New Interior Dialogue Mic
- Thread starter mw5j1
- Start date
Andrew Stone
Veteran
The Sennheiser MKH-50 is a fabulous microphone. You will have a lot of difficulty finding a used MKH-50 and if you do it will only be a couple of hundred less than retail as soundies are on the prowl for used MKH-50s.
I'll pile on the scrum.
Own the 875, 4053b, NTG3, amongst many. IMHO, the 875 is the bargain of them and sounds great for $175. But it doesn't hold up to the other two under most any situation unless you want or need a wider pattern shotgun. The 875 if it is nothing else, is very forgiving. But really, can anybody seriously say it is better sounding than either the 4053 or ntg3? No experience with the Audix.
Own the 875, 4053b, NTG3, amongst many. IMHO, the 875 is the bargain of them and sounds great for $175. But it doesn't hold up to the other two under most any situation unless you want or need a wider pattern shotgun. The 875 if it is nothing else, is very forgiving. But really, can anybody seriously say it is better sounding than either the 4053 or ntg3? No experience with the Audix.
Rick R
Veteran
In some situations, yes. For exteriors, a shotgun mic is preferred by most. About the only mic that can handle both is the Sanken CS3. However it has it's own pro and cons and many prod. sound mixers and boom ops don't like it. A 'one mic fits all' just ain't in the cards at this point.
Noiz2
Sound Ninja
That is a guideline based on "normal" use. Really it depends a LOT on where you are recording and what your goal is. Most of these "recommendations" are based on a Hollywood style workflow. With that you want as much isolation as you can get. So you want as tight a mic as you can get away with. A lot of low/no budget people are not going to do much post so getting a wider field may actually be a better choice for them. As a general kind of thing a wider mic is going to sound "better", more open and "hear" more of the environment. So IF that works for you it's the way to go. The biggest down side is that IF you are trying to capture dialog you will generally need to get closer than with a tighter mic and if you can't control the surrounding sounds it can get to be a problem. A general problem is also that the more sound you have in the production tracks the harder it is to make smooth edits. Again how big a problem this is for you depends on what kind of work you are doing.
Personally I have everything from a couple of very nice $$ mics to some really inexpensive mics that I think work well for some things to freebies that I picked up at various places because they have a "sound" that is useful for something. THe later would be a bad choice for dialog.
The biggest difference I find with cheap mics is that a lot of them are a bit noisy. But even some of the mid range ones are kind of noisy so you really need to pick what works for you.
I am not a fan of overly bright mics. It may be a sign of too many hours listening to things too loud that makes these mics popular with some people.
Scott, thank you for that. This is why I always look forward to posts from you - packed with solid info, info that is to the point and not always obvious-I-can-figure-it-out-myself, but unique, something one may not have thought of on one's own without a lot of experience, hence a service to us-the-amateurs. Bravo!
mainstreetprod
Veteran
My 4053 and 4073 have been sitting in their cases for 3 years as we have started shooting silent films instead of "talkies". One thing I appreciate about both of them: They are extremely 'hot" mics- they require very little gain from the preamps compared to many others. Which means less preamp noise and cleaner sound, especially when going straight into camera inputs.
Great things in this thread! Thanks everyone. Been using NTG-3 for years now, and while it's been a great mic.... definitely think it's time to invest in a hypercardioid. The 4053 looks like the winner for me. Where do you guys have the best luck finding second-hand mics? I've noticed ebay doesn't have much and neither does this forum's FS section.
Greg Smith
Veteran
I did indeed find my 4053b through the FS forum here. I had it on my "wanted" list for a few months, but it wasn't an urgent purchase for me, so I could be patient until one showed up here in the right condition at a good price. If you need it right away, you'll probably need to pay more, I'm afraid. You might check the used gear sections of places like B&H or Full Compass Systems as well. You'll probably pay a little more than through eBay or a private sale, but the advantage is that they will have tested it and there will be no problems with payment, misrepresented condition or the reliability of the seller.
(Not that I had any problems -- the mic I bought here was indistinguishable from brand new and was shipped safely and promptly.)
- Greg
Rick R
Veteran
About 5 years ago, I found a mint condition 4053a on eBay for $200 (buy it now), it took about 9 months before one became available, but I was covered otherwise with a pair of Sound Room Oktavas and my 416. (which have a warmer sound IMO*). so I could wait it out . They're out there, but used ones are few and far between
* Oktavas' are not created equal.
* Oktavas' are not created equal.