons. I have used it once and gotten a little static in my recording. The receiver is the Pro 88W/R and the transmitter is the Pro 88W/T

Gary

SGM-1x going wireless
 

Please tell me if this is correct. Is the SMG-1x able to go wireless?
If this is so would the 41xt, 51xt, wx/t-pro Transmitters work with the SGM-1x? What recievers would work in conjunction? Rather what is the recommendations for these combos do you guys use or have used? Lets say at a distance of 20 feet, I am just punching in a number to get an idea.

How do you work a shotgun off a wall?
 

1. I've seen several references to using walls or windows to somehow tune or augment the performance of a shotgun indoors. Could someone expand on that a little?

2. Maybe I can sneak this question in here so I don't have to betray my ingorance in a subject line: I just can't seem to get the meaning of ENG from context in any of the posts I've read. What does it mean/stand for?

ENG= electronic news gathering.

Using a shotgun off of a wall has been discussed here several times, and is variable in results depending on the shotgun, the performance, and the room all working together (or not) to get a better (or worse) sound. Getting a shotgun mic near a wall pointing straight away from the wall, or putting semi-parallel to the wall pointing towards a corner sometimes works wonders in otherwise too-reflective rooms.

Mic Setup for XL1S
 

So I've got an XL1S and a Shure UP4 wireless mic. the MA-100 I have is plugged in the Audio 1 ports in the back. At this point I'm confused. What am I supposed to change the Audio 1 selection to on the the side of the camera? Mic, ATT, or Audio 1? I'm also pretty sure that i need to change those same options within the menu under the VCR setup. Not sure what to do there...Any help would be much appreciated...Thanks in advance...

Pablo

Hi Pablo,

On the side of the camera, slide the INPUT SELECT switch to Audio 1.

In the VCR setup under "Audio 1 in" select MIC.

GL2 Audio Tracks
 

Does the GL2 have two audio tracks? What I mean is can I use two mics at once? One from the on board mic and one from a wireless mic. I was told that the GL2 had two Audio Tracks but I can't find out how to turn them on.

It does have two audio channels. When you connect an external microphone to the camera, it disables the internal mic. Using a dual mono to stereo adapter from Radio Shack or others providers, you can have two independent mics.

Advice on a used 416
 

Hi all, I've a small question concerning a sennheiser mkh-416 p48 microphone i saw as an used occasion at some shop for only € 550,-.
Are these things durable and is it sensible to buy them second-hand or could you always be better on the safe side and spend twice the money for a new one?
Unfortunately, they couldn't say how old it was and what it was used for, but they could give me 6 months warranty. The thing looked quite used with some dents and so on but sounded good. But then again I never heard another 416 so have nothing to relate it to...

I would NEVER buy a microphone with dents... especially a shotgun mic... the interference tube is part of the design and not simply a protective casing. Also DENTS are a sign of abuse, not use.

Minor scratches, rubs, and general finish wear are a sign of a mic that's been used, but is probably YEARS old.

Anything that's barely used should look almost new.

The 416 is one of the most durable mics ever made, but it's also been around for about 20 some-odd years... so on this particular one... I'd probably pass.

The going rate for GOOD condition used 416s is probably about $700-$750... and virtually NEW ones should be under $850 USD...

Softies over stock foam
 

When I put a Rycote mini over the stock foam on a AT 4073a, it seems to distort the tone of the sound. It makes it flatter and not as warm. However, when I use the mini on the mic without the stock foam, it sounds just as warm. My question is, how much better is the mini by itself than the stock foam by itself? And has anyone else noticed this?

When you diminish the airspace around the mike, you'll lose some of the highs, that's a given. Until recently, I'd not played/experimented with this too much.
The softie by itself won't cut wind at quite the same velocities, but it will sound similar, with more highs. But if the warmth is what you want, then leave the foam off unless you end up in high winds.

Samon Airline
 

I was thinking about getting the Samson Micro Airline Serire UHF Wirless Combo system for 399.99 at B&H Is that a good setup? I have a GL2 so I like the idea that its small! Also its UHF.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=249885&is=REG

let me know your opinion's.

Strange audio solution for a low budget production that can´t afford a shotgun mic.
 

Hi!

We´re making a documentary about a gay party that happens at that same time and at the same place of the most religious celebration of Brazil. We´ve been shooting it for two years, and 2004 is our deadline to finish. The problem is: we´re out of money, and can´t afford renting good audio equipment.

We´re going to shoot for 2 days. The first one is gonna be in a living room, where some people and our main character will pray. We´re thinking about cliping a lav mic on this guy, and capture his speeches. The problem is the background sound. Maybe we won´t have a shotgun mounted on a boom. So, I thought I could handle this problem with a weird solution: use 2 single chip mini-dv cams with its omni-directional mics only to record the background audio. We could hide the cams along the living room OR we could hold them (and shoot the action, because the footage could help us later) and point to the people talking, at different places.

