Countryman B6 Noise

T

THoff

Member With Answers
I just got a Countryman B6 mike, and I'm surprised (nay, shocked) by the amount of noise that results from brushing against the mike's wire.

I'm filming an exercise video this Sunday and want to put the mike on the instructor, but since she's going to be moving around alot, I'm concerned about the audio I'll be getting. I think I can deal with this by tapeing down the entire wire where it contacts her clothing -- can anyone think of something better or more practical?
 
I too think this issue is not addressed enough in these pages.. I am often amazed at how such good sound can be had putting mics on energetic dancers etc. A lot oof the time I get problems with clothing noise on walkers!
 
I'm very surprised to hear this...are you sure you're not hearing rub against the head of the mic? My B6's give me the least amount of wire noise of any of the lav's in my kit.

One of the ways I minimize mic rub is using a tape called hypafix (medical supply tape). It is pourous enough to go right over the mic head. I also just got some of the Rycote stickies, but haven't used them yet.

Are you creating the loop for the excess wire, and leaving enough slack between the loop and the mic?

Phil
 
Yes, I'm sure it was noise from the wire.

I was holding the mike using my thumb and index fingers just below the mike itself, about a foot or so in front of me, and brushing the wire against my shirt with my other hand. Holding the mike like that would have ruled out noise from vibration transmitted through the wire, and the mke head itself could not have been rubbing against the shirt.
 
The B6 does get a little more wire noise then say a Cos11 but you can generally fix that with proper mounting. Tape it down at key anchor points, leave a little loop near the head to avoid tension. Practice, practice, practice. Even then you will still be tearing your hair out sometimes. Consistently getting the lav quiet befuddles even the most experience sound guy sometimes.

Since there is no one solution to quieting your lavs; mount them up, listen for noise, and then try and track down where it's coming from. When you are working on fiction production the best thing you can do for yourself is to speak with the wardrobe dept to try and get them to use quieter fabrics. Lycra is not one of them but as long as it isn't rubbing against something, like a bra, you might be ok.

Everything else being equal the Sanken COS-11 might be a little easier for your situation. Better still get (rent) a ear boom mic like the E6 for your instructor. It is pretty accepted standard to see a ear boom on an exercise intructors.

Good luck
 
FYI - I tried a few homebrew tests bumping the cable and wire of my Countryman E6 mic which as specs similar to your B6.

Ambient static S/N (close range test): 70dB
Wiggling cable before earpiece: 70dB
Bumping earwire (before mic): 50dB ("fonking" wire with fingernail)
Wacking earwire (before mic): 36dB (hardest possible hit with fingernail)
Bumping mic wire assembly (last 6"): 27dB ("fonking" w/fingernail)

In summary, for the E6 nothing comes through short of abusing the mic assembly itself - the cabling seems impervious to noise pickup. Assuming your mic itself isn't defective, I wonder if perhaps the problem might be the talent's clothing: I'd guess something like a nylon shirt with a wool sweater with the mic wire in-between might induce enough static voltage to be picked up - something to consider when you run out of ideas...
Regards, Michael
 
If the clothes are problematic , you can alwais mount the mic in to the hair or glasses .
the b-6 is quit good for not pick up cable noise - let say it is not worse then most of my other mics ( and i have few ..dozens:-))
 
Thanks for your still looking into this. I think the noise is being transmitted within the cable, underneath the Kevlar shield. Just pulling it through my fingers creates lots of noise, which drops as the fingers get farther away from the mike.
 
I just wanted to take a moment for a quick follow-up to let you know how this turned out. In one word, it was awesome.

After the problems that I reported before the shoot, I was expecting to be disappointed and have lots of audio problems, so I kept a shotgun on the instructor as well. However, that wasn't going to work 100% of the time because at times she would not be facing the camera directly, such as when doing crunches on the floor with her body turned sideways towards the camera to demonstrate proper technique.

Long story short, the Countryman B6 hooked up to a Sennheiser G2 delivered crisp, static-free audio, and there was no hint of any noise from the cable or other problems. I couldn't be happier with this combination.
 
There is no "before". I just got both the Sennheiser G2 system and the Countryman B6, and had a noise problem while playing with the mike that luckily simply didn't exist when I shot the video.

The problem, when it did manifest itself, was clearly coming from the cable of the B6 and not the G2 system.
 
It doesnt matter what mic you use, running your fingers along the cable will produce noise.

For me, its a rare thing for cable induced noise to be a problem, i usually have issues with mechanical noise surrounding or on the head.

Correct taping of the cable will eliminate any cable stress..
 
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