Mic with the wrong capsule

D

David Evans

Well-known member
Hi,

So today we were shooting a new upcoming short and I was so happy to use my new Audix SCX-1 hyper indoors, boomed of course. Half way through the shooting, I realized the symbol on the capsule and it had the "O" instead of the hyper symbol. The guys that sent me the mic must've mixed up the HC capsule for the omni. So I shot the entire short indoors with an omni boomed. I did my best to get the omni aimed at the mouth of the actors but I was so pissed. But when I got home and had a chance to listen to the recordings, it's actually pretty darn good. Is it normal for an omni to behave so well in this kind of dialogue scenes?


Thanks
 
"Is it normal for an omni to behave so well in this kind of dialogue scenes?"
- If the room is acoustically good. In addition omnis' are free of proximity effects (pros and cons). Could be an incorrectly marked capsule.. though I've never heard of it happening... even w/ the QC challenged Oktavas.
 
Rick R said:
"Is it normal for an omni to behave so well in this kind of dialogue scenes?"
- If the room is acoustically good. In addition omnis' are free of proximity effects (pros and cons). Could be an incorrectly marked capsule.. though I've never heard of it happening... even w/ the QC challenged Oktavas.
Click to expand...

The short actually took place on one of those rooms for audiophiles, so it was acoustically very good. But I can definitly hear a difference whenever I shouted "action" (my voice sounds thin and with echo) and the actor's voice next to the mic (fuller and no echo). I'll try to post a audio bit to show you what I mean.

Thanks
 
You don't need to be a rocket surgeon to test the mic/capsule yourself for its directional characteristics :)

Regards,

Ty Ford
 
Ty, it's definitly an omni. No doubts there. I've already checked the polar pattern response. I was just amazed what a great job this mic did. But I was even more amazed when I called the store today and they said I didn't specify wich Hyper I wanted, so they sent me a "hyper omni". And these guys are the oficial Audix dealers in my country...
 
I have the Audix SCX1/HC. I just checked it has the hyper symbol on there as said. I'm glad your recording came out OK. I am really happy with this little mic. I am astonished at the quality of dialog when you boom properly with it.
 
HA!!!Where are you and what store was it?

The acoustics make a big difference. When I evaluate a mic here in my studio, I have to remember that it's in a treated space. Take it to an average room and things can turn ugly very quickly.

Regards,

Ty Ford
 
I'm in Portugal so I have to settle with these "dealers" that don't even know the products they're selling... The acoustics of the room probably played a big role in this. I will try to make an export for you guys to see and hear. It'll be in portuguese, so you probably won't understand what they're saying, but sound quality is universal :)
 
I think that's not bad at all. I hear a little slap in the sound of the second speaker but totally usable audio.
 
Sounds Ok and a 80hz high pass filter will remove some of the room boominess, the pictures look very green though! ;0)

I have used omni's for V/O and up close but never on a boom, they can also be useful as a dynamic or condensor for in vision.
 
Pictures still need some teal and orange work done :) I'm happy with the sound, there's some buzz in the background because of the native noise of the lights we used. :(
 
David Evans said:
TI called the store today and they said I didn't specify wich Hyper I wanted, so they sent me a "hyper omni". And these guys are the oficial Audix dealers in my country...
Click to expand...

What total idiots - no knowledge of the products they are selling at all if they made such a statement.
 
David Evans said:
Ty, it's definitly an omni. No doubts there. I've already checked the polar pattern response. I was just amazed what a great job this mic did. But I was even more amazed when I called the store today and they said I didn't specify wich Hyper I wanted, so they sent me a "hyper omni". And these guys are the oficial Audix dealers in my country...
Click to expand...

Two thoughts: first, the dealer is not only an idiot, but clearly not interested in correcting their mistake. Hopefully you can get the capsule swapped by them.

Second, this is a decent example of the fact that the difference between an omni mic and a hypercardioid is perhaps not as extreme as many would like to believe. Yes, the acoustics of the room helped a great deal, and the fact that it was quiet in there (besides the hum from the lights) was key to success.

But often, people think of shotgun mics as "lasers" and they are not. Hypercardoid mics certainly have a pronounced lobe to the frontal axis, but are wider than many would imagine. And cardioid mics are actually quite generous in their pattern, really only having a true null directly to the rear.

Anyway - just some thoughts on the matter. Glad it worked out despite the dealer's error!
 
I agree a HP filter could improve the sound some.
Beware of compressing it though, that could make the sound of the room more audible.
 
Nothing to do with the sound that is quite nice I think, but the music in the background. There are some very weird note heads there! When you have stems up, the stem is on the right, when they are stem down, the stem is on the left of the note head - lots of these aren't. Is this a non-standard notation protocol? Where is it meant to be - certainly it's not mainstream european.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top