Mixer Help

D

david22

New member
Hi,
I need some advice on whether its worth buying a mixer instead of using my PD-170 for my audio recording in my short films. I use a Audio Technica 4073a, will I notice a improvement in sound quality? Ive found the audio from the mic to be good but not as good as some of the audio of other peoples films.

Could it be the settings I'm using?
My settings are:
Rec CH select - CH1 + CH2
Input Level - MIC
+48v - On

It's kinda hard for me to explain how it sounds, maybe I will upload a short sound test.

Thanks I'm pretty new to sound recording and any help would be appreciated.
 
There could be many reasons why your sound is different from other peoples film sound, get Jay Roses book on audio production for DV, after that you will know the areas of sond production you need to improve...
 
Your settings are correct... it's likely that the biggest problem with your sound is that the mic isn't close enough. I'd say the short list of sound problems goes something like this:

1. Poor mic placement (not close enough).
2. Bad acoustic space (that particular shotgun isn't great in most interiors even though it IS great for most exteriors).
3. Wind or handling noise due to poor conditions or lack of a good windscreen and shock mount.
4. Using a crappy mic.
5. The connected audio chain between the mic and the final recording.

Unfortunately the fact is that the pd170 (and pd150) were a bit behind the DVX100 in sound quality... so if you compare your results head to head with a DVX there will be a noticeable difference... but with the settings you just described... and as long as your mic gain is at -50db (NOT -60db)... or better still -35db (if that cam allows that setting)... AND you run the sound manually... meaning do NOT let the cam run levels... YOU run the levels.

If you do all that you should be okay... but if you're still not happy then it may be time to look at an external recorder... and you don't have to spend a bundle to blow away what you're hearing in the pd170.
 
Just to address one little thing in your post and that Matt talks about - it's not really a mixer that will solve your problem, it's an external recorder. Don't get me wrong, a mixer + an external recorder is the best goodness ;-), but actually your first order of improvement is the external recorder. Then add the mixer.

Phil
 
Thanks a lot for the replies :)

MattinSTL, in regards to the mic placement.. we are booming the mic around 2 - 3 feet above the actors head but are having troubles with peaking. Therefor we drop the levels down or place the boom higher. The thing is though, that doesn't seem to get good audio.. when it does peak the actor isn't speaking that loudly. (these are for exterior shots)

I don't currently have a good windscreen but I have a good shock mount and a boom pole.

Would a windscreen filter out these peaking problems or is the peaking problem with the PD170 recording or the boom/levels.

ptalsky could you or anyone else recommend an external recorder?

As you can probably tell I'm a beginner with audio and I'm keen to get it right.
 
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