Top 10 DVXUser Secrets To Good Audio

Jeremy Ordan

Jeremy Ordan

Major Contributor
I've been around this audio forum for a while as a poster and a lot longer as a lurker, so here are the top 10 things I have learned:

1. Hyper cardiod microphone for interiors and shotgun for exteriors. If you stick to this you will know more than most people who post microphone buying questions.

2. Any sound questions you could ever think of have already been asked and answered, the search is a beautiful feature

3. People will not use search because they think that their situation is unique.

4. With the exception of the ME66 and the Oktava MK012, the higher the price of the microphone the better the performance

5. My wire will always sound better than your wireless

6. Cables are important and should not be overlooked

7. Technique can overcome equipement shortcomings

8. The pros on this site are more than willing to answer any question that is more specific than, "what mic should I buy", but 99/100 you will not like what you hear from a pro ((Ex: If you email Dave Fisk and ask him how you can get Hollywood sound for $100 he is going to tell you to give him two more 0's at the end of your figure)

9. Good sound is a journey that constantly evolves, not a checkbox that you complete while trying to film.

10. Within the next week someone will post a question on this forum asking which shotgun microphone to buy and after 10 posts everyone will recommend the Oktava MK012 with hyper cardiod cap, KSSM shockmount, and BBG.

Jeremy

Here are some of my favorite audio threads that will answer most questions:

MattinSTL's 'Everything I Know About Mics So Far' Thread: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=21509

TheYankee's 'Audio Tutorial' Thread:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=40000

Timapter's 'Top Five Shotgun' Thread: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=42674

TheYankee's 'One Mic to Rule Them All' Thread:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=35338

'Make Me A Boom Operator' Thread:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=20926

and if you don't mind digging through a ton of garbage there are some real gem's in Jon Oskar's 'No More BS' Thread:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=34033

and finally my newest and favorite thread:
MattinSTL's 'Cable' Thread (never underestimate the importance of good cable): http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=47334
 
Well, Yankee, I think you've finally done it! Can we get a sticky please???

Actually, I plan to copy and paste this thread (if it does not become a sticky) because you have listed links that cuts exhaustive, and I mean EXHAUSTIVE research in half.

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Rick
 
Thank you mod Gods. Whomever up there in the DVXuser sky, made this a sticky, its appreciated.

Yankee did a great job of breaking this audio stuff down!
 
Good sticky. Perhaps the titile could be modified to encourage posters to look here first. Something like, "READ THIS THREAD BEFORE POSTING ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT AUDIO!" Not as elequent as original title but might headoff a few "What is the best cheap shotgun?" posts. :)

Cheers
 
I really don't think any of my amatuer ideas deserve sticky status by any means, but it doesn't matter what the title is, people are still always going to ask what shotgun mic to buy, ask if an AT55 is as good as a 416, and what sort of weather a blimp should be flown in...
 
TheYankee said:
I really don't think any of my amatuer ideas deserve sticky status by any means, but it doesn't matter what the title is, people are still always going to ask what shotgun mic to buy, ask if an AT55 is as good as a 416, and what sort of weather a blimp should be flown in...
Click to expand...

Ah, you're too modest, Yankee. You've boiled down some good stuff. I think #9 is my favorite. Sounds like it ought to be in a fortune cookie. :)

-Dan
 
I shall raise my glass of milk, cheering your name over pancakes this morning!

Seriously, thanks for taking the time to do this. Search is indeed a beautiful thing, made even moreso when you know the correct terminology to plug into the thing. :D "thingy" has been a problem for me in the past.
 
thanks for the plug of my thread, yankee... ive just finished reading all the others, and you picked some great ones.

cheers,
tim
 
Great Yankee really helpful. Myself am looking for mics. I knew 8/10 of your rules already, from simple research (books, interviews, forums, etc.) just now am digging into brands and such. If only more people took a clue and looked at the stickies... =)
 
Wow great! After all that exhausting searching I've finally found the thread to ask this question in. So guys ... which mic should I buy for my DVX? :kali:

No really. I did do a lot of searching and, ignoring the Top 5 shotgun mics post I bought the Azden SGM-2X. NOW I read that it sucks, though briceman likes his Az! Well, I'll await its arrival and HOPE it's good enough to accompany my DVC60. That's often what we settle for when starting out and low-budget.
 
new to audio? thread

new to audio? thread

This thread: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=51526 totally deserves to be included in the beginners required reading list. It really does kinda take the cake as far as knocking the silly "which mic do I buy" question right outta the mouths of us newbies. Thanks so much, Yankee, for all your hard work!

sam
 
Just read on that thread about the different kits. Great resource.
There is just one thing about the whole audio thing I dont understand. The first line TheYankee says about the difference between the hypercardiod and shotgun mics is that one is for indoors and the other for outdoors. But I, audio n00b, thought that you should use a shotgun for conversation, so also indoors... And what about if you want to capture outside area sounds, like traffic noise, or nature things? Should you use a hypercardiod with windcap, or still a shotgun? I've read a lot on here about the audio, but I cant seem to find anywhere what mic to use for what purpose. Probably because a lot of people are only interested in speech, but what about the other things, car sounds, nature, that kind of stuff.

Thanks,

Fredric
 
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