Everything I know about mics so far.

The Lord and Master, Matt ( and I mean that in the truest sense because I think he is great with sharing his knowledge and is a hell of a nice guy) has drilled into us the K-Tek SSM with soft bands for a shock mount but because of limited budet and a little more isolation and flexibility for use I bought the Rode shock mount.

It also has a built in hot shoe so you can put on camera if needed or boom pole and I got a great deal on it from Location Sound when I bought my BBG. The Rode was $35.
 
If you're already getting an AT8415 shockmount, why not get a hotshoe adaptor (B and H site currently down, found this link at Trew):

http://www.trewaudio.com/catalog/items/item788.htm

$14 on that site (I think I paid less at B and H). Ask the place you're getting the 8415 from if they have one (may not be listed online).

note: I love Trew. They give great service. But since you're looking at multi-sourcing for lowest price, thought I'd mention B an H.
 
One thing that was not covered in this thread is PZM Microphones. I would like to know the pros and cons of using a PZM and what are the best ones (Crown Audio Series, Shure AMS-22)
 
Aaah the PZM. Nifty mic's, but quite specialist in where you can effectively use them. I'll start it off by mentioning the Sanken CUB-01 which everyone will tell you is a SUPER PZM in the lower cost ranges that is amazing when it comes to mic'ing a car up. :)
 
Cub01 hands down...plus it can use the same power supply as the COS11 so you can save about $100 just getting it wired for your Lectros (not sure if you can do that with the G2).

Cheers
 
So if I was a one man crew for a wedding and i had a boom mic for secondary sound and a Lavalier mic to wire the Groom....would the Oktava mk012 Indoor Mic do good for the camera mounted mic and a Lecto M150 for the wireless mic. Will this do the job for an alright sound for 1 man crew? Plus i need the best bang for the buck. If someone can fill me in on this that would be great
Thanks
 
Church service full sound from one mic?

Church service full sound from one mic?

I recently have been recording our chuch services. It is a small church without a mixer. Ther are three to four mics up front with drums, piano and a sax. I have been using the on camera mic and my me66. I am looking at a Peavy m1 or m2 large studio cardioid mic. I tried them out at our local music store and it sounded great. Does anyone use studio mics?
 
not really much room for these mics on set, but ive heard stories of big hollywood gus using u87's with great results. personally, too scared to take my u87 out the house.. i like that thing too much. :)
 
Pressure and how mics react?

Pressure and how mics react?

I have been reading about mics and see statements about this mic or that mic is good with hi pressure or hi decibls. We have a very large range of volume and when it gets loud the distortion comes in, even with the levels turned down. The manager at the local music store suggested a compressor? He said it is a blessing and a curse all in one. It sounds like it will compress the levels if adjusted right (that being the hard part) and keep the distortion down. I'm thinking the studio mic might handle the pressure level better.
 
no, it will handle it worse. what are you recording?

usually, condensers, and particularly large diaphragm condensers, are most sensitive to pressure. a smaller diaphragm picks up less movement, hence is less sensitive and less accurate. attenuation pads on the mad can lower input stage levels and stop the actual MICROPHONE from distorting (this is what is happening to you).. the next step down are dynamic microphones that are typically the least sensitive and also least detailed - they can be perfect for extreme high noise level recording situations.

cheers.
 
Peavey Pro M2 studio mic

Peavey Pro M2 studio mic

I purchased the Pro M2 studio mic and the Mackie 1402 mixer to go with my DVX100a. In testing it sounds good and can handle up to 145 spl. I havn't received the mixer yet but the DVX powers up the Peavey just fine. I am trying to captuer good audio in a small church enviroment.
 
timapter here is a sample I need to improve upon

timapter here is a sample I need to improve upon

timapter here is what I recorded. This was a visiting pastor and his wife from Africa. I'm very unhappy with the sound quality.

http://e-motionsmedia.com/Videos/conference.mov


timapter said:
no, it will handle it worse. what are you recording?

usually, condensers, and particularly large diaphragm condensers, are most sensitive to pressure. a smaller diaphragm picks up less movement, hence is less sensitive and less accurate. attenuation pads on the mad can lower input stage levels and stop the actual MICROPHONE from distorting (this is what is happening to you).. the next step down are dynamic microphones that are typically the least sensitive and also least detailed - they can be perfect for extreme high noise level recording situations.

cheers.
Click to expand...
 
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Sound

Sound

MattinSTL said:
Many of you don't need this information, so please feel free to read or ignore this... but I've come a long way with the audio end of my productions in the last 2 years... here's what I know so far:...
Click to expand...

Well I'm one of the one's who DO need this information and so far I have found it VERY helpful.. so thanks MattinSTL

NOW.. moving right along..

I have some questions

Given that I'm approaching film from a ""WHAT (muthaf*ing) BUDGET???"" (the next demeaning step down following "NO BUDGET") and dealing with the emotional fallout of that.. I get this. What I'm looking for now is a simple guide on how to use the equipment that has been suggested on this thread - for example:

1) I gather that an oktava hyper is best suited for indoor use but...
a) what is the maximum distance to speaker (or actor in this case)?
b) does the oktava even use phantom power???
c) when is it best to use phantom power?
d) does phantom power EXTEND the viable range of a mic?

come to think of it.. what the phruck IS PHANTOM POWER? and when do you need it? when would you not use phantom power?

