Mmm, MKH50...delicious...

Shawn Philip Nelson

Shawn Philip Nelson

Veteran
I just finished cutting together Teresa Decher's Twilight fest project and it was recorded using my sound gear (MKH50 through a SD302, recorded on the Red) and by a very capable, but new sound team.

Editing the dialogue this mic gets is such a pleasure, so damned natural and clean, I just love it!

Unfortunately, I rented it out and somehow the renter dropped the mic onto concrete (he shall remain nameless, he's quite a cool guy and is paying for the repair). It's at Sennheiser right now being repaired.

Come back to me sweet mic!
 
I've always been really impressed with this microphone. I don't think it gets any better. Mainly for interiors though, right?
 
sean90291 said:
Mainly for interiors though, right?
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Not necessarily - it has the same polar pattern as the MKH 60 (and MKH 416) at lower frequencies - it just does not have the interference tube on the front to make it more directional at higher frequencies.

Also good with an MKH 30 in MS.
 
What would higher versus lower frequences cover? Obviously, dialogue is what most are worried about. And the MKH50 delivers such great, film quality dialogue. So is that low or high frequency?
 
sean90291 said:
What would higher versus lower frequencies cover? Obviously, dialogue is what most are worried about. And the MKH50 delivers such great, film quality dialogue. So is that low or high frequency?
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Speech is the mid frequencies.

But the MKH 50 has a symmetrical capsule which results in ultra-low intermodulation distortion that seems to take away the veil and sound "real".
 
Does it make any sense to have both MKH 50 and MKH 60 for film dialogue, or are they too similar?
For both in and outdoor, which would you choose?
 
Pedro said:
Does it make any sense to have both MKH 50 and MKH 60 for film dialogue, or are they too similar?
For both in and outdoor, which would you choose?
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Both are useful - but if it's primarily for use with camera and you can only get one - then I would say that the MKH 60 would be the one th get first.
 
stringz said:
what do you mean by "close reach" shawneous?
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Foley (you're sticking the mic super close) or you are trying to get in closer. For instance, I'll direct my sound team to use the mkh60 if we're doing a non-dialog take (just action) so the mic will reach closer to the footsteps, etc. Does that make sense?
 
sean90291 said:
I don't think it gets any better....
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Schoeps mk41. Enough said.

Well actually not enough said..
The mkh50 (60) are painfully average sounding mics.

I currently own a mkh60..
and in the last 4+ years i can count the times ive pulled it out of the case on a shoot on 1 hand, and everytime out of those times..ive been unsatisfied with it.
If you guys "love" the sound of 50's and 60's make me an offer.


Im on a feature right now, only 4 days in..
but the only mic's ive had my boom op put on the pole are the following..

Schoeps mk41 90% of the time
Sanken CS3 8% of the time
Schoeps CMIT 5 - 2%


Obviously just my opinion.
 
Rippie said:
The mkh50 (60) are painfully average sounding mics.

Obviously just my opinion.
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It depends on if you like neutrality or colour - it also depends on what you plug it into and what you monitor on.

The MKH 20/30/40/50/60/70 series are designed to be neutral and accurate and have extremely low IM distortion, much lower than other mics.

The first time I listened to the MKH 40 it was the first time it sounded like listening to a real human being instead of a recording of someone. That alone convinced me immediately.
 
John Willett said:
It depends on if you like neutrality or colour - it also depends on what you plug it into and what you monitor on.

The MKH 20/30/40/50/60/70 series are designed to be neutral and accurate and have extremely low IM distortion, much lower than other mics.

The first time I listened to the MKH 40 it was the first time it sounded like listening to a real human being instead of a recording of someone. That alone convinced me immediately.
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I have to respectfully disagree.
I think the mkh series are far from "neutral"

In my opinion (and many many others)
your statement is exactly why the Schoeps is the goto mic for many.

the schoeps is exactly your quote "like you were listening with your ears, not a microphone"

But thats the great thing about this world.
To each his own.
 
its certainly to everyone's each and their own. When it comes to watching films, "real" doesn't appeal to me. But the majority of films out there hardly have any untreated audio on them. Ever notice sometimes when you watch a deleted scene, it sounds terrible.
 
I must agree with Rippie. While I quite liked the sound of the MKH50 and have owned and used an MKH60 for years, to me, the Sennheisers sound "larger than life". This can sound excellent and I have recorded some great sound with mine but for neutrality, I would go with the Schoeps.

The sound samples in the article will bear this out or at least they do to my ears.

http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/right_mic_brockett.html

Dan
 
puredrifting said:
I must agree with Rippie. While I quite liked the sound of the MKH50 and have owned and used an MKH60 for years, to me, the Sennheisers sound "larger than life". This can sound excellent and I have recorded some great sound with mine but for neutrality, I would go with the Schoeps.

The sound samples in the article will bear this out or at least they do to my ears.

http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/right_mic_brockett.html

Dan
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Come'on Dan, you're not actually going to agree with "The mkh50 (60) are painfully average sounding mics.". The mkh40/50/60 set are used on tons of high-end movies, they are respected in the industry along side the Schoepps, to say they are painfully average is such a colored personal opinion that doesn't really hold water with what goes on.
 
shawneous said:
Come'on Dan, you're not actually going to agree with "The mkh50 (60) are painfully average sounding mics.". The mkh40/50/60 set are used on tons of high-end movies, they are respected in the industry along side the Schoepps, to say they are painfully average is such a colored personal opinion that doesn't really hold water with what goes on.
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Hiya:

No, no, I meant that I agreed that the Schoeps are more neutral sounding.

No, I think that the MKH mics are awesome sounding, did you read my article? I likened both the MKH50 and 60 to the equivalent of a big action movie, the sound that they record is big, detailed and on the borderline of "over the top" in a good way. I just don't find them very neutral sounding. To my ear, the Sennheisers are a love it or hate it sounding mic, there is no middle ground. To me, the Sanken CS3e and Neumann and Schoeps all sound more neutral than the MKH Senneheisers. I don't think any of them are better than the others in the long run, it just depends on your subject and personal preference.

If I was shooting a Bergman-esque dialogue driven character study, would use the Scheops or Sanken. If I was shooting an comedy or action sequence or film, I would favor the Sennheisers. I can't see why people get so religious about gear, I think that the ideal situation is to own it all and just use what is best for each situation, but until we have the economy rebound and make lots of money, most of us probably have to make those choices of one mic over the other ;-)

Same with cams, I just bought an HPX170 and am enjoying it but I am also trying to figure out a way to afford a used EX1 as well, they are both so different and so good for certain things. That new hack to use SD cards on the EX1 is very tempting as well for the sometimes 6-8 hour marathon interview shoots I go through where we are interviewing four people for two hours each. Even though its a cliche, it is true, I can make almost any camera look good because I know how to light and I can make almost any professional mic sound good because I know how to use them. But I guess if we all thought that way, there would be no need for web forums.

Best,

Dan
 
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