Best Mic under $5000?

R

rahulvictor

Active member
Sorry if this has been discussed, I didn't find anything when I searched. I'm thinking of buying a mic that I can use in a feature film setting. And since I also make music I figure it would be good for that as well.

I know people say it's best to use the mics that come with your sound mixer, but if I did want to buy and own one myself, under $5k (and ideally more like in the $1k-$3k range) what would you guys recommend? Would love the help, thanks!
 
The most used of my high end mikes, in order of use, are the Schoeps MK41, the Schoeps MK2H, the Sennheiser MKH80 (not the 800) the Sennheiser MKH40, the Schoeps MK21, The Neumann TLM 170R, the Sennheiser MKH 20, plus some of my own design which include ribbon mics. I also use the DPA omnis for certain things. Can't lose with the 41.
 
Your question is a little broad... in general, high-end mics are fairly application-specific; a film production dialogue mic especially is not going to be particularly useful for many music applications.

If you really have that much $$$ to spend on mics, I'd strongly suggest building up a small collection of decent-quality mics for different situations, then after you've gained experience with those, think about where you might need to increase quality.

If you do want just one high-end mic, you have to decide: is it primarily for indoor or outdoor use, for dialogue, effects, wild sound, ambience, or if music, what kind of music performed/recorded in what kind of situation?

There's no one "best mic". The best $5,000 dialog mic won't do as well as a $99 SM58 for handheld use by a singer, or to mic a guitar cabinet. It won't do as well as a cheap pair of cardioids for a classical stereo recording. Etc. You really want to know exactly what the mic sill be used for.
 
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I hate to tell you this, but your budget is totally unrealistic... you can't get a good mic for less then $5,000... try adding a couple zeros my friend.
 
MattinSTL said:
I hate to tell you this, but your budget is totally unrealistic... you can't get a good mic for less then $5,000... try adding a couple zeros my friend.
Click to expand...

:laugh::laugh::laugh:


A long time ago, I picked up a used Neumann KMR 81i for 800 clams and I am... well, as happy as a clam.

I think once you get into the $1500- $2500 range (for production sound mics anyway) you can't go wrong. Each mic will have it's own uses and characteristics, but they're all pretty darn good at that price point.

Now if you want one that will massage your back and give you a happy ending... that'll cost 'ya.
 
I think you should try to find a really good deal on a
telefunken elam 251.

Would sound wonderful swinging that on the end of a boom pole!
 
Rippie said:
I think you should try to find a really good deal on a
telefunken elam 251.

Would sound wonderful swinging that on the end of a boom pole!
Click to expand...

But an original one only. That way, if you whack it into a wall and break it it'll only cost you $30K for another...

But seriously...all the prior advice is correct. Microphones at all price levels are quite application-specific, so you'd need to figure out what you'll be using it (them) for. A good assortment of less expensive mics is for all intents and purposes *always* better than one very expensive one, unless you have an extremely narrow application (like recording only your own voice).
 
Thanks for the feedback. I should probably me more clear: it is definitely for film. I just figured that a mic at that price point would be better than the $200 directional (condenser?) mic i bought to record music, but if not, excuse my ignorance.

I'm not a sound man unfortunately, but I aim to be a filmmaker and giving myself the tools necessary to make films at a high enough production value but on the cheap (relatively). So while I'm saving up for the new Red cameras and writing scripts, I thought I should get the third important element down: sound.

So I guess I need a production mic really, more or less for dialogue. I read up a bit on the schoeps mk41 and it sounds good, mainly for interiors, while the Sennheiser 416 seems to be THE industry standard (at the price point) for outdoor/everywhere use. (http://www.gearslutz.com/board/remo...2-schoeps-mk41-vs-sennheiser-416-boom-op.html) It seems like I could get both for around $3k. Perhaps this is a solid option...?

And I'll be doing research on the others mentioned as well...any other suggestions are definitely welcome :)
 
rahulvictor, while its encouraging you havent forgot about sound,
you mention yourself that you are not a "sound man".

