Lav Shootout! Rode, Tram, Sanken & Sennheiser

"I'm confident the sound would be the same if moved a couple inches left or right."
I have never in 35 years of recording seen that happen--but I'm sure they would be somewhat similar. I'm always amazed by how much the sound changes when you move a mic a few inches. If you are losing, say, 5 dB of treble gain owing to the position of the capsule, that could either by default, or by design, make a bright mic less bright, or make a fairly evenly balanced mic seem beamy. That might affect the overall rating as to brightness, etc. Lav mics can even have a ten dB drop.
The fact that they are omnis is, of course, important for the position, as omnis have directional characteristic-- the frequency response will not be even in all directions. The term omni simply means that it does not have a built in sound baffle, not that it is "omni" in the sense of even.
When I do a comparison, I usually use a rubber band so that it threads through the space between the mics, so the capsules are almost touching. For small mics, a tiny strip of gaffer tape.

As for multitracking, the reason to do this is so that we can hear the exact same audio through each mic. I can see why you announce each mic as a sample, but of course your voice and the words are different for each sample. In particular, the sibilants, which is what many of us listen for, will be very different. Since you have it recorded already, you could put a sample up with the same audio and supertitles to identify each mic. Or, better yet, put up the same sample four ways, and let us pick our favorite, then tell us the answers!

Thanks again for the comparison.
 
Last edited:
Dustin, I have not yet directly compared the Rode Lav and PinMic. I would think since the lav, when placed on a shirt in the center of the chest would sound better as it is pointing up. The pin, though it has the same capsule, is pointing out and may pick up more room. I'm only guessing. I will do a comparison when time allows, but it will probably be a couple weeks. I tend to think of the PinMic as a specialty mic, to use when hiding a mic is important. It's cool because you can hide it in plain sight without having to put it under a shirt. It comes with a silver and a black cover, and they encourage you to buy more covers and paint them the colors you need. The COS11D, being a bright mic, I think is a good candidate for hiding under a shirt, as the shirt will tame the brightness. But that's a 400.00 mic. Personally I would get a regular lav, then add a pinMic later. But only you know what you need.
 
I emailed Rode and the pinmic will be avaiable in Jan 2011. So Chad, I guess you have an inside copy? any place from where I can get hand on two pinmics? Really need it for a late Dec shoot.....

thanks
 
Thanks Chad. It will probably be the Rode Lav, when I get around to buying. Lately I've just been renting a COS11D from a local camera shop for next to nothing. It's kind of hard to justify purchasing when I can get a mic like that for $20/weekend
 
That was a great comparison. I had a question on the undercovers that you showed near the end. I have a G2 system with the ME-2 and I frequently use it in uncontrolled situations outside. The unit works great. I typically clip it to the front of my shirt about the second button down (as in this photo), as it hasn't been necessary to conceal it. However, I do have problems when it's windy. I was thinking about getting some foam windscreens but am concerned it won't cut the wind noise out sufficiently. I was also considering a furry windjammer but I think it wouldn't look right. So another option I was considering was the Rycote undercovers. In your experience would that be a good solution to cut out wind noise?
 

Attachments

  • Sennheiser G2 system.jpg
    Sennheiser G2 system.jpg
    79.2 KB · Views: 0
rszebras, I think the undercovers would help. as would the mic being under the shirt. Honestly the undercovers don't work as well as I had hoped for clothes rubbing. The key is to get the mic stuck to the clothes, so no rubbing happens. Moleskin is a trick many use. You can get sticky moleskin in foot care areas of pharmacies, and wrap that around the body of the mic, then tape the whole thing to the shirt. I would still try the undercovers. I got a pack of 30 for like 12 bucks from B&H. Personally I have gotten away with hiding a mic in the collar of a tshirt. I use the sanken COS11D with a vampire clip. the vampire clip gives good rubbing protection, and is able to be pinned about anywhere under clothes. I do not know if there is a vampire for the ME-2. Still some tape will do the trick, or the tape provided with the under covers. I would remove the metal pop filter in the ME-2 when putting it under clothes.
 
