Best tool for GOOD Inconspicuous Audio

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wied81

Member
Hey guys,

I am doing some research for a project and I need to find out what is the best recording instrument to get GOOD audio but in an inconspicuous way. What I mean by this is, not having to hold out a mic in someone's face while they are speaking into it. I would most likely have this device in my pocket or somewhere on my body while they are speaking so it's not obvious that I am recording.

I know that this seems sketchy but I promise you it is for a totally legitimate cause and the person would know afterwards that they had been recorded and I would get permission from them to use the audio.

So, is there some type of audio recorder out there that gets good audio but isn't necessarily a boom, lav, camera mic? What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance guys.
 
If the mic isn't close to the persons face, you're not going to get a high quality recording, and certainly not anything you'd want to use in a professional piece. It's as simple as that.

Get their permission, and just get a mic close to their mouth. You'll find most people won't take kindly to you telling them that you've been recording them without their knowledge, regardless of your intent.

"I promise you it is for a totally legitimate cause" is one of the most hilarious justifications for this type of thing.
 
Gohanto, I appreciate the feedback and trust me, I am totally aware of everything you have said. I just didn't want people to think that I am involved in some type of illegal operation or anything of that sort.

My question still remains: What is the best way to get good audio without having to hold a huge mic in someone's face. Any ideas?
 
Possibly if you had a Sanken COS11d lav, and upi placed in under/inside the brim of your hat so it would be the closest thing on you to their mouth. You could do a little work and get the mic into the brim and run the wire behind your head. It's a small mic - not the smallest, but they sound great. You'd have to protect it from wind too. If you were talking to someone you could be standing close to them. Also if you choose your location well. Don't do it on a city street with cars. Do it in a quite area of a park, or inside a carpeted hallway in some building. The less surrounding noise - the better your subject's voice will come through.

If you are interviewing them, then I would suggest you have 2 mics. One set to a level that picks up your voice well, and one set at a higher level to pick them up. Otherwise with one mic, your voice will be distorted if you set it right for the interviewee.
 
Hidden camera shows do this all the time.
Just a couple options..
Have a binder/clipboard in your arms thats held out in front of you with a mic in it.
put a 2nd mic on the host? to stand as close as possible to them.
Use plant mic's if you're sitting down in a particular setting IE: a napkin dispenser for a booth type setting..etc.

Just figure out a way to get ANY microphone as close to the person as possible.
 
Guys thanks for all the suggestions, these are great and I really appreciate them. As far as examples of how to hide the mics I would also appreciate any good brand names or types of mics you could refer me to as well. Thanks again guys.
 
I would take a look at some "taper" (folks who illegally record concerts) sites. There are some mics we used to "steal" ambiences that look like glasses. You just wear them and the point wherever your looking. You could also hide some in a baseball cap. Having done a fair amount of ambience stealing in my time if you don't trat something like a mic people don't really pay attention to it. You could in most cases have a mic in plain sight and if you don't fuss with it and act like your not using it nobody will pay any attention to it other than maybe a first look.
 
I use the Ricsonix Pin Mic. It's perfect for this type of thing. They've been discontinued, buy you may be able to find them. I have a few extras wired for Sennheiser wireless if you can't find one.

What do they sound like? Here watch these http://krusteaz.com/brands/krusteaz/bread_tips/

See the mic?

You can expect high quality sound if you can get the mic that close. The further the distance, the worse the sound. Use any means possible to get a mic close to the subject. As others have suggested, planting the mic in something like a pen, or flowers may be an option.
 
Last edited:
Guy_Cochran said:
I use the Ricsonix Pin Mic. It's perfect for this type of thing. They've been discontinued, buy you may be able to find them. I have a few extras wired for Sennheiser wireless if you can't find one.

What do they sound like? Here watch these http://krusteaz.com/brands/krusteaz/bread_tips/

See the mic?

You can expect high quality sound if you can get the mic that close. The further the distance, the worse the sound. Use any means possible to get a mic close to the subject. As others have suggested, planting the mic in something like a pen, or flowers may be an option.
Click to expand...

Guy, would like to get in touch with you about getting a couple of those pin mics. Can't seem to find them online.

What's the setup for those pin mics? You just wear them and they can transmit the audio back to the wireless? How does it work?

PM me or email me at wied81@gmail.com

Thanks
 
As Guy said, "they've been discontinued". They were just a small mic capsule, often with a housing around that disguised it as a piece of jewelery or a button, etc. It had a sharp pin on the back which could be inserted through the costume fabric. The clip on the back of the pin then had a wire which would go to the wireless transmitter, etc. just like any other lav microphone. They first came around back in the 1970s when ElectroVoice sold one. Ricksonix brought the concept back again recently, but it doesn't seem to have much success in the long term. Dunno about the Ricksonix version, but the original EV version suffered from reliability problems because of the nature of the pin and what people stick it through, keeping it clean, etc.
 
Great, thanks for the help. It looks like now at this point I am going to go with a G2 system and a TR50 - seems like that is pretty inconspicuous. Because of the unreliability of wireless mics, what is a good back up system to have? I am going to be in field and going undercover so nothing obvious will work...any ideas?

Here is the G2 setup I am looking at. Does this look accurate?

http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CFUQ8wIwBA#

Thanks guys.
 
The link you cited appears to show a mains-powered receiver. Are you in a fixed location with mains power?

Recommending a backup system would depend on knowing a lot more about what you are trying to do, how critical it is, what you budget is, etc. etc.
 
I am trying to keep my budget low, i.e. under $1,000. With the wireless G3 setup, a Countryman EMW and some type of back-up recording device or mic, you think I could pull it off? I would want the G3 setup that runs off of batteries, not AC power. It needs to be very portable.

Also, this is a candid camera situation where they don't know they are being recorded.
 
600.00 for the G3 Wireless. 265.00 for an Edirol R-09. You will go over your budget when you throw in the EMW, but you'll be close.
 
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