Every piece of film gear (audio or visual) is just a tool.
If you gave a carpenter a 2 dollar hammer, or gave a 100 dollar hammer to a guy who has never picked one up, who do you think is going to have a better end product?

Do you even realize that your budgeting a ridiculously high number for a couple mic's but didnt mention about buying the other 200 things a pro soundguy has in his kit?

Im not trying to discourage you, other than to say, i think it would be wise for you to
buy more budget friendly items and LEARN how to use them, rather than thinking
if you buy the best (schoeps, RED camera..etc) that you'll automatically end up
with a pro looking/sounding film.

Couldnt be farther from the truth.
 
Jeez... that's the worst advice I ever read on these boards.

Dude... just get a $5K mic and you'll have perfect sound all the time.
 
well I own this one which is 24K gold ;)
LawsonL47MP-h.jpg

:P
 
Rippie said:
rahulvictor, while its encouraging you havent forgot about sound,
you mention yourself that you are not a "sound man".

Every piece of film gear (audio or visual) is just a tool.
If you gave a carpenter a 2 dollar hammer, or gave a 100 dollar hammer to a guy who has never picked one up, who do you think is going to have a better end product?

Do you even realize that your budgeting a ridiculously high number for a couple mic's but didnt mention about buying the other 200 things a pro soundguy has in his kit?

Im not trying to discourage you, other than to say, i think it would be wise for you to
buy more budget friendly items and LEARN how to use them, rather than thinking
if you buy the best (schoeps, RED camera..etc) that you'll automatically end up
with a pro looking/sounding film.

Couldnt be farther from the truth.
Click to expand...

I definitely know what you're saying. On the other hand, by no means am I really going to learn how to use these things beyond a very basic level (same with the Red, etc.)

I'm focusing on the writing/directing aspect, then getting the tools to entice others who know what they're doing to work with them, like soundmen/cinematographers.
I figure this way I can get others to help me for little to nothing on my Robert Rodriguez like ultra low-budget films. I just can't imagine people with their own equipment would be overly willing to donate their equipment and time to such projects, nor do i have the time or headspace to trudge my way through hollywood to make my films right now (which are not very hollywood in the first place :)... )
Maybe the better question then is what, along with a mic, would be the bare minimum to mic a film in production? like was done in some very low budget films (Clerks, etc.)...I'll continue doing my research as well...
 
LOL!

Yes, now you're getting it.

Rahul... if you read your own posts in this thread, you'll see that there's a lot of financial contradiction in them... so I couldn't resist having some fun with it. Dude... even movies with $100 million dollar budgets use mics that cost less then $2K for sound.

If you TRULY have $5K to spend on sound... here's some honest advice:

1) Sound Devices 302 $1300
2) Sanken CS3e $1300
3) Small hyper, Oktava is still current best option, but with the raising cost it's no longer the slam-dunk that it once was... $250
*I would also consider a PAIR of cardioids from some other company... such as Rode or other... at a net cost (for BOTH mics) of about $300.
3) Blimp system $300 (Rode) to $700 (other brands)
4) 13' boom pole $300 (Gitzo) to $700 (other brands)
5) American Grip C-Stand w/ short, end-jaw, Mathellini Clamp $230ish?
6) Matthews sand bag $30
7) 2 x Sennheiser g2 or g3 wireless sets (price for both) $1,000 - $1,300 (g3?)
8) 2 x Sanken COS11 lavs for the wireless sets.

Oops... we just blew past your $5k single mic purchase (and that's staying with the LOW figures), but look at everything you've got there! However, you still need some cables, assorted tape, a sound bag, small flashlight, leatherman tool, etc. etc... and I'm guessing that you may be one of the candidates that could benefit from the sound dvd on the top of the main page (revolving banner)...

If it were me, I'd get the Rode NTG3 in place of the Sanken CS3e... and use the $800 saved there, for all the stuff I just listed in the paragraph directly above this one... and then, if you're LUCKY... you might be under $5K for a reasonably decent kit.

Good luck... if you take just a little time to learn the basics then you'll have good sound in your future projects. :)
 
What are you going to do with the mic?

