Durability

K

kolfer1

New member
In the wonderful stickies and articles here comparing the different shotguns, lavaliers etc; nobody is referring to durability and dependability.

I think we all agree that even the best shot film with an inadequate sound is practically worthless. And that a good microphone is well worth the extra investment.

However, which of the different kinds of microphones (models and manufacturer's names, please be specific) needed for high quality sound did you find to be hardier and more dependable?

Yes, I know a that a good soundman will take excellent care of his or her equipment.

But from your personal experience O WISE MEN/WOMEN OF SOUND: Which mikes (Shotguns ,lavalier etc,) can take the occasional unfortunate abuse on the set, survive it and still produce high quality sound?

Thank you for your input in advance
Ofer
 
kolfer1 said:
But from your personal experience O WISE MEN/WOMEN OF SOUND: Which mikes (Shotguns ,lavalier etc,) can take the occasional unfortunate abuse on the set, survive it and still produce high quality sound?

Thank you for your input in advance
Ofer
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dear deer :-)
sound quality recording have very little with abused microphones and even less with non educate people :-)
 
Hey Oleg,
Shalom and ma nishma?
Reading some of your posts I know that an insult from you is a form of a compliment. "dear deer :-)"
What are you doing being a wake this late anyhow?
I know that abusing equipment has nothing to do with good sound (thanks for pointing it out) However some microphones I am sure are more hardy and durable. I know that the Senheiser 416 is quite a work horse and very hardy. Is the Sanken CS3e as hardy?
Are the lectronics hardier then the say the senheiser wireless?

Educate me please in that regard.
Best of wishes and Laila tov (good night in hebrew.)
Ofer
 
You already answered your question. A work horse gets to be called a work horse because it can handle the punishment of the previous day's work. Now what was the name of that work horse you mentioned? -- senn something -- senn 416? -- hmmm. ;)
 
kolfer1 said:
But from your personal experience O WISE MEN/WOMEN OF SOUND:
Click to expand...

Wise enough to know when we are being condescended to....but not enough to avoid a dangiling preposition.

There is obviously no easy answer to your question but you get what you pay for. The cheap stuff is less 'durable' then the expensive stuff. There are a few stand outs in the Senn 416 or the Lectro MM400.

If you want info on a specific peice of gear search around or ask if no info is available.

Cheers
 
Durabiity

Durabiity

Wabit and all. Sorry for the wrong choice of words, not trying to condenscend at all. Quite the opposite I have learned tremendously from this board and want to learn even more.

The " O wise men of sound", though maybe clumsy, was meant exactly as what it was: you guys have a lot of hard gained on location experience. The best kind of experience in my book.

I know that you get what you pay for. I also know that a good sound man will guard his equipment with eagle eyes.

However sometime shi* happens and a microphone falls or gets dinged. Since I truly believe that good sound equipment is well worth the money I would very much like to know for example if a [FONT=Verdana,arial]Neumann KMR81i[/FONT] has a better chance of surviving the hardship of every day then say a [FONT=Verdana,arial]Sanken CS-3e. In addition to the quality of sound which many times is quite subjective, It will greatly help me decide which to buy.

In other words: Learning from your experience, which of the high quality microphones as the ones in the sticky above: "If you are considering a shotgun" seems to be hardier, has a better chance of surviving my mistakes on the set. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,arial]Both a Mercedes and a Jaguar will get you from point A to point B. However, you'll spend a lot less time in the shop with the Mercedes and maybe even less so with a Toyota or a Honda.
So now that I stood in the corner for a while, I will appreciate some good advise?

Thanks
Ofer
[/FONT]
 
that's why the backup exist :-)
dont touch Neumann if you work in high humidity .
i have 3 cs-3 e - all of them still ticking :-)
if it falls to the ground - depends from hat height = for schoeps -3 feet would be to much :-)
by the way if you are in israel , you can call me
 
To be honest I think any of the top mics will be durable. I don't imagine you'll use them for a hammer or a tire chock, and I'm sure you'll put it back into its case all clean & shiny. You might bump it against a ceiling or a beam, but it'll hold up. Don't sweat it.


Rent and see what you like before you buy.
 
Generally speaking, the `416 is one of the more durable mics. They're a bit more solid than Neumann or Schoeps mics, but they really shine when it comes to adverse environmental conditions (humidity, dust) and RF noise.

Dropping a mic is never a good idea, and a full zepplin will give you an extra level of insurrance against such accidents.

However, if you have to drop a mic, try to make it an Electrovoice 635. Dynamic mics will take far more punishment than condensors.
 
Durability

Thanks everybody for the replies. I appreciate it.
Thanks Oleg, I was born and raised in Israel, currently living in the Bay Area, though I may take you on it and call when I am ready to buy.

10s, I will definitely try before I buy.

Smuir, we had a dynamic one when I went to film school and you are absolutely right it fell, it got hit you name it, and still it never failed to produced a very reasonable sound. The guys used to joke that you could hammer nails with it if one could not find a hammer, it was awesome.

Thanks
Ofer
 
AT835B, 4 years old, used every other day, no issues. Audio-Technica is a well built microphone.
 
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