AKG C568B any good?

tlorenzo

tlorenzo

Well-known member
Hi guys,

I just got a sweet deal on a couple of AKG C548B shotgun microphones for my soon-to-be-mine DVX. I've read some pretty good reviews on them on various sites, but I was wondering if any of you guys have tried them on shoots with the DVX? The only reviews I've been able to find have been centered around music and theatre use...

Also - does any of you know a great place to buy a cheap windjammer/ windshield/windsock (is there a difference between the three) ?

BTW - I'm going to be making my own boom-pole and I'll make sure to post pictures when it's done :-)

Kind regards,

Tony
 
tlorenzo said:
Hi guys,

I just got a sweet deal on a couple of AKG C548B shotgun microphones for my soon-to-be-mine DVX. I've read some pretty good reviews on them on various sites, but I was wondering if any of you guys have tried them on shoots with the DVX? The only reviews I've been able to find have been centered around music and theatre use...

Also - does any of you know a great place to buy a cheap windjammer/ windshield/windsock (is there a difference between the three) ?

BTW - I'm going to be making my own boom-pole and I'll make sure to post pictures when it's done :-)

Kind regards,

Tony
Click to expand...

the mic is ok for dvx use , there are better products for the new but as you say you found a bargain.
about wind protection , check eBay or used audio retails sites , like Coffey or Trew audio since there are no cheap good new products .
usially you get what you pay for and some chinees substitutes even they are marketing by Canadian company( Cavision) live very short life :-)
about the boom pool -do you a favor and buy normal one , usially the home made stuff will influence on how your clients see you ,not to mention the weight and durability will byte you in the end :-)
 
ExileOnTheMainStreet said:
the mic is ok for dvx use , there are better products for the new but as you say you found a bargain.
about wind protection , check eBay or used audio retails sites , like Coffey or Trew audio since there are no cheap good new products .
usially you get what you pay for and some chinees substitutes even they are marketing by Canadian company( Cavision) live very short life :-)
about the boom pool -do you a favor and buy normal one , usially the home made stuff will influence on how your clients see you ,not to mention the weight and durability will byte you in the end :-)
Click to expand...

Thanks for your feedback. When you say that the mic is "ok" - what do you mean? In which aspects is it just ok - instead of being great? Is this in particular relation to the DVX or just in general?

I'll check out Coffey and Trew - thanks for the info!

Tony
 
tlorenzo said:
Also - does any of you know a great place to buy a cheap windjammer/ windshield/windsock (is there a difference between the three)
Click to expand...

The windshield/windsock is a thin foam that goes right over the mic. The windjammer is a long, fuzzy, fur-like cover that goes over the shield/sock. The windjammer is used primarilly for outdoor shooting when there's a lot of wind.
 
general , there are better sounding mics in that price range , since you are in europe the price range is quit different , the akg are very cheap if you buy localy( without the vat|) .

but as aproduct on its own there are better for my taste and it not relative to camea use only .
abut used windshields , check the noysbois and aem www.aem.nl in holland they also cary used products .
 
Thought I'd resurrect this post. This mic is touted as a hypercardiod and a shotgun. The manufacturer states

"Below 500 Hz it functions as a hypercardioid microphone; above 500 Hz, the acoustic interference tube increases its directivity for extremely accurate pickup of distant sound."

Not sure I quite get it--it's a dual function shotgun/hyper? a unit that'll work inside and out?
 
Thought I'd resurrect this post. This mic is touted as a hypercardiod and a shotgun. The manufacturer states

"Below 500 Hz it functions as a hypercardioid microphone; above 500 Hz, the acoustic interference tube increases its directivity for extremely accurate pickup of distant sound."

Not sure I quite get it--it's a dual function shotgun/hyper? a unit that'll work inside and out?
 
Means pretty much the opposite. It means that indoors the reverb will sound colored and ugly. It is precisely that coloration that you are trying to avoid by using a hyper instead of a shotgun.

Most shotguns have more of a hyper pattern at the low end. It's an unfortunate flaw in the fundamental design of interference tube mics. One that Schoeps use to poke fun at until recently for some darn reason. :happy:

Cheers
 
To put a slightly different spin on a post above:

The windsock is also known as a dead cat, etc. is the furry you put over the blimp (in Sennheiser terminology)
The blimp/zepplin is the plastic mesh thing that looks like a giant tylenol (okay, what movie is that line from???)

Rycote and others make a combo wind protector that combines the furry with the "blimp" but it only covers the front part of the mic.

If you want a good deal on wind protection, the new K-tek blimp/windsock combo looks pretty good for the price (caveat: I haven't actually used it yet...I use a Sennheiser blimp, with a K-tek shock mount and K-Tek pistol grip.)

The best protection you can get is a blimp/windsock combo.

Phil
 
Oleg 2 said:
The mic is ok for dvx use , there are better products for the new
Click to expand...