If you want a short gun the top ones are:-

Sennheiser
MKH 60
MKH 416
MKH 418-S (MS stereo)
MKH 30+60 (two mics - MS stereo)

Neumann
KMR 81i
RSM 191 (MS stereo)

Schoeps
CMIT 5U

DPA
4017

The Sennheisers are RF condensers and work well even in the wet, the others are high quality AF condensers.

Use any of the above in a Rycote Basket windshield or S-series - both these have the patented "lyre" suspension which is much better than elastic suspensions.

I hope this helps.
 
rahulvictor said:
On the other hand, by no means am I really going to learn how to use these things beyond a very basic level (same with the Red, etc.)

I'm focusing on the writing/directing aspect, then getting the tools to entice others who know what they're doing to work with them, like soundmen/cinematographers.
I figure this way I can get others to help me for little to nothing on my Robert Rodriguez like ultra low-budget films. .
Click to expand...

All right, I'm confused. You're going to spend $50,000 plus to buy equipment to entice professionals to work with you for free. However the professionals will probably already own the equipment you are buying, and would be more than happy to work for you and supply the equipment if instead of buying stuff, you would just pay them their kit rental and daily rate. Money can buy you the tops in each field, without having to deal with your own equipment, thefts, insurance, hardware and software updates, breakage, depreciation, storage etc etc. I would think about renting and hiring, there is a reason that is the way it is usually done on bigger productions. Cheers, Dave
 
MattinSTL said:
LOL!

Yes, now you're getting it.

Rahul... if you read your own posts in this thread, you'll see that there's a lot of financial contradiction in them... so I couldn't resist having some fun with it. Dude... even movies with $100 million dollar budgets use mics that cost less then $2K for sound.

If you TRULY have $5K to spend on sound... here's some honest advice:

1) Sound Devices 302 $1300
2) Sanken CS3e $1300
3) Small hyper, Oktava is still current best option, but with the raising cost it's no longer the slam-dunk that it once was... $250
*I would also consider a PAIR of cardioids from some other company... such as Rode or other... at a net cost (for BOTH mics) of about $300.
3) Blimp system $300 (Rode) to $700 (other brands)
4) 13' boom pole $300 (Gitzo) to $700 (other brands)
5) American Grip C-Stand w/ short, end-jaw, Mathellini Clamp $230ish?
6) Matthews sand bag $30
7) 2 x Sennheiser g2 or g3 wireless sets (price for both) $1,000 - $1,300 (g3?)
8) 2 x Sanken COS11 lavs for the wireless sets.

Oops... we just blew past your $5k single mic purchase (and that's staying with the LOW figures), but look at everything you've got there! However, you still need some cables, assorted tape, a sound bag, small flashlight, leatherman tool, etc. etc... and I'm guessing that you may be one of the candidates that could benefit from the sound dvd on the top of the main page (revolving banner)...

If it were me, I'd get the Rode NTG3 in place of the Sanken CS3e... and use the $800 saved there, for all the stuff I just listed in the paragraph directly above this one... and then, if you're LUCKY... you might be under $5K for a reasonably decent kit.

Good luck... if you take just a little time to learn the basics then you'll have good sound in your future projects. :)
Click to expand...

I knew there was some knowledge behind those witticisms Matt :)
I know that soundmen/purists would like to have all the tools available to them to turn out a great product, unfortunately, I'm unsure if having so much equipment is practical on a low-budget shoot where resources (time/money/etc) are scarce. I don't expect to have 'Hollywood' sound with 2-3 different mics, but there does need to be a trade-off between quality and simplicity, where we can squeeze in numerous setups into a production day and still have it sound good. Looking at some case-studies of ultra-low budget shoots as well as having worked on sets of some ucla thesis films, it seems like all they have is a soundman (with headphones), boom-pole, mic, and some sort of contraption that he mixes into (recorder type thing)....not that the sound is by any means perfect, but again, it obviously depends on the sound person as well...I will be looking at all the products you mentioned, thanks!
 
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