I was concerned about the rubbing of clothes too. I mean if you sandwich the mic between a t-shirt (or bare skin) and a dress shirt, and that mic is stuck to the t-shirt let's say, the dress shirt could rub against the mic and create a rustling sound. The undercovers are "supposed" to prevent that. I was contemplating your other suggestion: mounting the ME-2 in a different location, like under the collar. I thought that might work as long as the wind is blowing from behind or to the side. If there is a gust from straight ahead the mic would be exposed to that. The other place I was thinking about mounting it is right between the two layers of the dress shirt between the buttons so the tip of the mic comes right to the edge of the back side of the shirt that overlaps the other part of the the shirt with the buttons. I saw this technique used by Matt Gettemeier on Sound for Film and Television with Barry Green. But if wind blows directly at that seam, I'm in the same boat as mounting it beneath the collar.

There is a Sennheiser vampire clip: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/116323-REG/Sennheiser_ZH100_ANT.html However, I'm not sure why that would work better than the undercovers. If you clip it to the t-shirt, wouldn't there still be the possiblity of the dress shirt rubbing? Or does the vampire clip create a space between the t-shirt and dress shirt with the plastic part?
 
Now that looks like a great product, as the capsule is covered on the side where rustling can occur. I looked up the specs and the ME-2 has a larger diameter than the MKE-2. And the ME-2 has a larger diameter than the DPA 4060 or 4071 (5.5mm versus approx. 6.5mm) that these concealers are intended to work with. I think I'll call B&H and see if the ME-2 will fit in this concealer since they carry them. Thanks again for the suggestion.
 
When I said "collar" I was referring to the thicker part of the T-shirt around the hole that your head goes through. A vampire clip usually surrounds the mic in a plastic tube that provides some protection from rubbing, and the shirt itself provides protection from wind. And with an under shirt / dress shirt situation you are supposed to tape BOTH shirts to the mic so nothing directly rubbs the mic. Sonidista, that thing you linked is much like the rubber thing that comes with the cos11d mic. It, like a vampire clip only better, provides a barrier between the mic and whatever it's attached to.

So in addition to an "undervover" I would also tape the outer layer/shirt to the inner shirt, possibly with double sided tape, all around the mic so you are creating a bubble of area that nothing rubs. Personally I have found that the ME-2 isn't as susceptible as the cos11d to clothes rustle. I have gotten away with just getting the mic under the "collar" of a T-shirt, and the shirt protects from the wind. You must just test these things out before you get on a real shoot.
 
Chad, I've just received a Røde lavalier and a Pin-Mic to try them out, but the lavalier has an annoying golden ring on the lower end of the capsule. The vendor says they're all like that, but I would like you to confirm if your's like the the one in the attached photo.

Thanks,
Pedro

Rode_lavalier.jpg
 
Yes Pedro, I too have the golden part, and I do not like it, as it may show up on video. I suggest getting a sharpie marker, ad coloring it black.
 
Yes, I suppose I'll have to paint it. Hope Røde will change this in the future, as there's no sense in not having it totally black...

Thank you for responding,
Pedro
 
Pedro

Here's what Scott Emerton from Rode had to say about the brass nut:

"Hi Chad,

Thanks for the feedback. We actually changed the manufacturing of the Lavalier after the pilot production so this part is painted black now. Probably 90% of the units in the market are painted, but I've just colored the ones I use in-house with a black marker.

Kind Regards,

Scott Emerton
Marketing & Communications Manager
RØDE Microphones & Event Electronics"
 
Good to know, so if I like it (I'm still waiting for the Micon adaptors), and buy some more of them, then I'll assure myself to get the proper ones...

Thanks,
Pedro
 
Pedro, it would be nice if you could post your field experience as soon as you've used those two mics a little...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top