HARDWIRED Lavs... who, when, why?

MattinSTL

MattinSTL

Sound Modulator
I'm wondering how often the pro sound guys on here use hardwired lavs... that means XLR for anybody who doesn't know.

In my own experience there aren't too many times I wouldn't rather use a hyper or some other mic over a lav. Usually it's necessity that brings the lavs out of the kit.

I'm wondering if that's the case for most of you?

Are lavs and wireless mostly tied together or do you encounter many times where you choose a wired lav over a boomed hyper?

I considered using a lav off the tip of a car visor as a car mic, but I'm pretty happy with the hyper in there too.

So before I get another lav wired for a G2 only... can you give me a significant argument for getting an XLR lav and putting in a break for G2 connector?
 
in sit down situation when you work with multiply camera setup and cant use the boom , the hardwire will always bit a **** the g-2 .
since i am lazy i usially dont do it and put my wireless :-)
 
Used hardwired trams not too long ago during a scene with 5 actors sitting around a table. The scene required some master shots where all 5 actors could be talking at once. So I used 5 wired lavs which I was easily able to hide cabel under the table, and we also ran a boom as well. Captured all six channels discreetly to Fostex PD-6 giving us the ultimate flexibility with dialogue.

Any time you can get away with using a wired lav over a wireless you'll generally be happier, but sometimes you just can't have a cable.

Steve
 
So in another words I should have got all my B6's as hardwired and put in breaks?

How do you guys do it?

You don't get seperate lavs for wired and wireless do you?
 
Just so we can help anybody else that reads this thread. You know what I mean by a break right? You can take an XLR lav and cut the cord and put in a male and femal locking mini... so that you can plug it directly into the bodypack OR you can connect the two and use it hardwired. Considering that approach uses about $10 in parts I would think that's a preferred solution to buying a locking mini B6 for the same price as the hardwired B6... and then throwing another $140 at it.

I'm wondering how you guys would normally handle this problem. Does everybody have breaks or is so simple as the wireless sets you guys use are so good that you don't even OWN any hardwired lavs.

A little more clarity please for those about to purchase lavs. Should we all be getting hardwired lavs and putting in our own breaks?
 
Hey Matt, i did as you said, had a break inserted, it works grate, thanx for the tip, wether you want ore not you are "THE MAN". I will post FB regarding all the other gear i have now purchased based on your recommendation, but initial tests are very, very promising. :thumbsup:
 
Steve, yeah I just sold a couple Trams like that in the last two months. The reason I started this thread is because I never used my trams hardwired ever... not even once. I wondered if anybody else ever did either. So far I haven't been in a situation where I wouldn't rather have a gun or hyper on somebody over a lav... but I go lav when I must... and in those cases that also means wireless. My lack of experience probably shows here because I haven't been in on too many multi-cam shoots so that may explain it.

Anyway... I guess all my lavs from here on out will have breaks... case settled.

Jon... glad to hear you're happy. You are fortunate to start out near the top of the audio ladder.:thumbsup:
 
Matt, I find the only times I would want to go with a wireless over hardwired Lav is when the talent needs to be mobile and a cable is restrictive and for wide shots where you can't hide the cable. If you rig the cable so it connects right at the ankle, it provides an easy quick release when talent needs to walk away. But even when using lavs, I'll always try to run a boom simultaneously, even if it's far away just so I can have options.

Steve
 
usially they dont like to be tie and most of them running to toilet.
working hardwire was good 10-15 years ago when the wireless option was unproved and cost allot of money , these days with good wierless you dont really think about this option anymore with exception of bad rf interference .
in the last 5-6 years i can count on my one hand times i ran wired lav to the talent in any situation .
 
See that's what I was thinking George and that's why I ordered my first B6 without the break. I started this thread because I've been second-guessing myself. Even with the Lectro VHF sets I never ran a lav wired. One of my Trams was XLR only and that lav never got used even once. Not a single time before I sold it.

I've found the Sennheiser G2 sets to be more reliable then the Lectro VHF was and that's why I wondered if I should even bother getting the XLR versions with breaks even though it's probably safe advice to have the option.

Does the impedence differences matter? The XLR is 600 and the 3.5mm is 2K?
 
ITS GOOD TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE HARDWIRE IN YOUR BAG SINCE **** CAN HAPPEN ,
i don't like what the g-2 supply with the actual signal , so might be its not the case , for what i use um-400/zaxcom or used ( um-195/200/audio ltd) i don't find my self even thinking to go wire.
the best is to buy xlr 48ph and just make brake ( additional30 $ if you can solder by your self)
don't forget the b-6 is phase inverted mike so phase inverted cable is must if you intend to mix with other sours ( not necessarily if you have phase inverter on your mixer or in your receiver)
 
the xlr plug carry 48ph to 3.5v bias conversion , its change the impedance as well .
dont try to connect the mike directly to 48 ph source if you want it will live longer :-)
the transmitters usially supply 3.5 v-5 v , the same as the converter for proper working
 
I hope I didn't come off sounding like I meant wireless is not critical to have. What I meant was that many of us have mediocre to pretty good wireless systems. I know where I am, there's all kinds of RF in the air. So chances of interference are pretty good. So by having the option of going to a hardwired lav I can avoid those issues right off the bat. However, reality is that often times your actors need to be mobile and having them tethered to a cable just won't work. That is why having a really good wireless system is so important. Because often you need to rely on it more than anything else. But for static situations, to me using a wired lav is just easier. And again, you can set it up so that it's very easy for the talent to walk away if they need to. That has never been a problem for me. So Matt, I guess it comes down to this. In every sound person's kit they need to have the following choices:

Shotgun mic for exteriors
Hyper for interiors
wireless lav system
wired lav
and maybe a couple of dynamic mics for high db sound effects, etc.

Steve
 
in real life on big or small productions if you wonna work fast and don't be pain in the ass to the crew( hey just a minute , i have to wire them again:-))you almost never use weired lavs .
if the producer loose one extra hour in the and of the day because that issue it probably you will never work with him again .

the film making is a compromise and this one i can take with my 2 hands .
 
Exile, you are correct when you are talking about one of the high end wireless systems. Those are much more stable. But the mediocre ones will suffer at times from RF interference. Since a lot of people around these forums probably don't have the luxury of a Lectrosonics or a Zaxcom, shouldn't they also have a wired Lav they can use as well? I certainly won't argue the convenience factor of wireless, but sometimes the wired is less of a headache. Again, if you've got the true pro systems these problems are minimized. To me, it makes sense to have both options.

Steve
 
"the xlr plug carry 48ph to 3.5v bias conversion , its change the impedance as well .
dont try to connect the mike directly to 48 ph source if you want it will live longer :-)
the transmitters usially supply 3.5 v-5 v , the same as the converter for proper working"

Stupid question- Does this mean i have to turn of the 48ph on my field mixer before plugging in the hardwired B6? Or how do i do this?
 
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