Mikme: The future of audio?

G

ggrantly

Veteran
I hope the title hooked a few of you in. Over at Geardads, which seems a practical bunch of reviewers, they just published a review of Mikme. Seems like an interesting gadget for some production needs. Though at $500, I'm not sure a trade one for my DR-100-2.

http://www.geardads.com/mikme-the-best-wireless-microphone

We have seen a flood of mini-recorders for several years, think DR-07 and the DR-10 series at the low end and Zaxcom at the higher end. The invasion of such devices is changing the way a lot of field audio is recorded. I am pretty comfortable with the traditional mic, boom, cable or wireless, mixer and recorder to get my sound. But I have to admit to having a couple of the DR-10 devices. For the price, it just makes your kit more versatile. Yet, there will always be resistance to not being able to effectively monitor audio as it is recorded. A similar issue on the visual side is how auto-focus is creeping into professional production since it is greatly improved over just a few years ago. Admit it or not, audio with AGC is creeping into pro=audio also.

So where are you at with this? Are you evolving into using more of these gizmos, either cheap or expensive?

Grant
 
It looks like a good quick set-up for audio recording, but I can't see how this would be much use for video unless you don't mind your subject talking into a hand-size black box in the shot.
 
I don't think it would be very useful for me. $500 is more than I'd want to pay or something that's rarely used. I have enough of that already.. for instance my $1000+ long shotgun mic which has not seen the light of day since 2013.
 
I have a hard time seeing and advantages over a handheld recorder and a fair number of downsides, mono only, non-removable media, non-replaceable batteries, no display so you are always flying blind.
 
Any microphone will perform well on the street if it is 1' directly in front of the speaker. If the Bluetooth is the appealing feature, then the Sony ECM-AW4 does the same thing, is smaller, and is priced 1/3 less.
 
I'll try one I have next time I'm there and see how much background noise it eliminates. Those streets are humming, always.
 
Mikme may not be the gizmo we all want or need and I was pretty shocked when I saw the price. When I first saw the Mikme, I was thinking plant mic. It's a weird little box that could be hidden in plan site.

But in general terms, are more non-monitored AGC devices, or other non-traditional recording devices slipping into your kit? Are devices like this beginning to change the way you work?
 
Can't wait for the next Hollywood blockbuster with all the leads walking around holding little black boxes in front of their mouths...
 
Manoman. I must have confused most of you. The real question was how all the emerging gizmos are changing the way you work. Mikme is just an example of one.
 
GaryNattrass said:
Why not design it to look and feel like a mike?
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But then it would not be an "emerging gizmo"...

Have anything I do changed by "emerging gizmo's", don't think so but maybe I don't know what you mean by the term. The example you linked is a handheld recorder. It's awkward, and not very versatile but there isn't anything "new" about it. The only possible "new" thing would be the blue tooth connection but that is a pretty "old" thing that has been around in various forms for a long time.

The last "new" thing that changed the way I did things was Boom Recorder, but we are talking 10 plus years ago? so not really "new". Before that it would be Flash recorders replacing DAT and fast internet replacing laying back to DA-88 and shipping the mix to whoever. Then I guess it would be digitizing video and eventually not even owning a 3/4" dack.

But those "new" things happened befor a lot of people on this list were walking so...
 
ggrantly said:
Manoman. I must have confused most of you. The real question was how all the emerging gizmos are changing the way you work. Mikme is just an example of one.
Click to expand...

There is no confusion. You click-baited readers with "Mikme: The future of audio?" You admitted to the click-bait. You set expectations and then didn't deliver. People responded accordingly.
 
Noiz2 said:
But then it would not be an "emerging gizmo"...

Have anything I do changed by "emerging gizmo's", don't think so but maybe I don't know what you mean by the term. The example you linked is a handheld recorder. It's awkward, and not very versatile but there isn't anything "new" about it. The only possible "new" thing would be the blue tooth connection but that is a pretty "old" thing that has been around in various forms for a long time.

The last "new" thing that changed the way I did things was Boom Recorder, but we are talking 10 plus years ago? so not really "new". Before that it would be Flash recorders replacing DAT and fast internet replacing laying back to DA-88 and shipping the mix to whoever. Then I guess it would be digitizing video and eventually not even owning a 3/4" dack.

But those "new" things happened befor a lot of people on this list were walking so...
Click to expand...


Do you still use Boom Recorder, when (and what for?) did you last you it?
 
Paul F said:
There is no confusion. You click-baited readers with "Mikme: The future of audio?" You admitted to the click-bait. You set expectations and then didn't deliver. People responded accordingly.
Click to expand...

I absolutely did that. I was hoping to get a discussion going about something besides which cheap-ass recorder is better than another. Taking a different tack, I tried trickery to elicit some thoughtful responses about how they work. I was intentionally trying to stir the pot as I have done several times recently. Apparently no one noticed or cares. Is it just me, or has the content of the audio forum become pretty boring. I have learned a lot here over the last 10 years or so for which I am forever grateful to the contributors. I appreciate discussions about the minutiae of various devices, but there needs to be more content here than that type of trivia.

Flame me as you wish.
 
I, for one, am grateful that audio is now boring. That just means that good gear will last, the temptation to churn is low, and sound sound technique (pun intended) is well established.
 
Hey Combat,

Much like yourself, I am solid with my workflow. I don't really need more gear to produce audio appropriate to my level of production. Considering that I'm not too far off from retirement, I could just stand pat and let the world pass me by. But if a new workflow became available that could make me more versatile, competitive, or improve my product, I'm all in.

Besides the video business, I also do some fairly complicated CAD work. About 7 years ago, I had to decide whether to stand pat with 2d or make the leap to 3d solids modeling. It was ugly at first; I had a steep learning curve. I worked quite a few all nighters trying to recover from self-inflicted disaster. Now, looking back, I would never go back. My product is superior with better accuracy and a greatly improved final product. And my customers see the value in it even though it isn't necessarily less expensive. My point is....well you can see the point.

With regards to audio, I'm always looking for a new trick since mostly I work alone. So if some little gizmo can ease my shooting day, I'm all in.
 
ggrantly said:
I absolutely did that. I was hoping to get a discussion going about something besides which cheap-ass recorder is better than another. Taking a different tack, I tried trickery to elicit some thoughtful responses about how they work. I was intentionally trying to stir the pot as I have done several times recently. Apparently no one noticed or cares. Is it just me, or has the content of the audio forum become pretty boring. I have learned a lot here over the last 10 years or so for which I am forever grateful to the contributors. I appreciate discussions about the minutiae of various devices, but there needs to be more content here than that type of trivia.

Flame me as you wish.
Click to expand...

Yeah but this is WORSE than whatever latest cheap recorder has came out (such as recently: MixPre10T/F4/PMD-706/etc... which are each pretty decent for their dollar! Unlike this product, which is not. For that price you could buy nearly four Tascam DR10L which are on sale currently)
 
IronFilm said:
Yeah but this is WORSE than whatever latest cheap recorder has came out (such as recently: MixPre10T/F4/PMD-706/etc... which are each pretty decent for their dollar! Unlike this product, which is not. For that price you could buy nearly four Tascam DR10L which are on sale currently)
Click to expand...

Please note that I didn't endorse the product and don't disagree with any of the knocks on this product; they are all true, especially the price.

So are there any gizmos (cheap gadgets of any sort) that you use to make your day easier?

Oh ya, the DR10L is on sale for $139, in freeking WHITE. I bought one.
 
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