Which color lav (Countryman B6) to buy for most versatility?

Tim Young

Tim Young

Active member
I've decided to add wireless lavs to my setup for the next short I'm doing, and I've decided to get 2 Countryman B6's. I had planned to buy black lavs until I realized they came in 5 colors. Now I'm unsure of which color to choose. The short hasn't been cast yet, so I don't know what color skin tones the actors will have. Plus I'd like these to be versatile enough to work for future projects. We do low budget narrative shorts and these 2 lavs will be the only ones I'll likely buy for a long time. Looks like the B6 comes in black, white, cocoa, tan, and beige. From reading the Countryman brochure, it seems like they suggest tan (see below), but I wanted to get some opinions from guys who do this all the time. This will be my first foray into the wireless and lav world, so I don't know where/how I'll be hiding the lavs yet. Here's a quote from the Countryman brochure:

"Tan is the most popular color choice, because it works perfectly for average Caucasian skin tones, as well as olive complexions. Light beige works well in theatrical applications due to its slightly pink undertone, which is also appropriate for extremely fair skin. Cocoa is the ideal choice for African American skin tones ranging from very light to chocolate, and black is appropriate for extremely dark skin, or for situations where you want the mic to be visible. When in doubt, choose the darker option. That’s because a mic that’s too light can resemble a scar or blemish, while a mic that’s slightly darker than the background tends to blend much better and draws less attention."

What do you guys think? Tan? Black? One of the other colors?

Also, I'm planning on buying the lavs wired for lectrosonics so that I can upgrade from my Sennheiser G2 to Lectro eventually. I'm planning to buy TA5 to 1/8" adapters to use the mics with my G2 system now, and to be able to move the lavs back and forth once I get the Lectro stuff. Any problems with that?
 
just remeber that b-6 work very bad in windy conditions 9 weven light wind ) and you will need put the foam over , it also doesnt sounds good as sanken , dpa or mke2 gold

not to mention tha the mics need zenner diod inside the connectror and you are going eat **** with lectrosnics connection as there are 3 way to doit ad you dont really dont know which transmitters you will get later
buy now wiered directly and revire or make adaptors later when you will channge or upgrade
 
I had Rosa at Countryman make the adapters for me - she used a locking 1/8" female to ta5 and they work great so I can switch between my Lectros and my G2's. They weren't cheap, but solid and well-made, and they work perfectly.

Phil
 
by black or tan
also ask for aditional caps in wite to be able colorize then in the collor of theshirt when you pull the head out
 
Tim:

The logical question is, "how are you going to mic your talent?". If you are using your B6s as a hair mic, I would try to match hair color. My B6 is black and I have no problem using it as a hair mic with brunettes and redheads although you would see it on a blonde.

If you are going on wardrobe, I would get black as the B6 is small enough to hide behind buttons and it will not be seen anyway. Oleg has a good idea, the B6 capsule is really the mainly visible part of the mic so I would order some extra different colored packs of the freq response caps.

Dan
 
Thanks for the help Oleg and Dan. So what are the advantages of tan over black? Are there any? It seems like I'd be using it mainly on wardrobe or in hair, which based on what you said Dan would make black the choice. It doesn't seem like you would want to hide it on skin in plain site much, so I'm not sure why you'd need to match skin tone. Would hiding in the hair on a blond actor be the only reason to go with tan? Maybe one good option would be to get one black and one tan. Like Guiness and Bass...
 
Hi Tim:

One of each would cover your bases better. In my lavalier review, I had every color in the rainbow of lavs tested and to me, almost any of the colors work for most situations. I would only get white to go against white wardrobe. Tan is good for blending into hair or earth tones and black is good for interviews if you put it on the fill side in the shadow of the face.

I would be happy with either color.

Dan
 
Black is good for most applications and really the only color if you ever plan on having the mic visable (a possibility for anything short of narrative). Where black becomes an issue is hiding in the hair and/or an actor with a tight white top on. At that point a more nuetral color is prefered.

If you don't plan to use as a visable mic, I would use a different lav then the B6 in those applications anyways, go with the tan.

Really plan on owning more then one type of lav.

Cheers
 
dan and wabbit, thanks for the help. you guys always have great advice. wabbit, if you were to buy 2 lavs to start out with for narrative shorts, which would you go for? cos-11? something else? and it sounds like you'd go with tan? i have sennheiser g2s, but at some point will upgrade to lectrosonics.

thanks again for the help.
 
Tim Young said:
dan and wabbit, thanks for the help. you guys always have great advice. wabbit, if you were to buy 2 lavs to start out with for narrative shorts, which would you go for? cos-11? something else? and it sounds like you'd go with tan? i have sennheiser g2s, but at some point will upgrade to lectrosonics.

thanks again for the help.
Click to expand...

Hi Tim:

You can read the article to formulate your own opinion. http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/lavs_brockett.html
The mics that I tested that impressed me the most personally were the DPA 4061 and the Sonotrim, but I own the Countryman B6 and two Tram TR-50s. Everyone in the business swoons over the Sanken and it is really good too. Just depends on what your priorities are, size, sound quality, price, colors, etc.

That's why I wrote the article. I don't think you should buy a mic because anyone (myself, Wabbit, Oleg) recommends that you buy it. You should read the article, ingest and process the data, listen to the samples and make up your own mind.

That's why I have been shooting a pretty high end doc that will be on broadcast, DVD and possibly in theaters with one of the cheapest mics on the market, the Audio Technica AT875r. I tested all of the popular mics and I really dug the sound of this little very inexpensive mic. Everyone tells me I should be using a $1,500.00 or $2,000.00 mic. I could but I like the sound this mic is giving me, it's great so why should I spend thousands of dollars so my doc can sound exactly like everyone else's? Think about it.

Dan
 
wow, dan. what an amazing article. thank you for making it available. after listening to the samples, i think i've changed my mind and will be starting with a cos-11. i really liked the way it sounded. and i'm reconsidering whether it will be feasible for me to be rigging a b6 in hair, around ears, on glasses, and stuff like that. i'm thinking it will be better to start with a more standard lav. tentatively i'm planning on going with tan, since it will be used for narrative work and i'm thinking will be mostly hid under clothing.

thanks again for a great article.
 
Hi Tim:

The Sanken is a very nice mic and has about 50 or 60% of the lav market for a reason. Might be a little phyically large unless your talent has "big hair" but you won't know until you try.

Glad you found the article helpful, your reaction makes writing them very fulfilling.

Dan
 
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