best mic under cloths

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kellany

New member
Hi, I'm in desperate need of some info on the best mic used under clothing. Right now I use the countryman emw mic which are supposed to be good but I'm not having much luck and looking to find a new mic. I've tried every form of mounting, moleskin, makeup sponges, rycote undercovers, vampire clips etc. bit still get a lot of clothing noise. I've tried trams and sony without much luck. I was looking at sanken cos 11, countryman b3, b6. I looked at the review of the 16 mics on here and was a little concerned about the sanken cause of the cable noise. Anyway any info would be appreciated, I like the b3 tough cable(kevlar coated but it was not reviewed). I just don't know how they get perfect audio on these reality shows where the talent is in full action( biggest loser, etc).
Thank YOu
 
An old sound guy taught me a trick for rigging a mic under clothing. He used the wire from the top of a champagne bottle and rigged the mic with rubber bands to suspend inside.

You can manipulate the size of the wire easily to help hide the gag. Of course, if the clothing of tight this is not going to work.
 
Thanks vger, I read your link and I'm convinced now that it is indeed the mic cause I do exactly what that guy does and then some. Any suggestions on mics???
 
kellany said:
Thanks vger, I read your link and I'm convinced now that it is indeed the mic cause I do exactly what that guy does and then some. Any suggestions on mics???
Click to expand...

Every single trick out there is going to work with some types of clothing
and every single trick out there is gonig to NOT work with some types of clothing.

It's about having an arsenal of tricks and a number of different mic's to choose from when a problem arises.

I own like 4 or 5 emw's, while I don't choose to use them very much these days
I've had many successful attempts at hiding them, while I know
Ive also had a few failures and had to swap out.


Just stating this because I got from your post that you might be thinking its "ALL" about the mic. Trust me, with any mic you choose you're going to have
problem times.
 
Since you don't use them much what mics do you use? I have been able to hide them with minimal success only if the talent is wearing the right cloths, I just think they are too noisy. I had a lectrosonics cheapy mic that never could be hidden. I guess my post went of in the wrong direction cause I'm just looking for that mic out there that people say I use this and it works almost all the time. Maybe there is no such thing but there has to be something better than the emw's.
Thanks again
 
kellany said:
I just don't know how they get perfect audio on these reality shows where the talent is in full action( biggest loser, etc).
Thank YOu
Click to expand...

A good soundguy uses what he has, when he can.

This is important for you to contemplate if you want to get better at location audio. Situations change a lot and so your setups must change.

You'll notice on Survivor... the "buffs"? I'd be surprised if that wasn't partly a solution to give mic mounting/hiding options, but there are also situations where a lav couldn't be hidden or would immediately go under water... so then it's most likely an 816 or other long shotgun (maybe even 416/mkh60/CS3e).

To shorten a longer explanation... hide lavs where you can, where you don't have multiple layers of clothing, and ideally... AWAY from clothing. The best place on women and men w/o chest hair is in the valley between the breasts... and try to have wardrobe that doesn't interfere too much. You may be surprised how much these FACTS about clothing and mic noise are accepted within the industry. Nobody's doing magic or using secret equipment to overcome the same obstacles you are... but they are saying "hey that polyester suit is gonna' be the loudest thing in the scene unless we tape it down"... etc. and it's likely that the wardrobe you see on reality TV... that looks like random choices... was actually considered for production, including sound.

Basically... with the lav thing. You'll have times that you can't control noise if you can't control mounting options or wardrobe. All things being equal... you want the mic in a cavity... and you don't want clothing moving around on the mic mounting location.

One of my goto items for lav mounting is "toupee tape" which is used to hold hair, CLOTHING, etc. Have you ever wondered how women wear those super-sexy dresses that are so low cut that you wonder how a breast never slips into view? (like the awards shows, etc.) That clothing is held in place with this stuff. It's also a fantastic option for lavs. If I get even slightly low on it I stock up again with a few boxes.

Go to a local wig shop and they'll have it... and it's CHEAP... it will most likely be in a small box of strips... about 1" wide by 3-4" long... you peel each piece off like a band-aid... on both sides... then you're left with a thin, clear "skin" that's adhesive on both sides. You can also cut these strips down to smaller shapes before removing the backing... (think "unlimited Rycote stickies for less then a penny per use".) This is a good way to fix a mic mount and then fix clothing steady around the mic. This is also one of my best lav "secrets" that I'm giving to everybody today. :happy:

kellany said:
Since you don't use them much what mics do you use?
Click to expand...

How much do you wanna' bet he says COS11?

Anyway... regardless of the shootout details... my first recommendation for the best balance of sound quality, mounting options, and low handling noise... in another words, best overall lav... is a Sanken COS11.
 
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