Boom Operator Amp

K

Kugar13

Well-known member
Hello,

I am looking for an amp to allow a boom operator to monitor sound he/she is recording, as well as amping the volume to detect sound problems that the naked ear may not hear.

I found the Rolls PM50sOB personal monitor at BH, but am unsure if it is what I am looking for. I am quite unfamiliar with this piece of equipment:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...s&Q=&sku=231436&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

Could someone help me determine if this is what I am looking for? I am looking for something that will allow the boom operator to listen to the sound recorded and run the feed to the camera (DVX100A) at the same time.

I have already PMed MattinSTL concerning this. We determined it may be best to inquire here.

Thank You

Kugar
 
If you are looking for something that the boom op can use as a mini-mixer, probably your best bet is the MixPre from Sound Devices. It has two inputs, but it also has a phones out and you can run an xlr to the camera. I don't think it has a belt clip, but it can be fitted with a neck strap.

I did something similar once with the Azden mixers...avoid them like the plague. They are terrible. But, if you really want one, I have a couple I could sell you... ;-)

For my boom op, I now use a Comtek for him/her to monitor, but that does not give them any control over the mix (but not needed...that's why I'm there. ;-)

Phil
 
That amp will do what you want. It is not well constructed and will probably break quickly (as many Rolls products are known to do).

If you are a serious sound mixer then get a Comtek system (or Lectro IFB if you are a well-off sound mixer) and put your boom guy on it. This way you can also speak with him between shots. Also, any serious sound gigs will have all the important (or those that want to appear important) people wanting their "backstage pass" in the form of a Comtek ("backstage pass" is a quote lifted directly from another local sound mixer, not mine :D ).

Mind as well spend the money now on something that will last and grow with you then on a $60 piece of **** that won't be with you in a year.

Cheers
 
Wabbit,

I'm going to be trying out a new "Comtek" like product from ListenTech (www.listentech.com) in the next couple of weeks. A few folks on RAMPS have used them and they seem to have fixed many of the Comtek problems (tunable digitally, AA batteries instead of 9v, converts mono to stereo for headphones (no need for that stupid adapter), etc. And, the price is right (~150 for each receiver, includes belt clip but not the case or headphones...found a great deal on Sennheiser headphones which I can post when I get home if interested...) And, it looks like they can interoperate with my Comteks that I have now, too (though if they work well, I'm selling the Comteks...)

Phil
 
Why not just buy a duplex cable? Its not going to give the boom op level control, but do you really want them doing that for you? I am currently booming on a pretty busy set and I certainly don't want to have to ride levels while I am chasing lines all over the place, thats what the Mixer does.
 
Cool, keep us updated.

I actually have been thinking of updating some of my receivers (I still work with single channel crystals)...that got me thinking about updating the whole system. I tried an ALD that is suppose to work with Comteks that only cost $100 a receiver but it sounded like crap (which is saying something compared with the "fine quality" that Comteks provide). I forget the name right now but I think they were based out of Maine.

I gave up on good headphones for the Comteks long ago. Anyone other then my boom op (maybe the director) gets the cheapest pair of HP I can find at the supermarket. :happy:

Cheers
 
Thanks

Thanks

Thanks everyone for the advice!

I don't want for my boom operator to have any control of the sound levels. I want for him/her to listen louder to the sound level he is recording so he can identify problems early. I used a home made amp with another production crew. I could turn the volume up and hear an aircraft coming long before anyone else could, without changing the volume of the sound recorded. Sorry I didn't specify sooner. (Forgive my inability to properly articulate my situation)

So, I'm not looking for a mixer. From my understanding/research it is best not to alter sound during production, but later in post. I could be wrong...

Thanks!

Kugar
 
OIC. That makes sense. You want a headphone amp for Boom Op. A lot of times I wish I had level control of my cans when I am booming. Sometimes its the middle of a take and they are way too loud. Oh well.
 
Droog said:
Why not just buy a duplex cable? Its not going to give the boom op level control, but do you really want them doing that for you? I am currently booming on a pretty busy set and I certainly don't want to have to ride levels while I am chasing lines all over the place, thats what the Mixer does.
Click to expand...
I'm not familiar with duplex cables..... +(
 
http://www.trewaudio.com/catalog/items/item924.htm

A duplex cable is basically a 2 channel snake cable that you can send a boom signal down to the mixer and on the other "channel" send a headphone mix back to the boom op. One end has and XLRM and a TRS the other, the boom op end, has a box with an XLRF Jack and a TRS jack for your cans.

You could feasibly give the boom op a small headphone amp so he/she could control their own headphone level. The Samson that you linked is overkill I think.
 
This is the perfect situation for a Comtek style system, then. Your boom op is wireless, and can control the volume quite nicely on the receiver (and it can be boosted even more from the mixer, as needed.)

Wabbit, the headphones work out to be $16 a pair, so still very inexpensive and yet better than supermarket quality. ;-)

Phil
 
Hey,

I don't plan to be wireless, nor use a mixer on location. This is an indie production with a limited budget and small crew of 4. Thank you for the advice. Some I may have to use in the future (fingers crossed)

Kugar
 
I am pretty sure he meant that the boom op would be on a wireless headset, not that his mic was wireless. Just use the comteks as the boom ops monitor.
 
Yep, that was what I meant. You can rent one comtek Tx and one Rx pretty cheap, then you aren't buying something you won't need later. You can plug the Comtek Tx into the headphone jack on the camera, and then your boom op is ready to go. You can use a simple splitter if your camera op is also going to wear headphones.

Phil
 
Kugar13 said:
Hey,

I don't plan to be wireless, nor use a mixer on location. This is an indie production with a limited budget and small crew of 4. Thank you for the advice. Some I may have to use in the future (fingers crossed)

Kugar
Click to expand...

So the boom op is your only sound person? How are you going to set the levels? If you are going that route then something like the Mixpre would be an absolute minimum.
 
i've been asking this same question for a while.

the best solution i have found is to either get a duplex cable or just make one, get a headphone extention cable long enough to make the run along with the xlr cable(s) and then either gaff tape the headphone cable to the xlr cable(s) or zip tie it.

one thing with the dvx, i tried the headphone jack and the sound was pretty noisy by the time it got down the headphone extention cable so i tried taking the sound out of the rca jacks and putting it into the headphone extention and then at the boom op end i put a simple headphone amp (www.headphone.com) i have an older version of their "airhead" amp and it works really well.

one side note, i usually feed the sound into the camera where the same signal goes to both input 1 and 2 except i set the levels different.

in that case i would setup the headphone cabling and amp so it took either one of the channels (left or right) and then did a dual mono so the boom op wouldn't head two different levels in their heads.

also if you have both a boom mic and a wireless mic or a lav etc. you want to do some playing around with cables so the boom op only hears the boom mic and not the other sources.

matthew
 
Hey! Thanks for the advice and great ideas! I learned a few new things and am quite thankful. It is awesome to everyone on this board as a resource!!! I am researching the many great ideas, discovering new toys to play with =)

Kugar
 
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