Do you think it could work? I´m not talkin´extreme professional results, but I thought that mixing the two single chip cams audio captured from different places of the living room would MAYBE work as a substitute for the shotgun mic.

What a shotgun provides is separating the noise/dialogue from the rest of the sound on a certain place.

To provide ambience sound you don't need two cameras, just one. Record it all on separate tracks and mix it later.

Shoot the action with the two other cameras, as that will provide more options for your editing. Just be sure the lav mic guy audio is recorded cleanly.


Carlos

Best mic for a boom
 

I'm currently using an AT 897 and an AT 4073a for a boom mic indoors recording conversations and dialouge. Can anyone recomend something better for under 1000 dollars? I'd prefer under 500 if you can... The AT's seem to work really well unless someone shuts a door and then they either echo or the conversation seems to be over whelmed.

Thank you for any help

It sounds like you want/need a hypercardoid. Read these two links.
Rose's article on mic patterns (click here)

Also read what Schoeps say about the rejection of off axis soundclick here


How about a Sanken CS-1, it's a cross between a short shotgun and a hyper. It has excellent off axis rejection and no rear lobe.
Approx price is $750 but it's an amazing tool.

You could buy an AT 4053a, it's an excellent dialog mic and a hypercardoid to boot. This weighs in around $400 at B&H.

An AKG 480b preamp with a CK63 hyper (approx $700)

An AKG C300b with a ck93 hyper cap (approx $400)

An Oktava MCO-12 with a hyper capsule, these run $190 at www.oktava.com

An NT-3 for $152. it;s big and heavy but it's a sweet sounding mic for the money.

All of these mics will do very well indoors for more info as well as several recorded sound files. The sound files will show the off axis response and act as a comparison between all the various dialog mics. i've also included a great deal of info and links to the maufacturer and various suppliers.
Click here

Shure Slx
 

Anyone using/have used this wireless lav system and your thoughts?

Mount Shotgun on DVX
 

Is there some kind of attachment I can get to Mount AT4073a Shotgun on DVX?

Vega U2020 Wireless
 

Anyone have any experience with Vega wireless lav systems?

Yes, it's called a shockmount. You can either buy one with the shoe or buy a separate shoe attachment.

kcam mount(click)

The camera shock mount adapter by itself

The PSC camera mount (cheapest most simple of the bunch)

There's more info on this thread (click)

This has been discussed many times, for more info run a search on this forum. Use brief descriptions like "shock" or "shock mount".

You could also have a peek at B&H, jusr use the link I've given for the other shock mounts.

Azden 100LT saves the day.
 

Shooting all day last week with my companies (my day job) borrowed Lectrosonic UM 200b/200d kit and the thing was poping and swooshing for the first presenters piece. Lasted an excrutiating 55 minutes that I couldn't stop. Speaker was only about 35 feet away behind a podium with nothing odd going on, no 2-way radios, no cell phones or other transmitters nearby. It was a golf club setting.

For the second through fifth speakers I dug out my new spare Azden 100LT mic and it was flawless. No noises at all. Crisp and clean.

I will say this is not the smallest mic capsule in the world and in fact, since the wind screen is glued on, it's pretty big. It may not have the best tone but all I can say is, it did the job quite well and rescued me from a disaster.

Using it with a Sony PDX10 and the shotgun for room noise.

I think I'll keep it.

Sean

headphones problem?
 

I am going to be filming tonight for a school project on an Optura 20 and i dont have any sort of mics. I figured I could monitor what they are saying through some headphones. (It's a one shoot opurunity so I wanted to make sure I could hear them since there is no time for a reshoot) Upon testing some headphones I Heard a loud buzzing sound similar to a blown speaker in the right headphone. I was really mad when this happened beacuse they are kind of expensive headphones. Then plugged them into my stero adn they worked fine. At this point I plugged in another pair and I got the same problem. anyone know what is up?

Mike for in studio Foley work
 

I am looking at some Rode microphones. Would the "broadcaster" work for this? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=186048&is=REG

Or is it more for Voice Overs? I am looking at the $400 range. Thanks for the help!

The Broadcaster really is tailored for broadcasting. If I was choosing a single Rode mic at this price point for foley I'd pick the NT1000 for $299 and get the optional shockmount. Foley requires a very low noise mic because often these sounds are faint to begin with and then you have to mic at a distance to make them sound natural and believable.
Alternately you could get the NT1A and an NT3 and still be within your budget. Some sources sound more natural with a large diaphragm mic and some sound better with a small diaphragm. This would give you a choice.

