Problems with a ME-66.

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DELTA_Rotary

Active member
Recently I borrowed a ME-66 for a shoot inside a grocery store. We had a K-tek pole and ricote bimp for it. We used a G2 wireless transmitter plugged into our HVX-200. My results were less than stellar. The audio was unusable. It amplified all the ambient noise so much it drowned out the talent. It was also very "tinny" and picked up very little lowend. The G2 lavs we have aren't the best but they sound WAY better than this ME-66. Now I have very limited experience with shotgun mics so this very well could have been operator error. I've read so many good reviews of this mic so I assume its something on my end. Is this a common problem or is it something wrong with my setup or myself or a combination of both?
 
Oh man... I feel like this post was aimed squarely at ME... I pride myself on being the anti-me66 guy... but I am by no means the only one... and keep in mind that I OWNED an me-66... I'm not bashing a mic that I don't have experience with!

The me66 was developed during the era of analog video and weak mic-pres in the cams... so it's uber-hot sensitivity, and frankly not that good of a mic. The pickup pattern in a shotgun is what determines how it will sound in most interiors... and the me66 has a significant "tail" out the back... to hear reflections behind the mic... and out front it's anything but smooth... and each little "finger" of the frontal pattern is reaching out and grabbing a reflection in that direction. Now as you move that mic around in a reverberrant room... all those little things are busy grabbing the sounds you didn't want to record.

The 4073a is vastly superior in a shotgun that's still "hot" like the me66 (and only about $50 more)... but for MOST interiors a hyper-cardioid is a better alternative, because the pickup pattern is smooth and controlled, including a small tail out the back... what this means is that you can rely on proximity and not worry quite so much about the exact position of the mic, so long as it's fairly close.

Welcome to the tip of the iceberg. You might want to do a little forum searching... or at the very least start with the stickies.
 
Agreeing the unit is an entry level model but I've never had that problem.

How close did you get the mic to your talent ? How were your levels ? Were you actually using headphones; that alone should have gave you some warning.

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IN post, you can improve the qaulity by combining or normalizing the channels.
 
My first guess is that you were set for the internal mic rather than the xlr input. But, it may also just plain be the crappy mic that the ME66 is. Did you monitor with headphones? If not, oops.

Phil
 
Well the "tinny" effect is definately the ME66 and as Matt said the ME66 is just such a crappy mic to begin with. But it sounds more like you were shooting in an uncontrolled noisy environment. With the PA system, refrigerater hum, and crowd noise, a grocery store is a very noisy environment that the shotgun attentuation will have little effect on. Assuming your lavs were significantly closer (often more then twice the distance you can get the shotgun) then the s/n would be much improved.

Where the heck did you read good reviews of the ME66?

Cheers
 
J.R. Hudson said:
Agreeing the unit is an entry level model but I've never had that problem.

How close did you get the mic to your talent ? How were your levels ? Were you actually using headphones; that alone should have gave you some warning.

-

IN post, you can improve the qaulity by combining or normalizing the channels.
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Actually I did have headphones on and knew that it was going to be bad and just brought it out to test with and confirm my suspicions. I already brought my lavs with me and used those and just did some random recordings around the store with the ME-66. Even in the studio it sounded very strange. It picked up the fans on the control room switcher and just amplified them (the door was open). I was lucky enough to figure this out in time. I had already written a check to B&H for an ME-66 before I got my hands on this one. I'm going to rent a few different mics to try out for myself before I purchase one this time around.
 
ptalsky said:
My first guess is that you were set for the internal mic rather than the xlr input. But, it may also just plain be the crappy mic that the ME66 is. Did you monitor with headphones? If not, oops.

Phil
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Like I said in another post I did monitor with headphones. My XLRs were setup for the wireless lavs. I think it was a combination of the mic, my lack of experience with shotguns, and some camera settings. I went ahead and used my lavs so I'm not in the dog house. I work for a large grocery chain doing internal communications so this problem is going to come up again. I just have to figure out what kind of mic is going to work the best in these noisy environments.
 
wabbit said:
Well the "tinny" effect is definately the ME66 and as Matt said the ME66 is just such a crappy mic to begin with. But it sounds more like you were shooting in an uncontrolled noisy environment. With the PA system, refrigerater hum, and crowd noise, a grocery store is a very noisy environment that the shotgun attentuation will have little effect on. Assuming your lavs were significantly closer (often more then twice the distance you can get the shotgun) then the s/n would be much improved.

Where the heck did you read good reviews of the ME66?

Cheers
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I read a couple reviews in the HVX-200 section and a couple people I've worked with had these mics. The lavs are obviously 8 inches away from the persons mouth. I'm several feet away from their mouth with the shotgun. Any suggestions on some mics to try out that should work well in noisy environments?
 
DELTA_Rotary said:
... I'm several feet away from their mouth with the shotgun. Any suggestions on some mics to try out that should work well in noisy environments?
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Even with a pole you are several feet away?

That defeats the entire purpose...and might explain the noise problems.
 
DeSica said:
Even with a pole you are several feet away?

That defeats the entire purpose...and might explain the noise problems.
Click to expand...

That depends on your definition of "several". I've had a shotgun 3 feet from an actors mouth due to the framing of a shot with pretty good results.
 
A good rule of thumb for all but the widest of shots is the mic should be within arms reach of your subject.

Different mics have various attenuation effects but if your environment is extremely noisy, its like spitting in the ocean. Your two biggest weapons are controling the environment and getting the mic as close as possible. Kill the muzak, stay far away from freezer section, and shoot when store is closed or is pretty dead.

Cheers
 
I have a feeling you were not getting ME66 sound to the camera at all, maybe it was the internal mic after all. Also, which G2 transmitter did you use, the plug-in? It requires a metal bodied mic to work as an antenna, plastic me66 does not work.

Transmitter plugged to HVX-200????
 
i ALSO feel it was internal mic on the camera. ME66 are not as bad as people say here. try to upload the part of the file so we can listen.
 
Jim Brennan said:
That depends on your definition of "several". I've had a shotgun 3 feet from an actors mouth due to the framing of a shot with pretty good results.
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So have I...and I would not define several as 3.

Again, I'm wondering how far he does have the mic from the actor...it might just have something to do with the results he is getting.
 
Petrus said:
I have a feeling you were not getting ME66 sound to the camera at all, maybe it was the internal mic after all. Also, which G2 transmitter did you use, the plug-in? It requires a metal bodied mic to work as an antenna, plastic me66 does not work.

Transmitter plugged to HVX-200????
Click to expand...


I was using the SKP 100 transmitter. I'll upload some clips tonight and let you guys listen to them.
 
DELTA_Rotary said:
I was using the SKP 100 transmitter. I'll upload some clips tonight and let you guys listen to them.
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Actually scratch that I did some of the testing on a junk tape and I've already recorded something over it. I really don't think I was getting the internal mic on these shots. I walked in another room away from the camera and recorded some audio and it was VERY directional. It sounds like its a combination of a noisy environment, mic placement, and the quality if the mic itself.
 
People love to beat up the me66. There are worse mics out there like the a/t815. I think it's a good mic but perhaps there are better mics for the same amount of money.
The 66 isn't known as the best mic for indoor use. I've had some of the problems you describe. But I like it alot outdoors.
 
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