This person obviously has not spent very much time using this mic, I myself bought one used in 2005, and it has saved my butt many times during those occasions when I didn't have the time or the luxury to use a boom or wireless system.

This is a excellent on camera mic who's capabilities has given me many compliments from those in the know.

______________________________
Raul X. Garcia
Director/Producer
IFC Short Film of the Month Winner
http://raulxgarcia.com
 
Hey Ramblin,

Oleg knows more about audio than most anyone. You may not agree with him, but he doesn't throw opinions around willy-nilly. He has also been banned for pissing a lot of people off and being a bit, er well, confrontational. But that is another story. We, at least I, miss him here, though now the audio board is a kinder and gentler place.

Grant
 
Hi Everyone,

I don't like to dispute someone's post whose signature says "in the grave" but I don't share Oleg's view. I cannot know if he had actual experience with the AKG C-568, but regardless, I have had a very different experience. I own four of them and they are outstanding mics. They work ideally in documentary shoots that take place indoors. They have a charming high end, but smoother than my Sennheiser MKH-415T. Noise is nonexistant through my Sound Devices MixPre and SD722. I might share the concerns of mixing hypercaridoid with other elements on paper, but in practice it's a very practical mic. It flies under the radar. Frankly, it is no longer made, but is widely available at low cost. It also works on 12v or 48v, so you can save some battery life, unless you're a pefectionist who insists on full voltage (like I do). It just has a sweet sound. Google it or do a search on JWSound, where a lot of pro audio film guys hang out. Its reputation there is pretty documented.

If you need wind protection outdoors consider an inexpensive real fur Guttmann deadcat, the one with the flimsy sock inside. Works great in combination.
 
tlorenzo said:
Hi guys,

I just got a sweet deal on a couple of AKG C548B shotgun microphones for my soon-to-be-mine DVX. I've read some pretty good reviews on them on various sites, but I was wondering if any of you guys have tried them on shoots with the DVX? The only reviews I've been able to find have been centered around music and theatre use...

Also - does any of you know a great place to buy a cheap windjammer/ windshield/windsock (is there a difference between the three) ?

BTW - I'm going to be making my own boom-pole and I'll make sure to post pictures when it's done :-)

Kind regards,

Tony
Click to expand...

Can't say I have used it, but it should be OK. If the "hyper to shotgun" pattern is a real thing and not just the marketing department it could be a plus or minus depending. It should mean that you will get less low end "noise" from the rear of the mic, which makes sense for a mic designed for camera mounting. But that also means you should get a bit more from the front sides so... Depends on your shoot.

Now some assumptions...

It sounds like you are planning to boom them as a pair. That is probably a really bad idea. First off you do not want "stereo" dialog and second shotguns are the wrong pattern for stereo pairs.

I have never heard the term "wind sock" for audio gear. A wind sock is that cone shaped flag thing you see (or used to) at airports that is used so pilots know the wind direction and roughly the speed. I don't know if they are common at all now that everything is digital.

Windjammer, is I believe a brand name, and a wind shield is what you look out of while driving. Though all the terms have probably been used to describe what you are talking about.

A foam wind screen is OK for very light wind and the "wind" of moving a mic around quickly, it is pretty useless otherwise. A zeppelin is that big cage that you see on the end of boom pole outdoors and it often has a fur cover that is referred to as a "fuzzy", "dead cat", "dead wombat", and probably more. That system is the standard and will handle a lot of wind. There are also some foam covers that have fur on them that are supposed to be pretty good.

Rycote is "the" name in the field but many mic manufacturers also make them. The cheapest "reputable" one is probably Rode's, but I think Sennheiser also has a not to $$ version.

Oleg's advice on making gear is right. I have made a LOT of gear and it has worked reasonable well to fantastic. BUT if you are selling your services it will hurt to have any prominent DIY gear. Since I did a LOT of FX recording I was not under as much pressure since I was rarely visible, but if I had been doing production work, I would have lost a lot of gigs. A boom pole is kind of on the edge. It's not that visible (or at least obvious) if you do it well, but it better work flawlessly. If there is a way to push a problem off to someone others will take it and having a homemade X make you the easy target.

On the other hand if you are doing FX recording you can get away with a lot more. I had an ugly DIY zeppelin that was fantastic for huge wind situations (I could record the motor of a box fan going full power from the front). And I used a better looking DYI one for a number of years on big budget films. It almost passed for a commercial one.

I would DYI over cheap chinese products (their pricier ones are probably OK). The quality and durability have scared even me off.
 
Oleg's back! The in the grave part is probably because he has gotten booted off the forum a number of times, assuming it's the same poster. He is not shy with his opinions, but he is also an experienced person who generally is giving honest impressions. like all of us (from time to time) he could troll a bit so there was that, but I doubt that he gave a review that was not his experience. If I remember correctly, it's been quite a few years since I saw a post by him, we didn't agree on a lot of things, but at least he is not some 14 yr old who is going off because of something he read on some forum some place.
 
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