2) Lets say I could get hold of an at4073a?
a) when do you use a shotgun mic?
b) why would you use an at4073a over an oktava outdoors/indoors?
c) what is a SHOTGUN mic for?
d) what is the max functional distance of a shotgun? (from what Ive read so far about 4')
e) can a shotgun be used for foley? if not which mike is best suited to foley? (footsteps, clothes rustling, car tires, etc..)

3) portable field digital recorders
a) will a zoom h4 get the job done? Sure I'd like a sound devices 722 but I don't see that happening right away...

... and here's another thing. While I have no intention of being a 'sound guy' I do want to know all I can about sound and how to achieve first-rate sound - after all, my intention is to make films. I can say this about sound guys on the movies I worked on so far (I act occasionally) they are without exception (so far) the nicest people on set PERIOD. I have found out (the hard way): the people you want to steer clear of on set sequentially are: directors and asst. directors (most directors are going to hell - except me of course) and almost all actors and most of the crew... producers ironically can be ok people.

Thanks to all who have contributed.. again, thanks MattinSTL

oh I almost forgot.. does anybody know where I can dload "VOICE" sample/s of the oktava and at4073a? Can someone send me some samples? just a thought. NO INSTRUMENT SAMPLES PLEASE ONLY VOICE - It irritates me beyond comprehension to hear people sampling mics using instruments or singing! AHHHHHHHH!!! I mean for * sakes, when I meet a person on the street 9.99 times out of 10 they aren't singing - so why sample a mic with instruments or singing - i just dont get it?
 
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I'm just going to answer one question.

WHEN do you need phantom power?
Q:) WHEN do you need lights in your house?

You need phantom power when you need a condensor microphone to work and pick up sound.
A:)You need electricity to power your lights in your house to see in the dark.
 
William Lewis said:
....
oh I almost forgot.. does anybody know where I can dload "VOICE" sample/s of the oktava and at4073a? Can someone send me some samples? just a thought. NO INSTRUMENT SAMPLES PLEASE ONLY VOICE - It irritates me beyond comprehension to hear people sampling mics using instruments or singing! AHHHHHHHH!!! I mean for * sakes, when I meet a person on the street 9.99 times out of 10 they aren't singing - so why sample a mic with instruments or singing - i just dont get it?
Click to expand...

Check out Dan Brockett's outstanding review at http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/right_mic_brockett.html

Hypercardioid mics, of which the Oktava, AT4053a, and Neumann KM150 are examples, have an optimum working range between 6" and 24" from the speaker's mouth. Short shotguns such as the Rode NTG1 & 2, AT4073a, or Sennheiser MKH416 are best when used from 2' to 4' from the talent, long guns such as the Neumann KMR82i or Sennheiser MKH70 sound their best from 4' out to 8' or a little more. For all types, getting closer than the minimum range starts to emphasize bass frequencies unnaturally as the 'proximity effect' kicks in. Much farther than the maximum range and the mic starts to sound thin and room ambience and reverb begins to become apparent.

Hypers have a directional sensitivity pattern that is a somewhat wider than the shotguns' towards the front along the main axis of the mic, falling off as you get around to the sides, shows very little sensitivity in the rear quandrants until you get back to the very rear where there's a lobe of sensitivity pointing straight back. Their pattern is pretty uniform with frequency. Shotguns have a narrower cone of sensitivity to the front than the hypers that falls off rapidly as your get past 45 degress or so off axis. The problem is that it's not uniform and gets 'bumpy' with lobes shooting off as you get around towards 120 and 160 degrees off axis, plud a small bulge pointing straight back. The problem is the strength and width of these lobes varies a great deal with frequency and the mic can become almost omni at very low and very high frequencies. This means that when you use it in a reflective environment such as a normal interior, the frequency balance, the timbre of the sound, of the reflected sound it picks up is very distorted compared to that of the direct sound hitting the mic from the desired source. Mixing the two in the mic can produce all sorts of unpleasant sounds - the classic being a sound like the scene was recorded in a metal culvert or the bottom of an empty well.

As Alan said, phantom doesn't extend the range nor is it an option to use some of the time. All condensor mics need power for their internal electronics. It can come from an internal battery or it can be 'piggy-backed' on the same cable that carries the audio signal down to the mixer/recorder/camera. And just to make it interesting, there are two incompatible schemes for powering via the audio cable, phantom power and T-power. Some mics offer only battery power - generally cheap consumer mics. Some, such as the Rode NTG-2 offer both options with a battery to allow you to use it with a device that doesn't supply phantom and the ability to use phantom when it's available in order to save batteries. Other mics like the Oktava or the AT4073a don't have an internal battery and must be used with a source of phantom in order to work at all. T-power is still around and can be found on some older mics but has been pretty much replaced by phantom. There is also a third kind of cable powering called 'plug-in power' that is pretty well restricted to the cheap 'accessory' mics for consumer camcorders, cassette tape recorders, computer sound cards, and the like - the $20 "desktop multimedia microphone" you get at your neighborhood big-box electronics store would be an example. A mic requiring phantom will not work on plug-in power and vice versa.


HTH

S
 
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