It sounds like the headphone jack isn't making proper contact with the plug on the headphones. Those 1/8" jacks are pretty fragile, and having long headphone plugs plugged into them means you have a big ole bar that, if hit, has a lot of leverage to bend the little contacts inside the plug. Ideally, you'd want a right-angle plug, which doesn't stick out very far to be hit and has much less leverage if it is. They do make short (6" or so) extension cables with a right-angle plug for just that reason (B&H has them).

If you're having this problem with several sets of headphones, then your cam needs to visit a repair facility (hopefully under warranty!).

-Troy

The Wilhelm (very funny)
 

This may be old news to a lot of you, but I think it's hysterical. This is a Web site on film sound production that has an entry on a sound effect called The Wilhelm Scream that's been used in over a hundred movies, including every Star Wars film (even the new ones). It's named after a cowboy who gets killed in an old Western movie. Scroll down to Language and Voice. There's a downloadable clip showing it's use in everything from the giant ant movie "Them" to a Goofy cartoon. Once you hear it, you'll recognize that scream immediately. We've all heard it hundreds of time. I'm already trying to find a way to work it in to our next movie.

http://www.filmsound.org/cliche/


NPR article on The Wilhelm, (linked to from site above).

http://tinyurl.com/m4c8

Yup, as mentioned in this thread, Peter John Ross used it in his upcoming feature. See also this history of the Wilhelm.

(The film cliche page you cite is pretty darned good.)

Go Wilhelm!

Michael

Good cheap lav mic
 

Hello All,

I already know about the Azden 503 omni lav mic - that seems to be the best value and seems to work well with an md/digital recorder. I'm looking for one with a 1/8" plug.

Are there any other budget lav mics that you would recommend? I'm looking for one that would pick up the bride's voice, if the groom were wearing it. Say for under $75.

If you think the Azden will work fine, please chime in - that would probably be my cheapest option anyway.

Thanks

Audio Technica ATR35s would work. They're around $35.

best wireless lavs for under or around $200?
 

Ideally I'd pay 200 or maybe 300, for a pair of good radio lavelier mics. what do you guys recommend? Also, another question: why can't I theoretically just radio mic my actors all the time (instead of using a boom mic) and then add the boominess and echo in post? would the result be drastically different than using a boom mic? thanks.

Request: Calibration of GL2's level meters
 

The GL2 owner's manual rates the mic jack at -55 dBV with MIC ATT OFF and -35 dBV with MIC ATT ON. But what does that mean, really?

I'd love to know what signal level of, say, a 1000 Hz tone is being applied to the GL2's mic jack when the level meters are at the ZERO dB mark at various settings of the channel level controls (e.g., quarter, half , three quarters and full).

If I had a scope and a signal generator I'd find out. Might someone be willing to do this?

Audio recording equipment
 

Can someone direct me to a site where I can get quality audio recording equipment. I am looking to use something other than my cameras audio.

Mitch

All sorts of them, but my fave is B&H. They have EVERYTHING.
FVESCO.com in Denver has a pretty good selection, and Performance-audio.com in SLC has a monster selection.

ACID 5 Arrives
 

For those in the ACID world, or just wanting to get started making their own custom songs, ACID 5 has arrived.
The sweetest new feature is the Media Manager, but some other trick components are:

• Groove Mapping Quantization
  ReWire Mixer and Device Support
  VST Effects Support
  Multiport VSTi Soft Synth Support
  MIDI Editing Enhancements
  Tempo-based DirectX Effects
  Plug-in Manager
  Bypass All Effects

Very very tasty indeed - Groove Mapping? - Genius! . .The GUI looks stunning.

G

How many actors, how many mikes, how many tracks will you need to keep the audio tracks iso'd while shooting?

If the actors talk over each others lines you will be forced to mix different ambient backgrounds and have to deal with the various mikes picking up the other actors at a lower but annoying enough level.

So if you do decide to try your idea don't ever have the actors talk over each others lines. You'll be better off in the $500.00 dollar range for you wireless mikes.

music title needed
 

Does anyone know the title song used for the Old Spice aftershave commercial, the one that sounds like it should be in a horror movie, in fact I think it may have been in The Omen or something similar; bom bom bom bom... if that helps?

Looking for advice on proven EFP audio kits
 

I've got my camera (Canon XL2), Shotgun mic and the mic that came with the camera and now I'm getting ready to purchase a wireless mic & receiver, boom pole, etc. All of the threads I have read on here have been extremely helpful. Before I make my final decision I will definitely speak to someone who specifically deals in audio gear.

Would anyone care to share what they have in their time-tested/proven EFP kit? (particularly the not-so-obvious)

Thanks in advance,

Evan