Buying from Sound-Room. Need Advice.

O

OTTOEMEZZO

Active member
In a couple of days I will be buying some equipment from sound-room and need some opinions. My biggest concern is with the microphone stand. I am thinking of buying one, but it does not seem to be widely used in this forum. Here is the one I'm talking about: http://sound-room.com/inc/sdetail/395 Does anyone have any experience with them? The reason I'm thinking of buying one instead of a boom pole is because I am frequently a one man crew. Will it allow me to get good sound? Anyway, here's the list of things I'm buying from there:

Oktava mic $219
Microphone Stand $35
1 ft. Cable (in rare cases when I need to put mic on camera) $12
Cedar Box $10
Small Windscreen $7
Cables $25
And maybe their shockmount $49

So it comes to $308 ($357 with the shockmount) BTW, do I need a shockmount if it will be on a stand?

Please comment on this. I will be making the purchase very soon.
 
A mic stand, while not ideal, will work just fine in a one-man setup. I use one just like that all the time.

When you are shlepping all of the gear yourself, including lights, camera, etc. it WILL work.
 
What about Sabra Shockmount? Should I use it with the microphone stand if it's stationary? I will probably be doing mostly indoor shooting for now, so do you think I need BBG or a larger windscreen? Thanks.
 
Getting the cradle on a C-stand so as to be able to boom all the way out and get the mic MUCH closer to the subject would have a very positive impact. It is a lot of added money though. If you can't make the investment and you have a 100% quiet location and the mic is stationary them you might be ok... but it will never sound as clean as it would if you didn't have to increase the gain in post.

It all depends on your needs...

BTW if you are getting the MK-012 just know that while sounding RIDICOLOUSLY amazing for the cost :) it does have a very weak signal. So if you are using it straight to a DVX or HVX while the built in pre-amps are great for pro-sumer cameras they WILL add noise especially if you are using a mic with a low signal AND far away from your subject.

The only way to know if you need the extra equipment is to test the same exact setup you will have on the job and decide if the quality is good enough for the job itself.

:thumb:
 
I will most likely upgrade to a boompole in the future. It's just that right now I can't afford it.
So, do I need a shockmount if the mic is still? And will the small windscreen from sound room give decent results for inside shoots?
 
The mic stand can work but there are two considerations:

A. make sure the subject is seated in such a way that they can't shift and go off axis.

2. Mic stands have short arms and don't go up too high. The stand placement will be difficult with anything wider then a medium shot. You will also need to counterweight the arm and sandbag the hell out of it. They were not designed to be used for an overhead boom. Being hit in the head with a falling mic is not the way to keep your subjects comfortable ;) With a boompole and C-stand you can get the stand back as far as you need it.

Cheers
 
Something like the Manfrotto 420 convertible boom stand (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/152013-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_3397B_3397B_Boom_Stand.html) can be a godsend in many situations. It packs up into a small package, but gives a LOT of positioning flexibility. Much taller and more useful than the kind of stand you're looking at at the sound room. Especially for the type of one-man schlepping mentioned by mcgee... it's the best thing you can find for anywhere near the same schleppability!

That said, the Sound Room is great to deal with!

P.S., Cedar boxes are nice and all when you have a nice spacious closet in the studio to store all your mics in. The Oktava plastic boxes are a lot more convenient if you're taking your mics out into the field; and if you have a few mics and other gear, making yourself a custom case with pick'n'pluck will save you a lot of clutter and time.
 
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In the Webinars I record (talking head and slide show/software presentation) I have used a cheap Guitar Center mic stand with great success. I generally boom up in these situations (can usually hide the mic behind the computer screen). Yes, I know this isn't ideal, but the "talent" will often look down at the screen so it keeps them on axis. I also have a klugy computer prompter setup that helps them look directly into the camera so it comes off pretty good - and it's all for the Web, so it gets compressed anyway (via Flash). I'm recording another one this week, so I'll try to remember to snap some pictures of the setup.

Phil
 
My solution is pictured. It consists of an Amvona reflector holder w/casters (Ebay, $30-$50 depending on luck), a fishing pole holder (Wal Mart, $12) and an aluminum painters pole (Lowes, $30). A bit of counterweight on the pole opposite the mic helps. It is shown with an Oktava MC-012 in a Sterling audio shockmount ($30, Guitar Center).


1198009972.jpg
 
Not a bad mic stand...

Not a bad mic stand...

I bought the MS7701TB (telescoping version) from the Sound Room for my Oktava. I also bought the BBG and the shock mount and I think they help with vibration noise. For my needs, indoors (for now) and a TRUE one-man production (standing in front of the camera with the DVX remote in one hand...) the stand is fine, it supported the mic overhead without tipping but its height IS limited and like someone pointed out, you can't do a wide shot. But the stand is also dual purpose... it's small enough to keep in my office hooked up to a small Behringer mixer and my PC for doing voice-overs.

Oh, and I just realized... I CAN do wide shots if I'm doing green screen, I can have the stand on the side and mask it out in post easily.

Measuring the stand and boom, the maximum height of the swivel point is 63", and the maximum extension horizontally is 30". Fully extended like that, you will need a sandbag if you have any wind (or clumsy people)... it will just barely stay in place with the mic, shockmount, BBG, and cable.

Roger
 
Hurry and set it up and test... get the clips on your NLE and mess with the gain if you feel like it or need to be really prepared that way you can figure out what your level on the camera ought to be.

Congrats on the new gear! hope you get great results with it!
I LOVE that mic!!!!
 
Never hurts to have a shockmount even when not being handled, keeps low frequency from A/C, etc from traveling through floor and up stand. Probably could get by with a cheaper shockmount though.
 
If you are on concrete or other hard floor then possibly not an issue but if you are on a second floor or wooden floor... any sort of vibration from walking around will likely get picked up... if the floor sucks but your subject is sitting and not moving too much like bouncing on his seat to find a more comfortable position and such then you might get away with it...

again, if it is super important to it just turn the mic on and walk around seat in the chair and move around there... go the the other rooms and walk around... do whatever might happen, then listen to the track closely... speak up saying what you are about to do before you do it so you know what it is you are listening to so you know what is dangerous and what isn't so much.... then you'll know how to behave/setup or if you need to pick up a mount...

look at the RODE SM3 if you need to buy a cheap one... they work well with the Oktava, but they are not too bad with longer heavier mics also... they might not be the best but they should help a ton
 
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