Considering investing in sound package. Inputs?

M

marsupilami_4

Active member
Hello everyone!

First of all, a big thank you to all the experts for sharing their knowledge here. I don't post very often but when I do I like to remind them and everybody else how valuable their input is.

I have been doing sound on various small productions for a while now and feel that it is time for me to take a step further and invest in a basic but broadcast-grade sound package. Since I will probably be working on a wide variety of projects in the beginning it needs to be as versatile as possible.

My budget is pretty limited, ~$3500-4000 for now. I already have in my possession a SQN 4s 4-channel mixer with camera snake in a porta brace bag as well as a pair of Sennheiser HD25 headphones.

Here's the equipment I'm considering:
- Rode NTG3 + free blimp
- K-tek Avalon Graphite series 12.5' without internal cables (reasons being that it's cheaper, lighter when the boom isn't fully extended, no risk of the cable hitting the internal walls and I'm used to it)
- 2* used Lectrosonics 195D/2** systems (basically the best I can find for under $800/system)
- 2-3* lavs, probably a couple sanken or tram depending on what deal I can find, maybe a countryman b6 as well
- 2* NiMh NP1 batteries, charger, NP1 cup (the SQN can act as a BDS for the lectros)
- 1* el cheapo backup flash recorder such as the Zoom H2
- harness
- cables, connectors
OPTIONAL (if there's money left) :
- Rolls PM50sOB personal monitor amp (allows the boom op to monitor boom mic)
- 2nd pair of headphones such as MDR7506

What do you think? Am I forgetting anything?

Here are a couple remarks:
I know that there is no hyper but there's no room for it in my budget right now considering I want a mic that holds up to the NTG3's quality so it'll come a little bit later once I start to make money off of the equipment.

The reasons I'm going for used lectro instead of sennheiser G3 are 1/build quality, 2/performance (true diversity, sound quality), 3/brand name (I think since most clients don't know SQN or Rode it would reassure them to at least see one brand they identify as industry-standard)
 
On first glance:

The free Rode blimp offer ended months ago.
I'd go with a DR-07 over the H2, I don't like the H2's interface.
I'd go with the G3 over the 195 and free up some cash for a hyper.
 
Jon Goodman said:
That being said, it still is a worthwhile investment.
Click to expand...
actually in my opinion it would be a huge mistake.
They are fixed freq units, and to not have the ability to switch frequencies in todays ever changing mess of RF would be just asking for issues and trouble.
 
JordanBlock > you can still find the rode with a free blimp offer on other websites.

Jon Goodman > I'd go with at least the 195D (D for diversity).

That being said, I'm still torn on this choice. I've used the G2 and it's a good system for the price, there's no denying that. Never had any dropout issues, and the G3 is likely to be even better with diversity. On the other hand, I've used the Lectro 195D and it's just so much better at so many levels (sound quality, build construction, range, MUCH more convenient layout for bag use, ready to plug to a BDS, etc.) that it's hard to go back to the G2/G3.

Considering that I'm located in NYC, I realize that I'd be likely to run into trouble with a fixed frequency unit such as the 195D, so it's probably not a wise choice as Rippie pointed out. I wish I'd find a 2** system around $800 but it's probably not going to happen.
 
The free blimp was an offer directly from Rode, not from the retailers. I'd recommend you confirm you can get the deal before making your order just to be safe. If it is in fact being offered by some retailers, post links! There were at least a couple people disappointed that they missed the offer.
 
Hmmm, they mention "Hurry! This promotion expires: May 31, 2010" and "while supplies last"

What i think happened is Performance Audio simply bought a bunch of the Rode blimps at the deal price (with the NTG3), and is now simply continuing the deal with however many they bought until they run out.
 
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